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LIFE 
 
 :®ISAS S'llIflflilBE®!^'^ 
 
 WITH 
 
 SELECTIONS FROM THE MOST VALUABLE PORTIONS OF HIS VOLU- 
 MINOUS AND UNRIVALLED 
 
 PRIVATE CORRESPONDENCE. 
 
 By B. L. RAYNER. 
 
 ' For I have sworn upon the Altar of God, eternal hostility against every form cf 
 tyranny over the mind of man.' — Priv. Coitcs. 
 
 BOSTON: 
 
 LILLY, WAIT, COLMAN, & HOLDEN. 
 1834. 
 

 Entered, accordmg to Act of Congress, in the j'ear 1834, 
 By Lilly, Wait, Colman, & Holden, 
 In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the District of Massachusetts. 
 
PREFACE 
 
 The materials for this volume are principally derived 
 from the posthumous works of Mr Jefferson himself. 
 These works were received with extraordinary approba- 
 tion by one great portion of the public, as was the case 
 indeed with every thing which ever came from that re- 
 markable man; and by another considerable portion, 
 with a corresponding degree of dissatisfaction, always 
 to be expected from the well known opinions of the 
 Author on certain fundamental points, upon which a 
 strongly marked division of public sentiment has pre- 
 vailed, since the foundation of the federal government. 
 
 These works extend through four large octavo vol- 
 umes, of about 500 pages each ; nearly the whole of 
 which is occupied with the Correspondence of the Au- 
 thor, public and private. And taken as a whole, it corf- 
 prises the richest auto-biographical deposit, and one of 
 the most valuable publications ever presented to the 
 world. It is written in a style of unrivalled felicity ; and 
 supplies the record of many important transactions con- 
 nected with our government, of which no authentic me- 
 morials had been preserved. But it is in the light of a 
 
IV PREFACE. 
 
 private revelation, making its disclosures from the in- 
 most recesses of the mind and character of the man, 
 that its most distinguishing excellence consists. We 
 have here the ungarbled contents of the cabinet of the 
 author, gradually accumulating through an era among 
 the most momentous in the annals of the world, and in 
 which he was himself a principal actor, and incessantly 
 placed in the most trying situations which it afforded. 
 This vast collection of letters, compiled from the unre- 
 vised manuscripts of the writer, thrown off on the spur 
 of the occasion in the freedom of unrestrained confi- 
 dence, and spreading over a period of fifty years, have 
 opened the folding-doors to the character of Mr Jeffer- 
 son, and introduced us into the sanctuary of his most 
 secret meditations. They derive essential importance 
 from the fact that at the time they were written, the 
 author had no conception of their ever being made 
 public. 
 
 It would undoubtedly be a happy circumstance for 
 this country, and for the mass of mankind, besides serv- 
 ing to enhance the reputation of the author, if these 
 works could obtain a circulation which should place 
 them in the hands of every reader ; for if any tiling 
 could give stability to those principles, which form alike 
 the basis of his renown, and the elements of the splen- 
 did structure of free government which he was instru- 
 mental in establishing, it would be such an extensive 
 dissemination of his writings. Unfortunately, however, 
 the form in which they have appeared, is not the most 
 advantageous to the accomplishment of this desirable 
 purpose. The publication is too voluminous, and con- 
 sequently too expensive, to admit of a general circula- 
 
PREFACE. y 
 
 tion; nor is the mode of arrangement the best adapted 
 to its reception into ordinary use as a work of reference. 
 
 These considerations have suggested the plan of the 
 present undertaking, which aspires to no higher claims 
 than that of an analytic, and, it is hoped, a well assort- 
 ed generalization of the original publication. It has 
 been the leading object of the compilation, to condense 
 the most valuable substance of the four, within the com- 
 pass of one volume, and to supply what are presumed to 
 be essential wants of the former, by interweaving a con- 
 nected narrative of the Author's Life. The more im- 
 portant political papers of Mr Jefferson, contained in 
 the original works, have been copied into this, or their 
 substance faithfully stated ; and many others of impor- 
 tance, that have been procured from other sources, are 
 likewise introduced. 
 
 The selections from his private correspondence are 
 dispersed through the volume with reference to the topic 
 under consideration, more than to the order of time ; 
 and in making the quotations from this department, it 
 has been the object to bring the greatest quantity of 
 useful matter within the smallest space. Parts of let- 
 ters, therefore, are usually introduced — rarely the whole 
 of any one — but sufficient to give the full sense of the 
 writer on any required point, avoiding all extraneous 
 observations. The historical and biographical portions 
 af the work have also been derived, in great part, from 
 this pregnant source. In some cases the very language 
 of the author has been adopted, without invariably not- 
 ing it with the usual mark of credit. In all such cases, 
 
 however, the style or the sentiment will be sufficiently 
 J* 
 
VI PREFACE. 
 
 distinguishable to place it where it belongs. Some parts 
 of the narrative may ajDpear overwrough t with eulogy — 
 It is indeed a difficult matter to commemorate the deeds 
 of so distinguished a benefactor of the human race, with- 
 out yielding in some degree to the influence of a passion 
 which they are so justly calculated to inspire ; and the 
 writer does not scruple to admit, that he has less en- 
 deavored to restrain his own grateful feelings, than to 
 infuse them into the minds of his readers. 
 
INTRODUCTORY REMARKS. 
 
 BY A FRIEND TO THE EDITOR. 
 
 It was the good fortune of Washington to finish his 
 unexampled career of usefuhiess, with universal appro- 
 bation. No such fate has attended any of his contem- 
 poraries, or successors. Mr Jefferson had many and 
 powerful opponents to contend against, during the whole 
 •/ of his political career. Some of these were no doubt 
 influenced by personal jealousies, and many by an honest 
 difference of opinion. 
 
 Where these differences involved matters of local or 
 of temporary importance, it could answer no useful pur- 
 pose to bring them forward for renewed discussion at 
 this late day ; — and in the volume before us everything 
 calculated to revive party animosities has been studious- 
 ly avoided, without however suppressing any thing that 
 was necessary for historical accuracy, or to elucidate 
 deliberate opinions, and develop essential traits of cha- 
 racter. 
 
Vlll INTRODUCTORY REMARKS. 
 
 To such readers as have not been favored with the 
 perusal of the valuable edition of Mr Jefferson's writ- 
 ings already alluded to, this unpretending volume may 
 prove a safe guide to the true character and sentiments 
 of that distinguished man. 
 
 The difference between Mr Jefferson and his honest 
 opponents was this. The republicanism of Thomas 
 Jefferson was too thorough, too radical, to be adopted 
 even by a considerable portion of the best men of the 
 Revolution. A disinterested sacrifice of personal safety 
 to the welfare of the country was the same on the part 
 of all, but Mr Jefferson had greater confidence in the 
 wisdom and discretion of the people, than was enter- 
 tained by a majority of his patriotic and devoted fellow- 
 laborers. Upon the organization of the government 
 under the federal constitution, this difference in opinion 
 soon became apparent in the councils of the nation — 
 and Mr Jefferson stood forth the champion of Democra- 
 cy. The more aristocratic party were inclined to re- 
 strain the people, under the apprehension that they 
 were unqualified to govern themselves. This party was 
 designated by the name of Federalists, anid soon em- 
 bodied a very large proportion of the wealth and intelh- 
 gcnce of the nation. Deriving our literature, our laws, 
 and our most respected usages from a nation where 
 arbitrary institutions prevailed, it was quite natural that 
 our intelligent citizens should desire an approximation 
 to that form of government, and suppose it indispensa- 
 ble to tie up the hands of the people, in order to save 
 them from working their own destruction. 
 
 There can be no reason to doubt that here was an 
 
INTRODUCTORY REMARKS. IX 
 
 honest difference of opinion on the part of the Federal 
 and of the Democratic leaders, whatever may have been 
 the wicked animosity which grew up in the breasts of 
 designing and ignorant men who afterwards arranged 
 themselves under the banners of each party. Without 
 pretending therefore to decide at this time to what extent 
 either party might have erred, it is certainly to be desir- 
 ed that the preJLKJices which belonged to those times 
 should now so far be overcome, as to qualify us to ap- 
 preciate fairly^the talents and services of the great men 
 of the Revolution, and render a just tribute to their 
 merit, besides aiding us in the more necessary duty of 
 acquainting ourselves with the character of our govern- 
 ment, of our existing institutions, and their effect upon 
 the happiness of the people. 
 
 From the commencement of the Revolutionary strug- 
 gle down to the period of his death, Mr Jefferson's pre- 
 dominating fear was, that the rights of the people would 
 be disregarded. Neither was his love of liberty and of 
 human happiness confined to one race of men. So ear- 
 ly as 1769, upon his first taking a seat in the legislature 
 of Virginia, he had the hardihood to rise amidst that 
 body of ' inexorable planters,' and propose a bill for the 
 ''permission of the Emancipation of Slaves. '' 
 
 Whilst a member of the Continental Congress, he 
 made use of these remarkable words : — 
 
 * It can never be too often repeated, that the time for 
 fixing every essential right on a legal basis, is while our 
 rulers are honest, and ourselves united. From the con- 
 clusion of this war we shall be going down hill. It will 
 not then he necessary to resort every moment to the people 
 for support. They will he forgotten^ therefore^ and their 
 
X INTRODUCTORY REMARKS. 
 
 rights disregarded. They will forget themselves but in 
 the sole faculty of making money, and will never think 
 of uniting to effect a due respect of their rights. The 
 shackles, therefore, which shall not be knocked off at 
 the conclusion of this war, will remain on us long, will 
 be made heavier and heavier, till our rights shcdl revive^ 
 or expire, in a convulsion.^ 
 
 Many of us now see the truth of this prophecy — 
 many of the present and of the coming generation may 
 see and feel it both* 
 
 Mr Jefferson was among the first to perceive the fal- 
 lacy of sustaining individual rights at the expense of 
 the general welfare. With our English ancestors, the 
 first struggle for civil liberty, was to guard the property 
 of the private citizen against the encroachments of the 
 crown and of the nobility. All that was thus gained to 
 untitled individuals was considered as subtracted from 
 an arbitrary and irresponsible power, over which the 
 people possessed no control. With us, the government 
 is not an independent and irresponsible power, but the 
 agent of the people, and controlled by their wilK There 
 is, therefore, and there can be, under our form of gov- 
 ernment, no permanent usurpation on the part of those 
 who administer it, and from this source we have no ar- 
 bitrary influence to apprehend that the ordinary remedy 
 of election may not effectually control. 
 
 The same right to acquired property which may be 
 indispensable to the private citizen, who needs a defence 
 against the usurpation of hereditary power, is not called 
 for under a republican government, where nothing can 
 be assumed by those in authority which does not imme- 
 diately revert to the people. What Justice Blackstone, 
 
INTRODUCTORY REMARKS. XI 
 
 therefore, in speaking of the British constitution, might 
 correctly term a private right, would operate with us, as 
 a public wrong. 
 
 Many principles which we have adopted under the 
 name of individual or private rights, and which original- 
 ly obtained as a necessary defence against arbitrary 
 power, are wholly inapplicable under our form of gov- 
 ernment, and so far as persisted in, place individuals 
 and incorporated associations above the control of law, 
 and wholly independent of what is usually considered 
 the province of legislation. They are invested with pri- 
 vileges that were created as a defence against abuses which 
 can have no existence in a free commonwealth. 
 
 That principle, therefore, which universally prevails, 
 and which is adopted and placed upon the most stable 
 foundation among us, — the existing Right to Property, 
 — is in fact an arbitrary principle, w4th no foundation in 
 natural justice, having been originally set up to counteract 
 other and greater usurpations, and preserve something 
 like a balance of power in the miserable schemes of gov- 
 ernment which have hitherto afflicted the human family. 
 The Right to Property, as now sustained to individuals, 
 and as in some measure aggravated by charters to asso- 
 ciations, may be considered the only permanent usurpa- 
 tion that can exist under our constitution. It tolerates 
 an inequality of possession that must forever prove fatal 
 to republicanism, and gives to a successful few as gall- 
 ing a superiority over the multitude as could be confer- 
 red by hereditary rank, or by any other usurpation that 
 prevails under more arbitrary forms of government. 
 Upon this subject the American people will soon re- 
 quire a reform. They will eventually effect one. In 
 
XU INTRODUCTORY REMARKS. 
 
 the mean time would it not be prudent that the best in- 
 formed, the most judicious among us, should approach 
 this subject as a matter well deserving the consideration 
 of a free people, — strip it of its borrowed sanctity, make 
 it a subject of rational inquiry, and place it, where it 
 has never yet been fairly recognized, within the pale of 
 Legislation, 
 
CONTENTS 
 
 CHAPTER i. 
 
 Nativity of Mr Jefferson. Peculiarity in the concealment of his 
 birth-day — Motives of his conduct in this particular — Reply to the 
 city authorities of Washington — To Levi Lincoln, pp. 21, 22. Ge- 
 nealogy of Mr Jefferson — Peculiarity by which it was marked- 
 Anecdote by Mr Madison. Ciiaracter of his father. His early ed- 
 lication — Critical position of his boyhood — His juvenile mind and 
 habits — Fondness for the classics — For what qualities distinguished 
 in College, pp. 23-26. Circumstances which decided the particular 
 direction of his life. His character of Dr -Small — Of Greorge Wythe. 
 Commences the study of Law — Extent of his researches. His de- 
 scription of the speech of Patrick Henry against the Stamp-act— 
 Influence of that scene upon his subsequent career. Mottos of hie 
 Seals, pp. 27-31. Enters the Practice of the Law — Professional 
 celebrity. Qualifications as an Advocate, pp. 32-34. 
 
 CHAPTER IL 
 
 Mr Jefferson comes of age. Elected to the Legislature. His 
 first effort in that body for the Emancipation of Slaves — Over- 
 whelming defeat of the measure. Progress of the Revolution. 
 System of Non-intercourse adopted by the Colonies — Its utility as 
 an engine of coercion. Retaliatory resolutions of the British Par- 
 liament. Counter resolutions. Germ of the American Union. 
 Sudden dissolution of the Legislature. Jefferson and others rally a 
 private meeting at the Raleigh tavern. Influence of the revolu- 
 tionary proceedings in Virginia, pp. 35-41. Apathy of the Colo- 
 nists — How viewed by Mr Jefferson. He devises measures for 
 arousing them. Private meeting to set the machinery in motion-^ 
 2 
 
Xiv CONTENTS. 
 
 Committees of Correspondence established — Agency of this measure 
 in promoting a General Congress. Legislature dissolved, pp. 42-46. 
 Committees of Correspondence appointed by the other Colonies. 
 News of the Boston Port Bill. Popular effervescence. Measures 
 set in motion by Mr Jefferson. Appointment of a general Fast in 
 Virginia — Mr Jefferson's draft of the proclamation — Effect of this 
 measure throughout the Colonies. Legislature again dissolved. 
 Association entered into by the members. Recommendation of a 
 General Congress, pp. 47-52. 
 
 CHAPTER IIL 
 
 The other Colonies unite in the measure of a General Congress, 
 First democratic Convention in Virginia. Mr Jefferson elected a 
 member. Instructions proposed by him for the Congressional Del- 
 egates — Published by the Convention under the title of Summary 
 View of the Rights of British America' — Re-published by the Whigs 
 in Parliament — Bill of Attainder commenced against the author — 
 The Convention virtually assumes the government of the colony, 
 pp. 53-60. Inequality of sentiment in the Convention. Grounds 
 taken by Mr Jefferson. Resolution for putting the Colony into a 
 state of warlike defence — Its effect upon the older members — Vio- 
 lent debates ensue — Conduct of the opposition on its passage. Mr 
 Jefferson elected a Delegate to Congress, pp. 61-65. Letter of Mr 
 J. to Dr Small, in England. The regal Legislature of Virginia 
 meets. Conciliatory Proposition of Lord North — Mr Jefferson de- 
 signated to prepare the answer. Flight of the royal Governor, pp. 
 66-71. 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 Mr Jefferson takes his seat in the Continental Congress. He 
 is appointed on the committee to prepare a Declaration of the 
 Causes of taking up arms — Character of the document. Dispari- 
 ty of sentiment in Congress. Extract from the War Manifesto, 
 pp. 72-75. Mr Jefferson designated to prepare the answer of 
 Congress to Lord North's Proposition. Re-elected to Congress. 
 His draught of a Preamble, Declaration of Rights, and Constitution 
 
CONTENTS. XV 
 
 for Virginia, His opinion on the Constitution as adopted, and on 
 popular government in general, at this epoch, pp. 76-84. Virginia 
 instructs her Delegates in Congress to declare Independence. Pre- 
 paratory steps of Congress. Mr Jefferson appointed to prepare an 
 animated Address. Introductory motion of Independence — Power- 
 ful resistance to the measure. Committee appointed to prepare a 
 Declaration of Independence— Mx Jefferson designated to make the 
 draught — His report, pp. 85-88. Vehement opposition to the De- 
 claration — Parts stricken out. The original instrument, with the 
 alterations. Reception of the Declaration by the people. Extracts 
 from his writings. Re-elected to Congress — Reasons for declining 
 — Retirement. Appointed Commissioner to France — Declines. 
 Extract from his private memoranda, pp. 89-107. 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 Mr Jefferson resumes his seat in the Virginia legislature. His 
 bill for establishing a Judiciary System — For abolishing the Law of 
 Entails. Biases of Mr Jefferson against Aristocracy. His eulogi- 
 um upon agriculturists. View of his objects in repealing the law 
 of Entails. Preamble to the act, pp 108-112. His attack upon the 
 hierarchy. History of the Church establishment in Virginia. Re- 
 sistance of the privileged order. Final success of his efforts — Im- 
 portance of this achievement. He introduces a bill for abolishing 
 the slave trade, pp. 113-119. He introduces a resolution for revis- 
 ing the legal Code of Virginia — Appointed, with others, to execute 
 the work. Project for a Dictator — Resistance of Mr Jefferson. 
 Meeting of the revisers of the Laws — Distribution of the labor — 
 General propositions of Mr Jefferson — Opinion of Mr Pendleton. 
 Letter to Dr Franklin. Passage of his bill for abolishing the Slave 
 traffic — Order in which the example of Virginia was followed by 
 other States. Committee of Revisers complete their task, pp. 
 120-133. 
 
 CHAPTER VI, 
 
 Revisors report to the Legislature — Opinion of Mr Madison on 
 the Revised Code — Principal innovations by Mr J. — His bill for 
 abrogating the right of Primogeniture — Opposition of the aristocra- 
 
XVI CONTENTS. 
 
 cy. Bill for the establishment of Religious Freedom, pp. 134-140. 
 Bill for the Emancipation of Slaves — Extracts from his writings. 
 His Criminal Code — Extent of its innovations on the prevailing 
 system — Amendments proposed by him — Passed. His Bill for the 
 General Diffusion of Knowledge — Fate of the Bill in the Legisla- 
 ture. Remarks on the general merits of the Revised Code. Re- 
 moval of Burgoyne's troops to Charlottesville, pp. 141-156, 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 Mr Jefferson elected Governor. He institutes retaliatory measures 
 on British prisoners — Remonstrance of the British General — His 
 reply — Approbation of the Commander in Chief. Effect of his poli- 
 cy upon the enemy. His measures for extending the western es- 
 tablishments of Virginia — Success. Virginia cedes her unappro- 
 priated territory to the United States — Effect of this measure, pp. 
 157-164. Re-elected Governor. Distressing situation of Virginia. 
 Extraordinary powers conferred on the Governor. Invasion of the 
 State under Gen. Leslie. Invasion under Arnold. Capture of the 
 metropolis. Attempt to seize Arnold. Invasion of Virginia by 
 Cornwallis. Governor's appeal to the Commander in Chief for 
 aid. Mr Jefferson declines a re-election. Closing events of his 
 administration. Approbatory resolution of the Legislature. Tarl- 
 ton's attack on Monticello. Story of Carter's mountain. Narrow 
 escape of Mr Jefferson, pp. 165-178. Writes his Notes on Virginia. 
 His comparison of American genius with that of Europe — Remarks 
 on the Constitution of Virginia — on Slavery — on Free Inquiry in 
 Religion. Appointed a Commissioner to negotiate peace. His pur- 
 suits in retirement. Description of him by a traveller, pp. 179-194. 
 
 CHAPTER VIIL 
 
 Re-elected to Congress. Washington's resignation of the com- 
 mand of the army — Description of the ceremony. Appointed chair- 
 man of the committee on the ratification of the treaty of Peace — 
 Debates. Contentious character of Congress, pp. 195-199. Ap- 
 pointed to draught a system of Uniform Currency for the United 
 States, and establish a Money Unit — Adoption of his plan. Is chair- 
 man of a committee to revise the ti;easury Department — to draught 
 
CONTENTS. XVU 
 
 a Plan of Government for the Western Territories. On a commit- 
 tee of retrenchment — of locating and disposing the Western lands. 
 Measures taken by Congress for investing the General Government 
 with exclusive power to regulate Commerce, pp. 200-205. He 
 submits a proposition for appointing a ' Committee of the States,' 
 to serve during the recesses of Congress — Subsequent failure of the 
 scheme ; humorous anecdote of Doctor Franklin. General Wash- 
 ington consults him on the Cincinnati institution. Appointed Min- 
 ister Plenipotentiary, with Franklin and Adams, pp. 206-213. 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 Accepts the appointment of Minister to Europe — Arrival in 
 France. Mr Adams joins his colleagues at Paris. General form 
 of treaty. Result of the conference with the French Minister. 
 Result of their propositions to the several Powers of Europe, pp. 
 214-218. Appointed Resident Minister at the Court of Versailles 
 — Reception at that court. Visit to London — Reception at the 
 Court of St James. His tribute to La Fayette, and the Count de 
 Vergennes. His project to engage the principal European Powers 
 against the Piratical States — Letter to Mr Adams — His proposals — 
 Their reception, pp. 219-225. His measures for securing the for- 
 eign credit of the United States — Visit to Holland. Extracts, on 
 the state of society, &c, in Europe. Insurrections in America — 
 How viewed by him. Extracts from his letters to America. Move- 
 ments in the United States for forming a Constitution — Agency of 
 Mr Jefferson. His opinions on the new Constijtution. His in- 
 fluence in producing the amendments, pp. 226-245. Proposed 
 abandonment of the Mississippi — Letter to Mr Madison. He intro- 
 duces into the Southern States upland cotton and the olive tree. 
 Tour through France and Italy — Extracts. His scientific and lite- 
 rary efforts in France. Endeavors to improve the architecture of 
 the United States, pp. 246-256. Opening scenes of the French 
 Revolution. His Letter, accompanied with a Charter of Rights — 
 Consultation at his house — Apology — Character of the Queen. 
 Departure, and Farewell tribute to France. Arrival in Virginia, 
 Receives the appointment of Secretary of State. Arrival at the 
 Seat of Government, pp. 257-267, 
 
XVlll CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 Political elements of Washington's cabinet. Hamilton, Adams, 
 and Knox. Extensive duties of the State Department. His Re- 
 port on Coins, &c. — Its outlines. Report on the Cod and Whale 
 Fisheries ,: its general features. Report on Commerce and Naviga- 
 tion, pp. 268-275. His duties as to foreign affairs. Extracts from 
 his instructions to our minister in Spain, on the Navigation of the 
 Mississippi, &c. His controversy with Mr Hammond. Instruc- 
 tions to our minister at London on Impressment. Intemperate 
 character of the French minister. Request for his recall decided 
 upon. Mr Jefferson's retirement from the Cabinet, pp. 276-288. 
 
 CHAPTER XL 
 
 View of Mr Jefferson in retirement, &c. — Extracts from his 
 works. Appointed President of the Amer. Philo. Society; his an- 
 swer. Question of a successor to Washington agitated — Character 
 of the contest. Election of Adams, pp. 289-293. 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 Mr Jefferson's arrival as Vice President, and precaution to elude 
 ceremony. Determination regarding executive consultations. Sep- 
 aration between him and the President. Parties bring out their 
 candidates for the Presidency. Character of the contest. Licen- 
 tiousness of the* Press against Jefferson. Notice of some of the 
 principal libels on his character; his singular passiveness. Extract 
 from his works. Result of the election by the people. Constitu- 
 tional difficulty. Election scenes in the House, pp. 294-302. 
 
 CHAPTER XIIL 
 
 Inauguration of Jefferson. Description of the ceremony. Inau- 
 gural address. Formation of the Cabinet. Removal of officers, 
 and rules of action. Private rescript of reform meditated by him. 
 Abolition of levees. Anecdote of Washington. Rule of receiving 
 company, pp. 303-308. Principle of reform. Reduction of the 
 army and navy ; abolition of superfluous offices, &c. Measures of 
 
CONTENTS. Xix 
 
 the President relating to the international code of mankind. Chas- 
 tisement of the Mediterranean pirates. His first annual message. 
 Propositions of reform. Effect of the proposition to abolish inter- 
 nal taxes, and his private explanation, pp. 309-318. System of 
 finance adopted by the President. Measures adopted by him for the 
 Purchase of Louisiana. Ratification of the treaty. Policy of the 
 Executive towards the Indians — Towards foreign nations. His views 
 on commerce, treaties and alliances. Rejection of the treaty nego- 
 tiated with Great Britain. Opinions of the President on the Navy. 
 Letter of John Adams to him, and reply. Gun Boats, pp. 319-342. 
 Re-elected. Second inaugural address. His views on the most eli- 
 gible arrangement of the Tariff after the discharge of the public 
 debt, and on the distribution of the surplus revenue. Conspiracy 
 of Burr; his designs, and trial. Immovable tenure of the Judicia- 
 ry. Correspondence of Jefferson on the subject. Foreign rela- 
 tions of the United States. Embargo. Impressment. Attack on 
 the Chesapeake. Causes of opposition to the Embargo, pp. 343- 
 355. Policy of the President on the Freedom of Speech, and the 
 Press — Anecdote. He discharges those suffering under the Sedi- 
 tion law. Refuses to permit prosecutions for libels against himself. 
 His policy on Freedom of Religion. His personal religious observ- 
 ances. Review of the minor traits of his administration. Exam- 
 ples of his simplicity and disinterestedness, pp. 356-361. Private 
 labors, &c, of the President. His syllabus of the doctrines of 
 Christianity. Correspondence with literary men, and different so- 
 cieties in Europe. Efforts for the introduction of Vaccination. 
 His labors on colonization. Improvements bestowed on the city of 
 Washington. Anecdote of Bonaparte. Urgency of the people for 
 his second re-election, pp. 362-368. Extracts from his letters. 
 Retires to private life. Gratulations of the people. His reply to 
 the citizens of Washington. He declines all ceremony. Address 
 of the citizens of his native county — His affecting reply. Farewell 
 address of the Virginia Legislature, pp. 369-375. 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 His retirement. His principal objects of employment. His 
 OPINIONS — On the Constitution, and popular Rights — On the 
 
XX CONTENTS. 
 
 Relative Powers of the General and State governments — On the 
 Relative Powers of the three branches of the General government — 
 On Internal Improvement, constructive powers, &c. — On Domestic 
 Manufactures — On the Laboring Classes, Agriculture — On the Na- 
 tional Bank — On Political Parties — His character of the Sovereigns 
 of Europe — His portraiture of General Washington — On Religion 
 — On the Loss of Friends. On the Studies of young men — On 
 Rules for the regulation of their moral conduct. His Physical Hab- 
 its, pp. 376-395. His system of employment in retirement. De- 
 scription of Monticello. Portraiture of Mr Jefferson, by a guest. 
 Number of letters received by him. Treachery of correspondents. 
 His efforts to revive ancient affections between Mr Adams and 
 himself. Receives a friendly opening from Mr Adams. Letter to 
 Dr Rush. Correspondence with Adams. Extracts, pp. 396-413. 
 University of Virginia — His agency, and leading object in its es- 
 tablishment. State of his finances. Alarming state of his health. 
 Letter to the mayor of Washington. Particulars of his last hours. 
 Extraordinary circumstances of his death. Epitaph by himself, pp. 
 414-431. 
 
LIFE 
 
 OF 
 
 THOMAS JEFFERSON 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 Thomas Jefferson was born April 2d, 1743, on the 
 farm called Shadwell, adjoining Monticello, in the coun- 
 ty of Albermarle, Virginia. The date of his nativity was 
 unknown to the public until after his decease. Repeated 
 attempts had been made to ascertain it, by formal appli- 
 cations to him on various occasions, both by individuals 
 and public bodies; but from scruples of a patriotic nature, 
 he always declined revealing it, and enjoined the same 
 privacy upon his family. The principles which deter- 
 mined him on this subject, were the great indelicacy and 
 impropriety of permitting himself to be made the recipi- 
 ent of a homage, so incompatible with the true dignity 
 and independence of the republican character ; and the 
 still greater repugnance which he should feel, at seeing 
 the birth-day honors of the Republic transferred, in any 
 3 
 
22 
 
 LIFE OF 
 
 degree, to any individual. Soon after his inauguration 
 in 1801, he was waited on by the Mayor and Corporation 
 of the city of Washington, with the request that he would 
 communicate the anniversary of his birth, as they were 
 desirous of commemorating an event which had confer- 
 red such distinguished glory upon their country. He 
 replied, ' The only birth-day which I recognize, is that 
 of my country's liberties.' In August, 1803, he received 
 a similar communication from Levi Lincoln, in behalf of 
 a certain association in Boston ; to which he replied : 
 ' Disapproving myself of transferring the honors and 
 veneration for the great birth-day of our Republic, to any 
 individual, or of dividing them with individuals, I have 
 declined letting my own birth-day be known, and have 
 engaged my family not to communicate it.' This has 
 been the uniform answer to every apphcation of the kind. 
 
 On the paternal side, Mr Jefferson could number no 
 titles to high or ancient lineage. His ancestors, however, 
 were of sohd respectability, and among the first settlers 
 Gf YirginiH, They emigrated to this cou ntry from Wales, 
 and from near the mountain of Snowden. His grand- 
 father was the first of whom we have any particular in- 
 formation. He had three sons ; Thomas, who died young; 
 Field, who resided on the waters of the Roanoke, and 
 left numerous descendants ; and Peter, the father of the 
 subject of these memoirs, who settled in Albemarle 
 county, on the lands called Shadwell. He was the third 
 or fourth settler in that region of the country. They 
 were all gentlemen of property and influence in the col- 
 ony. 
 
 But the chief glory of Mr Jefferson's genealogy was 
 the sturdy contempt of hereditary honors and distinctions, 
 with which the whole race was imbued. It was a strong 
 genealogical feature, pervading all the branches of the 
 primitive stock, and forming a remarkable head and con- 
 centration in the individual who was destined to confer 
 immortality upon the name. With him, indeed, if there 
 
THOMAS JEFFERSON. 23 
 
 was any one sentiment which predominated in early life, 
 and which lost none of its rightful ascendency through a 
 long career of enlightened and philanthropic effort, it 
 was that of the natural equality of all men in their rights 
 and wants ; and of the nothingness of those pretensions 
 which * are gained without merit and forfeited without 
 crime.' The boldness with which, on his first entrance 
 into manhood, he attacked and overthrew the deep rooted 
 institutions of Primogeniture and Entails, forms a stri- 
 king commentary upon this attribute of his character. 
 An anecdote is related by Mr Madison, which is no less 
 apposite and striking. During the infant stages of our 
 separate sovereignty, the slowness with which the wheels 
 of government moved, and the awkwardness of its forms, 
 were everywhere the prominent topics of conversation. 
 On one occasion, at which Mr Jefferson was present, a 
 question being started concerning the best mode of pro- 
 viding the executive chief, it was among other opinions, 
 gravely advanced that an hereditary designation was 
 preferable to any elective process that could be devised. 
 At the close of an eloquent effusion against the agitations 
 and animosities of a popular choice, and in favor of birth, 
 as on the whole affording a better chance for a suitable 
 head of the government, Mr Jefferson with a smile re- 
 marked, that he had heard of a University somewhere, in 
 which the Professorship of Mathematics was hereditary ! 
 
 His father, Peter Jefferson, was born February 29th, 
 1707-8 ; and intermarried in 1739 with Jane Randolph 
 of the age of 19, daughter of Isham Randolph, one of 
 the seven sons of that name and family settled at Dun- 
 geoness in Goochland county, who trace their pedigree 
 far back in England and Scotland ; ' to which,* says Mr 
 Jefferson, ♦ let every one ascribe the faith and merit he 
 chooses.' He was a self-educated man ; but rose steadily 
 by his own exertions, and acquired considerable distinc- 
 tion. He was commissioned, jointly with Joshua Fry, 
 professor of mathematics in William and Mary College, 
 
34 LIFE OF 
 
 to designate the boundary line between Virginia and 
 North-Carolina ; and was afterwards employed, with the 
 same gentleman, to construct the first regular map of 
 Virginia. He died August 17, 1757, leaving a widow, 
 with six daughters, and two sons, of whom Thomas was 
 the elder. To both the sons he left large estates ; to 
 Thomas the Shadwell lands, where he was born, and 
 which included Monticello ; to his brother the estate on 
 James river, called Snowden, after the reputed birth- 
 place of the family. The mother of Mr Jefferson sur- 
 vived to the fortunate year of 1776, the most memorable 
 epoch in the annals of her country, and in the life of her 
 son. 
 
 At the age of five, Thomas was placed by his father at 
 an English school, where he continued four years ; at the 
 expiration of which, he was transferred to a latin school, 
 where he remained five years, under the tuition of Mr 
 Douglass, a clergyman from Scotland. W^ith the rudi- 
 ments of the latin and Greek languages, he acquired at 
 the same time, a knowledge of the French. At this pe- 
 riod his father died, leaving him an orphan only fourteen 
 years of age, and without a relative or friend competent 
 to direct or advise him. 
 
 An interesting reminiscence of this critical period of 
 his boyhood, and of the simple moral process by which 
 he subdued and wrought into instruments of the greatest 
 good, the perilous ciixumstances of his position, is con- 
 tained in an aflfectionate letter, written more than fifty 
 years afterwards, to his grandson then in Philadelphia. 
 It is replete with sound admonition, applicable to every 
 condition of youth, besides affording an insight into the 
 juvenile mind and habits of the writer. 
 
 ' Your situation, thrown at such a distance from us 
 and alone, cannot but give us all great anxieties for you. 
 As much has been secured for you by your particular 
 position and the acquaintance to which you have been 
 recommended, as could be done towards shielding you 
 
THOMAS JEFFERSON. 25 
 
 from the dangers which surround you. But thrown on 
 a wide world, among entire strangers, without a friend 
 or guardian to advise, so young too, and with so little 
 experience of mankind, your dangers are great, and still 
 your safety must rest on yourself. A determination never 
 to do what is wrong, prudence, and good humor, will go 
 far towards securing to you the estimation of the world. 
 When I recollect that at fourteen years of age, the whole 
 care and direction of myself was thrown on myself en- 
 tirely, without a relation or friend qualified to advise or 
 guide me, and recollect the various sorts of bad company 
 with which I associated from time to time, I am astonished 
 I did not turn off with some of them, and become as 
 worthless to society as they were. I had the good fortune 
 to become acquainted very early with some characters of 
 very high standing, and to feel the incessant wish that I 
 could ever become what they were. Under temptations 
 and difficulties, I would ask myself what would Dr Small, 
 Mr Wythe, Peyton Randolph, do in this situation ? 
 What course in it will ensure me their approbation ? I 
 am certain that this mode of deciding on my conduct, 
 tended more to its correctness than any reasoning powers 
 I possessed- Knowing the even and dignified line they 
 pursued, I could never doubt for a moment which of two 
 courses would be in character for them. Whereas, seek- 
 ing the same object through a process of moral reasoning, 
 and with the jaundiced eye of youth, I should often have 
 erred. From the circumstances of my position, I was 
 often thrown into the society of horse-racers, card-play- 
 ers, fox hunters, scientific and professional men, and of dig- 
 nified men; and many a time have I asked myself, in the 
 enthusiastic moment of the death of a fox, the victory of 
 a favorite horse, the issue of a question eloquently argued 
 at the bar, or in the great council of the nation, well, 
 which of these kinds of reputation should I prefer 1 That 
 of a horse-jockey ? a fox-hunter? an orator? or the honest' 
 advocate of my country's rights ? Be assured, my dear 
 Jefferson, that these little returns into ourselves, this 
 self-catechising habit, is not trifling, nor useless, but 
 leads to the prudent selection and steady pursuit of what 
 is right.' 
 
 On the death of his father, Mr Jefferson was placed 
 3* 
 
26 LIFE OP 
 
 under the instruction of the Rev Mr Maury, to complete 
 the necessary preparation for college. He continued 
 with Mr Maury two years; and then (1760) at the age 
 of seventeen he entered the college of William and Maiy, 
 at which he was graduated, two years after, with the 
 highest honors of the institution. 
 
 While in college he was more remarkable for solidity 
 than sprightliness of intellect. His faculties were so 
 even and well balanced, that no particular endowment 
 appeared pre-eminent. His course was not marked by 
 any of those eccentricities which often presage the rise 
 of extraordinary genius ; but by that constancy of pursuit, 
 that inflexibility of purpose, that bold spirit of inquiry, 
 and thirst for knowledge, which are the surer prognostics 
 of future greatness. His habits were those of patience 
 and severe application, which, aided by a quick and vig- 
 orous apprehension, a talent of close and logical combi- 
 nation, and a retentive memory, laid the foundation suf- 
 ficiently broad and strong for those extensive acquisitions 
 which he subsequently made. The mathematics were 
 his favorite study, and in them he particularly excelled. 
 Nevertheless, he distinguished himself in all the branches 
 of education embraced in the established course of that 
 college. To his devotion to philosophy and science, he 
 united an exquisite taste for the fine arts. In those of 
 architecture, painting and sculpture, he made himself 
 such an adept as to be afterwards accounted one of the 
 best critics of the a^e. For music he had an uncommon 
 passion; and his hours of relaxation were passed in exer- 
 cising his skill upon the violin, for which he evinced an 
 early and extravagant predilection. His fondness for 
 the ancient classics strengthened continually with his 
 strength, insomuch that it is said he scarcely passed a 
 day, in after life, without reading a portion of them. 
 The same remark is applicable to his passion for the 
 mathematics. He became so well acquainted with both 
 the great languages of antiquity as to read them with 
 
THOMAS JEFFERSON. 27 
 
 ease ; and so far perfected himself in French as to be- 
 come famihar with it, which was, subsequently, of essen- 
 tial service to him in his diplomatic labors. He could 
 read and speak the Italian language, and had a compe- 
 tent knowledge of the Spanish. He also made himself 
 master of the Anglo-Saxon, as a root of the English, and 
 ' an element in legal philology.' 
 
 The acquaintances he happily formed in college pro- 
 bably determined the cast and direction of his ambition. 
 These were the first characters in the whole province ; 
 among whom, he has placed on record the names of 
 three individuals who were particularly instrumental in 
 fixing his future destinies : viz. Dr Small, one of the pro- 
 fessors in college, ' who made him his daily compan- 
 ion;' Gov. Fauquier, 'the ablest man who had ever filled 
 that office, to whose acquaintance and familiar table ' 
 he was admitted; and George Wythe, 'his faithful and 
 beloved mentor in youth, and his most afifectionate friend 
 through life.' 
 
 ' It was, ' says he, ' my great good fortune, and what 
 probably fixed the destinies of my life, that Dr William 
 Small, of Scotland, was then professor of mathematics, 
 a man profound in most of the useful branches of science, 
 with a happy talent of communication, correct and gen- 
 tlemanly manners, and an enlarged and liberal mind. 
 He most happily for me, became soon attached to me, 
 and made me his daily companion when not engaged in 
 the school ; and from his conversation I got my first 
 views of the expansion of science, and of the system of 
 things in which we are placed. Fortunately, the philo- 
 sophical chair became vacant soon after my arrival at 
 college, and he was appointed to fill it per interim ; and 
 he was the first who ever gave, in that college, regular 
 lectures in Ethics, Rhetoric, and Belles Lettres.' 
 
 To Governor Fauquier, with whom he v/as in habits 
 of intimacy, is also ascribed a high character. With 
 the exception of an unfortunate passion for gaming, he 
 was every thing that could have been wished for by Vir- 
 
28 LIFE OF 
 
 giiiia, under the royal government. ' With him,' con- 
 tinues Mr Jefferson, ' and at his table, Dr Small and Mr 
 Wythe, his amici omnium horarum, and myself, formed a 
 partie quarree, and to the habitual conversations on these 
 occasions, I owed much instruction.' 
 
 George Wythe was emphatically a second father to 
 young Jefferson. He was born about the year 1727, on the 
 shores of the Chesapeake. His education had been neg- 
 lected by his parents; and himself had led an idle and volup- 
 tuous life until the age of thirty; but by an extraordinary 
 effort of self-recovery at that point of time, he overcame 
 both the want and the waste of early advantages. He 
 was one of the foremost of the Virginia patriots during 
 the revolution ; and one of the highest legal, legislative, 
 and judicial characters which that State has furnished. 
 He was early elected to the House of Delegates, then 
 called the House of Burgesses, and continued in it until 
 transferred to Congress, in 1775, He was one of the 
 signers of the Declaration of Independence, of which he 
 had been an eminent supporter. The same year he was 
 appointed by the Legislature of Virginia, one of the 
 celebrated committee to revise the laws of the State. 
 In 1777, he was chosen Speaker of the House of Dele- 
 gates ; and the same year was appointed Chancellor 
 of the State, an office which he held until his death, in 
 1806, a period of thirty years. 
 
 ' No man,' says Mr Jefferson, ' ever left behind him a 
 character more venerated than George Wythe. His 
 virtue was of the purest tint; his integrity inflexible, and 
 his justice exact ; of warm patriotism, and, devoted as 
 he was to liberty, and the natural and equal rights of 
 man, he might truly be called the Cato of his country, 
 without the avarice of the Roman ; for a more disinter- 
 ested person never lived. Temperance and regularity 
 in all his habits gave him general good health, and his 
 unaffected modesty and suavity of manners endeared him 
 to every one. He was of easy elocution, his language 
 chaste, methodical in the arrangement of his matter, 
 
THOMAS JEFFERSON. 29 
 
 ■ learned and logical in the use of it, and of great urbanity 
 in debate ; not quick of apprehension, but, with a little 
 time, profound in penetration, and sound in conclusion. 
 In philosophy he was firm, and neither troubling, nor 
 perhaps trusting, any one with his rehgious creed, he 
 left the world to the conclusion, that that religion must be 
 good which could produce a life of such exemplary virtue. 
 His stature was of the middle size, well formed and pro- 
 portioned, and the features of his face were manly, 
 comely, and engaging. Such was George Wythe, the 
 honor of his own, and the model of future times.' 
 
 Immediately on leaving college, Mr Jefferson engaged 
 in the study of the Law, under the direction of Mr 
 Wythe. Here,it is said, he became thoroughly acquaint- 
 ed with the civil-und common law; exploring every topic, 
 and fathoming every principle. Here also, he is said to 
 have acquired that facility, neatness, and order in busi- 
 ness, which gave him in effect, ' the hundred hands of 
 Briareus.' 9 With such a guide, and in such a school, all 
 the rudiments of intellectual greatness could not fail of 
 being stirred into action. The occasion was not long 
 wanting to display the master passion of his nature in 
 bold and prominent relief. 
 
 At the time when his faculties were strengthened by 
 manhood, an incident occurred, which fixed them in their 
 meditated sphere, and kindled his native ardor into a 
 flame. 
 
 That was the celebrated speech of Patrick Henry, 
 on the memorable resolutions of 1765, against the 
 Stamp-Act. Young Jefferson listened to the 'bold, 
 grand, and overwhelming eloquence ' of the orator of na- 
 ture ; the effect of which seems never to have lost its 
 sorcery over his mind. More than fifty years after- 
 wards he reverts to it with all the vividness of the first 
 impression. ' He appeared to me,' says he, ' to speak as 
 Homer wrote.' The effect was indeed tremendous. It 
 struck even that veteran and dignified assembly aghast! 
 The resolutions were moved by Henry, and seconded 
 
30 
 
 LIFE OP 
 
 by Mr Johnston. They were resisted by the whole mo- 
 narchical body of the House of Burgesses, as a matter 
 of course. Besides, they were deemed so ill advised in 
 point of time, as to rally in opposition to them all the 
 old members, including such men as Peyton Randolph, 
 Wythe, Pendleton, Nicholas, Bland, &c, honest patriots, 
 whose influence in the House, had till then been un- 
 broken. ' But,' says Jefterson, 'torrents of sublime elo- 
 quence from Henry, backed by the solid reasoning of 
 Johnston, prevailed. The last, however, and strongest 
 resolution, was carried but by a single vote. The debate 
 on it was most bloody. I was then but a student, and stood 
 at the door of communication between the house and the 
 lobby during the whole debate and vote ; and I well re- 
 member, that, after the numbers, on the division, were 
 told and declared from the chair, Peyton Randolph, the 
 Attorney-General, came out at the door where I was 
 
 standing, and said, as he entered the lobby,^' by , 1 
 
 would have given 500 guineas for a single vote : for one 
 vote would have divided the House, and Robinson was 
 in the chair, who he knew would have negatived the 
 resolution." ' It was in the midst of this magnificent 
 appeal that Henry is said to have exclaimed, in a voice 
 of thunder, ' Coesar had his Brutus — Charles the First 
 his Cromwell — and George the Third — ("Treason," 
 cried the Speaker — "treason, treason," echoed from 
 every part of the House. Henry faultered not ; but 
 rising to a loftier attitude, and fixing a determined eye 
 on the Speaker, finished his sentence with the firmest 
 emphasis,) may profit hy their example. If this be treason 
 make the most of it.'* ' I well remember,' says Jeffer- 
 son, 'the cry of treason, the pause of Henry at the name 
 of George the Third, and the presence of mind with 
 which he closed his sentence, and baffled the vociferated 
 charge.' 
 
 The grandeur of that scene, and the triumphant eclat 
 
 * Wirt's Life of Patrick Henry, page 65. 
 
THOMAS JEFFERSON. 31 
 
 of Henry, made the heart of young Jefferson ache for 
 the propitious moment vvhicli should enrol him among 
 the champions of persecuted humanity. The tone and 
 strength of his mind, at this early period, are indicated 
 by those emphatic mottos which he selected for his seals : 
 ' Ah eo lihertas, a quo spiritus,^ and ' Jlesistance to tyrants 
 is obedience to GodJ These mottos attracted great at- 
 tention, and were regarded as prophetic of his destiny. 
 They are wellrememhered to this day by the aged inhab- 
 itants of Virginia. The seals themselves are preserved 
 as sacred relics, by the family of Mr Jefferson ; and ac- 
 curate impressions of them in wax have been obtained 
 by his particular friends in various parts of the country. 
 
 Various attempts have been made to ascertain the 
 birth of opinions on the subject of American Independ- 
 ence ; and to fix the precise epoch, and the particular 
 individual, when and with whom the stupendous concep- 
 tion origii^ted. The enquiry has been attended with 
 no success, and is from the nature of the case incapable 
 of solution. It is evident that tiie measuxt; did not result 
 from any deliberate and preconcerted design on the part 
 of one, or of any number of individuals ; but from a 
 combination of causes, growing for the most part out of 
 the mistaken policy of the British Parliament, and fos- 
 tered and matured by its unyielding obstinacy. It vras 
 the slow and legitimate growth of political oppression, 
 assisted it is true, by the great advance of certain minds 
 beyond the general step of the age. To use the phrase- 
 ology of Mr Jefferson, ' it would be as difficult to say at 
 what moment the revolution began, and what incident 
 set it in motion, as to fix the moment that the embryo 
 becomes an animal, or the act which gives him a begin- 
 ning.' 
 
 It is certain that if this subject were examined with 
 reference to its bearing upon a Jefferson, it might with 
 equal propriety be advanced, that in those pointed inscrip- 
 tions which he selected in the fire of youth as the mottos 
 
32 LIFE OF 
 
 of his seals, we discover the germ, not merely of Ameri- 
 can emancipation but of European revolution, and of 
 the general amelioration of associated man throughout 
 the world. The revolution itself was but a preparatory 
 movement. The mere separation of the colonies from 
 the mother country, was but the introductory stage of 
 the grand and fundamental change through which they 
 were to pass to derive any essential advantages from the 
 act — to wit, the entire abrogation of royalty, and sub- 
 stitution of self-government. Nay, even this magnificent 
 result was but the first chapter in the history of the great 
 moral and political regeneration which is advancing 
 over the earth, and to which the revolution gave the 
 primary impulse. Unless contemplated in the broad 
 light of a contrast of principle, between the advocates of 
 republican and those of kingly government, into which 
 it finally resolved itself, it is of little importance to en- 
 quire what incident gave it birth, or who set it in motion. 
 Stopping at the point at which many, who were the 
 boldest at the outset, evidently wished it to stop, and v/ith 
 honest motives, the Revolution would have been nothing 
 more, in effect, than transferring the government to 
 other hands, without putting it into other forms ; and no 
 change would have been wrought in the political condi- 
 tion of the world. It would have been merely a spirited 
 and successful rebellion, or rather a struggle for power, 
 like that which long embroiled the royal races of the 
 Plantagenets, Tudors, and Stuarts, terminating at best 
 in a limited modification of the old system, and most 
 likely in its entire adoption, substituting George or John 
 the First in the place of George the Third. 
 
 The solution of the problem, therefore, if practicable, 
 would afford no criterion of the relative advance of the 
 leading minds of that period. But the question becomes 
 a rational one, and assumes a powerful interest, if pre- 
 sented in its proper aspect, with whom those eternal rules 
 of political reason and right originated, which crowned 
 
THOMAS JEFFERSON. 
 
 33 
 
 with glory and immortality the American Revolution, 
 making it one in substance as well as form 1 To whom 
 belongs the honor of conceiving the grand project that 
 gave to those detached fragments of empire which formed 
 the nucleus of the American nation, not only shape and 
 organization, but a new projectile impulse, to revolve in 
 an untried orbit, under the control of a new equilibrium 
 of forces 1 Viewing the subject under these, its ?noral 
 phases, it becomes of some consequence to ascertain the 
 origin and progress of individual opinions. 
 
 In 1767, Mr Jefferson was inducted into the practice 
 of the Law, at the bar of the General Court, under the 
 auspices of his preceptor and friend, Mr Wythe. He 
 brought with him into practice the whole body of ancient 
 and modern jurisprudence, text and commentary, from 
 its rudest monuments in Anglo-Saxon, to its latest deposi- 
 tories in the vernacular tongue. Well systematised in his 
 his mind, and ready for use at a moment's warning. But 
 his professional career was brief, and not favored with 
 any occasion adequate to disclose the fitness of his 
 technical preparation, or the extent of his abilities as an 
 advocate. The out-breaking of the Revolution, which 
 occasioned a general abandonment of the Courts of Jus- 
 tice, followed close upon his introduction to the bar ; 
 and ushered him upon a broader and more diversified 
 theatre of action. 
 
 During the short interval he spent in his profession, 
 he acquired considerable celebrity ; but his forensic re- 
 putation was so disproportionate to his general pre-emi- 
 nence, as to have occasioned the common impression, that 
 he was deficient in the requisite qualifications for a suc- 
 cessful practitioner at the bar. That this was not the 
 case, however, we have the authority of a gentleman,* 
 whose opportunities of information and well known trust- 
 worthiness are a pledge of the literal accuracy of his 
 statement. ' Permit me,' says he, ' to correct an error 
 
 * William Wirt. 
 
34 LIFE OP 
 
 which seems to have prevailed. It has been thought 
 that Mr Jefferson made no figure at the bar : but the 
 case was far otherwise. There are still extant, in his 
 own fair and neat hand, in the manner of his mas- 
 ter, a number of arguments which were delivered by him 
 at the bar upon some of the most intricate questions of 
 the law ; which, if they shall ever see the light, will vin- 
 dicate his claims to the first honors of the profession.' 
 
 Again, we have the authority of the same gentleman 
 upon another interesting point. It will be new to the 
 reader to learn that Mr Jefferson was any thing of a 
 popular orator. ' It is true,' continues the writer, * he 
 was not distinguished in popular debate ; why he was 
 not so, has often been matter of surprise to those who 
 have seen his eloquence on paper, and heard it in con- 
 versation. He had all the attributes of the mind, and 
 the heart, and the soul, which are essential to eloquence 
 of the highest order. The only defect was a physical one : 
 he wanted volume and compass of voice for a large de- 
 liberative assembly ; and his voice, from the excess of 
 his sensibility, instead of rising with his feelings and 
 conceptions, sunk under their pressure, and became gut- 
 teral and inarticulate. The consciousness of this infir- 
 mity repressed any attempt in a large body, in which he 
 knew he must fail. But his voice was all sufficient for 
 the purposes of judicial debate ; and there is no reason 
 to doubt, that if the services of his country had not call- 
 ed him away so soon from his profession, his fame as a 
 lawyer, would now have stood upon the same distinguish- 
 ed ground which he confessedly occupies as a statesman, 
 an author, and a scholar.' 
 
THOMAS JEFFERSON. 35 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 Mr Jefferson came of age in 1764. He had scarcely 
 arrived at his majority, when he was placed in the nomi- 
 nation of Justices for the county in which he lived ; and 
 at the first election following, was chosen one of its Re- 
 presentatives to the Legislature. 
 
 He took his seat in that body in May, 1769, and dis- 
 tinguished himself at once by an effort of philanthropy, 
 to which the steady process of liberal opinions for sixty 
 years has not brought the tone of pubUc sentiment ; at 
 least, so far as to reconcile the majority to the personal 
 sacrifices which it involves. The moral intrepidity that 
 could prompt him, a new member, and one of the 
 youngest in the House, to rise from his seat with the 
 composure of a martyr, and propose amidst a body of 
 inexorable planters, a bill 'for the permission of the 
 Emancipation of Slaves,' gave an unequivocal earnest of 
 his future career. He was himself a slave holder, and 
 from the immense inheritance to which he had succeeded, 
 probably one of the largest in the House. He knew too, 
 that it was a measure of peculiar odium, running coun- 
 ter to the strongest interests, and most intractable preju- 
 dices of the ruling population ; that it would draw upon 
 him the keen resentments of the wealthy and the great, 
 who alone held the keys of honor and preferment at 
 home, besides banishing forever all hope of a favorable 
 consideration with the government. In return for this 
 array of sacrifices, he saw nothing await him but the 
 satisfaction of an approving conscience, and the distant 
 
36 LIFE OF 
 
 commendation of an impartial posterity. He could have 
 no possible motive but the honor of his country, and the 
 gratification of his own benevolence. 
 
 The announcement of the proposition gave a shock to 
 the aristocracy of the House. It touched their sensibili- 
 ties at a most irritable point, and was rejected by a sud- 
 den and overwhelming vote. Yet the courteous and 
 conciliatory account which Mr Jefferson has left of the 
 transaction, ascribes the failure of the bill to the vicious 
 and despotic influence of the government, which, by its 
 unceasing frown, overawed every attempt at reform, — 
 rather than to any moral depravation of the members 
 themselves. ' Our minds,' says he, ' were circumscribed 
 within narrow limits, by an habitual belief that it was 
 our duty to be subordinate to the mother country in all 
 matters of government, to direct all our labors in sub- 
 servience to her interests, and even to observe a bigoted 
 'intolerance for all religions but hers. The difliculties 
 with our Representatives were of habit and despair, not 
 of reflection and conviction. Experience soon proved 
 that they could bring their minds to rights, on the first 
 summons of their attention.' 
 
 Indeed, under the regal government, how was it possi- 
 ble to expect success in any thing liberal. The Crown 
 had directly or indirectly the appointment of all oflicers 
 of consequence, even those chiefly of the ordinary Legis- 
 lature. The King's Council, as they were called, who 
 acted as an Upper House, held their places at the Royal 
 will, and cherished a most humble obedience to that will ; 
 the Governor too, who had a negative on the laws, held 
 by the same tenure, and with still greater devotedness to 
 it: and last of all, the royal negative, which formed the 
 rear-guard to the whole, barred the final pass to every 
 project of melioration. So wanton, indeed, was the ex- 
 ercise of this power in the hands of his Majesty, that for 
 the most trifling reason, and sometimes for no conceiva- 
 ble reason at all, he refused his assent to laws of the 
 
THOMAS JEFFERSON. 37 
 
 most salutary tendency. Nay, the single interposition 
 of an interested individual against a law, was scarcely 
 ever known to fail of success, though in the opposite 
 scale were placed the interests of a whole country. 
 
 This was Mr Jefferson's^rs^ measure of reform ; and 
 although rendered abortive, it was but the beginning of 
 a long series of efforts, partly successful, in the same 
 benevolent cause. It was the first public movement 
 which he had the honor to originate, and the one, 
 probably, whose spirit and object were most congenial 
 to his heart. A few years after his legislative debut in 
 the cause of slavery, we find him dilating with enthusiasm 
 upon the same subject, in flying ' Notes' to M. de Mar- 
 bois of the French legation, and recording that vehe- 
 ment and appalling admonition which recent events have 
 almost ripened into prophecy : 
 
 ' Can the liberties of a nation be thought secure when 
 we have removed their only firm basis, a conviction in 
 the minds of the people, that these liberties are of the 
 gift of God ? That they are not to be violated but with 
 his wrath ? Indeed, I tremble for my country, when I 
 reflect that God is just ; that his justice cannot sleep 
 forever : that considering numbers, nature and natural 
 means only, a revolution in the v/heel of fortune, an ex- 
 change of situation is among possible events ; that it 
 may become probable by supernatural interference ! 
 The Almighty has no attribute which can take side with 
 us in such a contest.' 
 
 The business of ordinary legislation was drawing to a 
 close in Virginia. The collision between Great Britain 
 and her colonies, had arrived at a crisis which suspend- 
 ed the regular action of government, and summoned 
 the attention of its functionaries to more imperious con^ 
 cerns. Patrick Henry, who was seven years older than 
 Mr Jefi'erson, and three or four ahead of him in public 
 life, had hitherto been the master-spirit of the Revolu- 
 tion at the South ; and had sustained its principal brunt 
 by his superior firmness. The time had how arrived, 
 4* 
 
38 
 
 LIFE OF 
 
 when he was to divide the burthen and the glory of the 
 distinction, with one who was his junior only in years 
 and eloquence, his equal in moral courage, but in every 
 thing else his superior. The session of the Legislature 
 that lirst saw Mr Jetlerson a member, saw him first also 
 in the little council of the brave. The same session 
 (17()9) carried Virginia into a new mode of resistance 
 to British tyranny, which he was chiefly instrumental 
 in establishing — to wit, the system of non-intercourse, 
 by which the colonies gradually dissolved all commercial 
 connection with the mother country. 
 
 The unequivocal attitude into which Virginia had 
 thrown herself, by the opposition to the Stamp Act, 
 which she headed in '()5, was imitated with rapidity by 
 all the other colonies ; which raised the general tone 
 of resentment to such a height, as made Great Britain 
 herself quail before the tempest she had excited. The 
 Stamp Act was repealed ; but its repeal was soon fol- 
 lowed by a series of parliamentary and executive acts, 
 equally unconstitutional and oppressive. Among these, 
 were the declaratory act of a right in the British Par- 
 liament to tax the colonies in all cases ; the quartering 
 of large bodies of British soldiery in the principal towns 
 of the colonies, at the expense and to the annoyance of 
 the inhabitants ; the dissolution, in rapid succession, of 
 the Colonial Assemblies, and the total suspension of the 
 legislative power in New York ; the imposition of du- 
 ties on all teas, glass, paper, and other of the most ne- 
 cessary articles imported into the colonies, and the ap- 
 pointment of commissioners, armed with excessive pow- 
 ers, to be stationed in the several ports for the purpose 
 of exacting the arbitrary customs. These measures, 
 with others of a similar character provoked immediate 
 retaliation in the commercial Provinces. The people 
 of Massachusetts, upon whom they fell with their first 
 and heaviest pressure, were the foremost in resisting 
 their operation. They entered into an association, by 
 
THOMAS JEFFERSON. 39 
 
 which they agreed and bound themselves, not to im- 
 port from Great Britain any of the articles taxed, 
 or to use them. They also addressed a circular letter 
 to their sister colonies, inviting their concurrence and 
 co-operation in all lawful and constitutional means for 
 procuring relief. Petitions, memorials, and remon- 
 strances were accordingly addressed to the King and 
 Parliament by the Legislatures of the different colonies, 
 entreating a revision of the obnoxious measures, and 
 blending with their entreaties professions of unwavering 
 loyalty. To these no answer was ever vouchsafed. Yet 
 the non-intercourse proceedings in Massachusetts were 
 of a character too ruinous to the new revenue bill, not 
 to excite the attention of the British Court. They im- 
 mediately called forth a set of joint resolutions, and an 
 address from the Lords and Commons. These resolu- 
 tions condemned in the severest terms, all the measures 
 adopted by the colonies. They re-asserted the right of 
 taxation, and of quartering their troops upon the colo- 
 nies. They even went so far as to direct that the King 
 might employ force of arms sufficient to quell the dis- 
 obedient ; and declared that he had the right to cause 
 the promoters of disorders to be arrested and transport- 
 ed to England for trial. 
 
 These resolutions of the Lords and Commons arrived 
 in America in May, 1769. The House of Burgesses of 
 Virginia was then in session, and Mr Jefferson, as we 
 have seen, was for the first time a member. These 
 menacing papers were principally directed against the 
 people of Massachusetts ; but the doctrines avowed in 
 them were too extraordinary to be overlooked in any 
 assembly which contained a Jefferson. They were no 
 sooner made known to the House, than he proposed the 
 adoption of counter resolutions, and warmly advocated 
 the propriety of making common cause with Massachu- 
 setts, at every hazard. Counter resolutions and an ad- 
 dress to the King were accordingly agreed to, with little 
 
40 
 
 LIFE OF 
 
 opposition ; and the determination was then and there 
 formed, of considering the cause of any one coJoni/ as a 
 common one. 
 
 The seed of the American Union was here first sown. 
 By the resohitions which they passed, the Legislature 
 re-asserted the exchisive right of the colonies to tax 
 themselves in all cases whatsoever ; denounced the re- 
 cent acts of Parliament, as flagrant violations of the 
 British Constitution ; and sternly remonstrated against 
 the assumed right to transport the freeborn citizens of 
 America to England, to be tried by their enemies. The 
 tone of these resolutions was so strong as to excite, for 
 the first time, the displeasure of the Governor, the 
 amiable Lord Bottetourt. The House had scarcely 
 adopted and ordered them to be entered upon their 
 journals, when they were summoned to his presence, to 
 receive the sentence of dissolution. ' Mr Speaker,' said 
 he, 'and gentlemen of the House of Representatives, I 
 have heard of your resolves, and auour ill of their ef- 
 fects ; you have made it my duty to dissolve you, and 
 you are accordingly dissolved.' 
 
 But the interference of the Executive had no effect 
 but to encourage the holy feeling it attempted to repress. 
 The next day, led on by Jefterson, Henry, and the 
 two Lees, the great body of the members retired to a 
 room, called the Apollo, in the Raleigh tavern, the prin- 
 cipal hotel in Williamsburg. They there formed them- 
 selves into a voluntary convention, drew up articles of 
 association against the use of any merchandise imported 
 from Great Britain, signed, and recommended them to 
 the people. They repaired to their several counties, 
 circulated the articles of the leasrue amon^ their con- 
 stituents, and to the astonishment of all, so popular was 
 the measure that at the call of another Legislature they 
 were themselves re-elected without an exception. 
 
 The impetus thus given to the heroic example of 3Ias- 
 sachusetts bv a remote Province, carried it home to the 
 
THOMAS JEFFERSON. 41 
 
 bosom of every colony. The non-importation agree- 
 ment became general. All the luxuries, and many of 
 the comforts of life were sacrificed at once on the altar 
 of colonial liberty. Associations were formed at every 
 point, and a systematic war of interdiction and non- 
 consumption, was directed against British merchandise. 
 All ranks, all ages, and both sexes joined in nuUifying 
 the unconstitutional taritf. The ladies established a 
 peculiar claim to pre-eminence on this occasion. They 
 relinquished, without a struggle, all the elegancies, the 
 embellishments, and even the comforts to which they 
 had been accustomed, preferring for their attire, the 
 fabric of their own hands, to the most gorgeous habili- 
 ments of tyranny. In Virginia, the anti-revenue move- 
 ment was reduced to a system, and pursued with un- 
 paralleled rigor. A committee of vigilance was estab- 
 lished in every county, whose duty it was to promote 
 subscriptions to the covenant, and to guard the execu- 
 tion of the articles. The powers of these committees 
 being undefined, were almost unlimited. They exam- 
 ined the books of the merchant, and pushed their in- 
 quisitorial search into the sanctity of the fire-side, pun- 
 ishing every breacli by fine and public advertisement of 
 the offender, and rewarding every observance by an ap- 
 propriate badge of merit. Such too, was tlie virtue of 
 popular opinion, that from their decision there was no 
 appeal. All who refused to subscribe the covenant of 
 self-disfranchisement, or proved unfaithful to its obliga- 
 tions, underwent a species of social excommunication. 
 But the examples of delinquency were exceedingly rare 
 — of apostacy rarer ; a few old tories only, of the most 
 intractable stamp were sent into gentlemanly exile be- 
 yond the mountains. 
 
 The dissolution of the House of Burgesses was not 
 attended with any change in the popular representation ; 
 except in the very few instances of those who had with- 
 held their assent from the patriotic proceedings. The 
 
42 LIFE OP 
 
 next meeting of the Legislature of any permanent in- 
 terest, which was not until the spring of 1773, saw Mr 
 Jefferson again at his post, intent upon the business of 
 substituting just principles of government for those which 
 prevailed. 
 
 A court of inquiry, held in Rhode-Island as far back 
 as 1762, in which was vested the extraordinary power to 
 transport persons to England, to be tried for offences 
 committed in America, was considered by him as de- 
 manding attention, even after so long an interval of 
 silence. He was not in public life at the time this pro- 
 ceeding was instituted, and consequently had not the 
 power to raise his voice against it ; but when an im- 
 portant principle was violated, he deemed it never too 
 late to rally. Acquiescence in such an encroachment, 
 would give it the force of precedent, and precedent 
 would soon establish the right. An investigation and 
 protest, too, would rouse the apprehensions of the colo- 
 nists, which had already relapsed into repose. This ap- 
 peared to him a more desirable result, than the simple 
 assertion of right in that particular case. No unusual 
 excitement having occurred, during the protracted in- 
 terval of legislative interruption, the people had fallen 
 into a state of insensibility : and yet, the same causes of 
 irritation existed, that had recently thrown them into 
 such ferment. The duty on tea, with a multitude of 
 co-existing-incumbrances, still pressed upon them ; and 
 the Declaratory Act of a right in the British Parliament 
 to bind them by their laws in all cases, was still sus- 
 pended over them, hanging by the thread of ministerial 
 caprice. The lethargy of the public mind, under such 
 injustice, indicated to Mr Jefferson a fearful state of 
 things. It presented to his eye, a degree of moral 
 prostration, but one remove from that which constitutes 
 the proper element for despotism, and invites its visita- 
 tions. It appeared to him indispensable that something 
 should be done to break the dead calm which rested 
 
THOMAS JEFFERSON. 43 
 
 on the colonies, and to rouse the people to a sense of 
 their situation. Something, moreover, had been want- 
 ing to produce concert of action, and a mutual un- 
 derstanding among the colonies. 
 
 These objects could only be accomplished, he thought, 
 by the rapid dissemination of the earliest] intelligence 
 of events, with proper comments. This would keep 
 the excitement alive, and spread discontents, many of 
 which were local, from colony to colony. With a 
 view, therefore, to these important objects, and not 
 thinking the old and leading members had gained the 
 requisite point of forwardness, he proposed to a few 
 of the younger ones, a private meeting in the evening, 
 ' to consult on the state of things.' On the evening 
 of the eleventh of March, 1773, we find this little band 
 of Virginia patriots, Jefferson, Henry, R. H. Lee, F. L. 
 Lee, and Dabney Carr, assembled in a private room of 
 the Raleigh tavern, to deliberate on the concerns of all 
 British America. This conclave, at the Raleigh tavern 
 in Williamsburg, had the merit of erecting the most 
 formidable engine of colonial resistance, that had been 
 devised — the ' Committees of Correspondence' between 
 the Legislatures of the different colonies : and the first 
 offspring of this measure was a movement of incon- 
 ceivable consequence, not only to America, but to the 
 world — the call of a General Congress of all the colo- 
 nies. 
 
 This result was foreseen, it appears, by the meeting, 
 particularly by Mr Jefferson, who has left us an interest- 
 ing reminiscence of their doings, avoiding as usual any 
 particular notice of his own agency. 
 
 'We were all sensible that the most urgent of all 
 measures, was that of coming to an understanding with 
 all the other colonies, to consider the British claims as 
 a common cause to all, and to produce a unity of action ; 
 and for this purpose that a Committee of Correspond- 
 ence, in each colony, would be the best instrument for 
 
44 LIFE OF 
 
 inter-communication : and that their Jirst measure would 
 prohahly 6e, to propose a meeting of Deputies from every 
 colony, at some central place, who should be charged 
 with the direction of the measures which should be taken 
 bj all.' 
 
 This presentiment of the call of a General Congress, 
 as the result of their meeting, must have made a power- 
 ful impression upon the mind of Mr Jefferson ; for at 
 the age of seventy-three it was still fresh in his memory. 
 In a letter to a son of Dabney Carr, in 1816, he alludes 
 to it : 'I remember that Mr Carr and myself, returning 
 home together, and conversing on the subject, by the 
 way, concurred in the conclusion, that that measure 
 [Committees of Correspondence] must inevitably beget 
 the meeting of a Congress of Deputies from all the 
 colonies, for the purpose of uniting all in the same 
 principles and measures, for the maintenance of our 
 rights.' 
 
 It being decided to recommend the appointment of 
 these committees, Mr Jefferson proceeded to draft reso- 
 lutions to that effect, and improved the opportunity to 
 insert a special one, directing an inquiry into the judi- 
 cial proceedings in Rhode-Island. The resolutions be- 
 ing approved, it was decided to propose them to the 
 House of Burgesses, the next morning. His colleagues 
 in council, pressed Mr Jefferson to move them ; ' but I 
 urged,' says he, ' that it should be done by Mr Carr, my 
 friend and brother-in-law, then a new member, to whom 
 I wished an opportunity should be given, of making 
 known to the House his great worth and talents.' It 
 was accordingly agreed that Mr Carr should move them ; 
 after which, this coterie dissolved. 
 
 The resolutions were brought forward in the House 
 of Burgesses, the next morning, by young Mr Carr ; 
 who failed not to exhibit on the occasion, ' his great 
 worth and talents,' in a speech which electrified the as- 
 sembly. Mr Carr was a member from the county of 
 
THOMAS JEFFERSON. 45 
 
 Louisa. He was hailed as a powerful acquisition to the 
 reform party. The members flockecrarourid him, greeted 
 him with praises which spoke fervently in their coun- 
 tenances, and congratulated themselves on the accession 
 of such a champion to their cause. But soon were 
 these proud anticipations blighted. Brief was the career 
 of the eloquent and lamented Carr. In two months 
 from the occasion which witnessed this, his first and 
 last triumph, he was no more. 
 
 Nearly half a century afterwards, Mr Jefferson reverts 
 to the transaction in a letter to a friend, with a fresh- 
 ness which shows a heart yet warm with the feeling it 
 excited. 
 
 ' I well remember the pleasure expressed in the coun- 
 tenance and conversation of the members generally, on 
 this debut of Mr Carr, and the hopes they conceived, 
 as well from the talents as the patriotism it manifested. 
 But he died within two months after, and in him we lost 
 a powerful fellow laborer. His character was of a high 
 order. A sp»1:less integrity, sound judgment, and fine 
 imagination, enriched by education and reading, quick 
 and clear in his conceptions, of correct and ready elo- 
 cution, impressing every hearer with the sincerity of the 
 heart from which it flawed. His firmness was inflexible 
 in whatever he thought was right : but when no moral 
 principle st@®d in the way, never had man more of the 
 milk of human kindness, of indulgence, of softness, of 
 pleasantry in conversation and conduct. The number 
 of his friends, and the warmth of their affection, were 
 proofs of his worth, and of their estimate of it. To 
 give t© those now living, an idea of the affliction pro- 
 duced by his death, in the minds of all who knew him, 
 I liken it to that lately felt by themselves, on the death 
 of his eldest son, Peter Carr, so like him in all his en-, 
 dowments and moral qualities, and whose recollection 
 can never recur without a deep-drawn sigh from the 
 bosom of any one who knew him.' 
 
 The resolutions were adopted the same day, March 
 12, 1773, without a dissenting voice. They had been 
 5 
 
46 LIFE OF 
 
 drafted so dexterously, and in such guarded terms, as 
 not to awaken a suspicion against them in the old and 
 cautious members. 
 
 But the House of Burgesses had no sooner placed 
 them upon record, than they were dissolved, as usual, 
 by the Governor, then Lord Dunmore. For although 
 clothed in the most plausible and inoifensive language, 
 that watchful Executive had too much sagacity not to per- 
 ceive, that they gave occasion for a more formidable re- 
 sistance than had yet been apprehended. 
 
 But the sentence of dissolution had no effect but to 
 give a popular impulse to the proceedings that led to it ; 
 and to excite those who were designated in the resolu- 
 tions for putting the machine into operation to greater 
 zeal and promptitude. The very next day, the Commit- 
 tee of Correspondence assembled, organized themselves, 
 and proceeded to business. They adopted a circular 
 letter, prepared by Mr Jeiferson, to the Speakers of the 
 other Colonies, enclosing to each a copy of the resolu- 
 tions ; and left it in charge with their chairman, Peyton 
 Randolph, to transmit them hy expresses. The chief mo- 
 ver thus had the happiness to see his favorite measure in 
 course of execution. 
 
 Although the result of the Raleigh consultation had a 
 more decisive bearing upon the subsequent movements 
 of the country, than any recommendation that had pre- 
 ceded it, we find no mention of the occurrence in any of 
 the numerous histories of our revolution. But the histo- 
 ry of the American Revolution has not been written, so 
 said John Adams in 1815, in a letter to Mr Jefferson ; 
 the latter echoes the sentiment of his correspondent, and 
 declares it never can be written. ' On the subject,' says 
 he, ' of the history of the American Revolution, you ask, 
 who shall write it 1 Who can write it 1 And who will 
 ever be able to write it 1 Nobody ; except merely its ex- 
 ternal facts ; all its councils, designs, and discussions 
 were conducted in secret, and no traces of them were 
 
THOMAS JEFFERSON. 
 
 47 
 
 preserved. These, which are the life and soul of histo- 
 ry, must forever be unknown.' 
 
 The recommendation of the Virginia Legislature was 
 answered with alacrity by the sister Colonies, and simi- 
 lar Committees of Correspondence were appointed by 
 them all. By this means, a channel of direct communi- 
 cation was estabhshed between the various provinces ; 
 which, by the interchange of opinions and alarms, main- 
 tained a steady equalization of purpose and action 
 throughout the Colonies, and ' consolidated the phalanx 
 which breasted the power of Britain.' The operations 
 of this great institution were incalculably beneficial to 
 the American cause. Its precise influence upon the 
 course and management of the Revolution has never 
 been critically ascertained. Its mighty cabinet has 
 never been broken open, yet it is supposed, that the 
 publication of its voluminous correspondence would ex- 
 hibit some of the most interesting productions of Mr 
 Jefi*erson's pen, as he bore an active agency in its opera- 
 tions ; and it is generally believed that the revelation of 
 its transactions and counsels, would develope to the 
 world the secret causes of many movements, the 
 knowledge of which would reflect accumulated glory on 
 the chiefs of that age. 
 
 As was predicted by Mr Jefferson and his confede- 
 rates, the establishment of Corresponding Committees 
 resulted in the convocation of a general Congress; 
 which event followed the ensuing year. The intermedi- 
 ate steps to that result, require a summary notice, to 
 show the connection of the prophecy with its fulfilment. 
 The resistance to the revenue impositions had been 
 conducted with such inflexibility and general concert, as 
 to have checked the regular current of importation into 
 the Colonies, and occasioned a prodigious surcharge of 
 the dutied commodities in England. Immense quanti- 
 ties of tea, in particular, had accumulated in the ware- 
 houses of the East India Company •— a monopoly, which 
 
48 ' LIFE OF 
 
 was much favored by the government, and had an ex- 
 tensive influence over it. This company having obtain- 
 ed permission to transjDort their tea, free of the usual 
 export duty, from Great Britain to America, on condi- 
 tion that upon its introduction there, the duty of three 
 pence per pound should be paid, immediately dispatched 
 enormous shipments to Boston and other American 
 ports. On the arrival of the tea in Boston, the patri- 
 ots were thrown into a frenzy of indignation and alarm. 
 They saw and felt that the crisis now approached which 
 was to decide the great question, whether they would 
 submit to taxation without representation, or brave the 
 consequences of some decisive movement, which might 
 be adequate to relieve them from the emergency. If 
 the tea was permitted to be landed, it would be sold, 
 the duties paid, and all they had gained be lost. They 
 resolved, therefore, that it should not be landed ; and 
 the resolution was no sooner formed, than executed, by 
 the destruction of the entire cargo. 
 
 The intelligence of this spirited stroke in vindication 
 of popular rights so exasperated the British ministry, 
 that they resorted to a measure which fixed the irrevoca- 
 ble sentence of dismemberment upon the British empire. 
 This was the famous Boston Port Bill, by which the har- 
 bor of that great city was closed against the importation 
 of any goods, wares or merchandise whatsoever, from 
 and after the first day of June, 1774. 
 
 When the rumor of the impending calamity reach- 
 ed Boston, a meeting of the inhabitants was called ; 
 the act was denounced as cruel and flagitious ; they 
 made their appeal to God and the world. Numerous 
 copies of the act were printed and dispersed over the 
 colonies; and to make a deeper impression on the mul- 
 titude, the copies were printed on mourning paper, bor- 
 dered with black lines ; and they were cried through the 
 country as the ' barbarous, cruel, sanguinary and inhuman 
 murder.''^ 
 
 * Botta, vol. 1, p. 120, 
 
THOMAS JEFFERSON. 49 
 
 The Legislature of Virginia was in session when the 
 news of this interdict was received, to wit, in May, 1774. 
 Mr Jefferson was still a member, and his sympathies for 
 the north, rose to a point before unequalled. Perceiving 
 the advantages to be derived from the popular excitement, 
 which he foresaw would be created, he as quickly de- 
 vised the means for using it with effect for the benefit 
 of the common cause. Fearful to trust the cause, at this 
 propitious moment, to the tardy pace of the old mem- 
 bers, he again rallied the little council of chiefs with 
 whom he had confederated on the former occasion, and 
 concerted a private meeting, the same evening, at the 
 council chamber of the library, 'to consult on the 
 proper measures to be taken.' Punctual at the hour, 
 they met ; and mutually ripe in sentiment, unanimously 
 agreed that they ' must boldly take an unequivocal stand 
 in the Kne with Massachusetts.' They were also im- 
 pressed with the necessity of arousing the people from 
 the apathy into which they had fallen, as to passing 
 events ; and for this purpose, Mr Jefferson proposed 
 the appointment of a day of general fasting and prayer 
 throughout the colony, ' as most likely to call up and 
 alarm their attention.' The proposition met enthusiastic 
 acceptance with his colleagues ; and he was requested 
 to prepare the necessary instrument, to be presented to 
 
 the House. 
 
 ' No example,' says Mr Jefferson, ' of such a solem- 
 nity had existed since the days of our distress in the 
 war of '55, since which a new generation had grown 
 up. With the help, therefore, of Rushworth, whom we 
 rummaged over for the revolutionary precedents and 
 forms of the Puritans of that day, preserved by him, 
 we cooked up a resolution, somewhat modernizing their 
 phrases, for appointing the first day of June, on which 
 the Port Bill was to commence, for a day of fasting, 
 humiliation and prayer, to implore Heaven to avert 
 from us the evils of civil war, to inspire us with firmness 
 5* 
 
50 
 
 LIFE OF 
 
 in support of our rights, and to turn the hearts of the 
 King and Parliament to moderation and justice.' The 
 draft was approved by the consulting members ; but be- 
 fore they separated, another important figure was ne- 
 cessary to be arranged ; and the manner in which it 
 was done showed the wisdom and sagacity of the con- 
 clave. ' To give greater emphasis to our proposition,' 
 continues Mr Jefferson, ' we agreed to wait, the next 
 morning, on Mr Nicholas, whose grave and religious 
 character was more in unison with the tone of our reso- 
 lution, and to solicit him to move it.' They accordingly 
 went to Mr Nicholas the next morning. He moved it 
 the same day, May 24th ; and it passed without oppo- 
 sition. 
 
 The instrument was drawn up much like the New 
 England proclamations of the present day, with great 
 solemnity of phraseology, directing the members, ' pre- 
 ceded by the Speaker and mace,' to assemble on the ap- 
 pointed day, ' devoutly to implore the Divine interposi- 
 tion for averting the heavy calamity which threatens 
 destruction to our civil rights, and the evils of civil war ; 
 to give us one heart and one mind, firmly to oppose, by 
 all just and proper means, every injury to American 
 rights ; and that the minds of His Majesty and parlia- 
 ment may be inspired from above with wisdom, modera- 
 tion, and justice, to remove from the loyal people of 
 America, all cause of alarm from a continued pursuit 
 of measures pregnant with their ruin.' 
 
 The solemn example of Virginia was the signal for a 
 general movement among the colonies. The same reli- 
 gious observance was ordered to be kept on the same 
 day, in all the principal towns ; and the first day of 
 June was a day of mourning tliroughout the continent. 
 Business was suspended ; the bells sounded a funeral 
 knell ; the pulpits reverberated with inflammatory dis- 
 courses ; and every engine of popular terror was put in 
 use. In Virginia, the heavens were shrouded with 
 
THOMAS JEFFERSON. 
 
 51 
 
 gloom ; the ministers of religion, arrayed in their long 
 black robes, headed processions of the people, and 
 alarmed them from the pulpit with terrific appeals to 
 their passions ; popular orators pronounced their in- 
 flammatory harangues ; the committees of vigilance cir- 
 culated the infection through every village ; and all co- 
 operated with prodigious effect in promoting the general 
 conflagration. ' The people,' says Mr Jefferson, ' met 
 generally, with anxiety and alarm in their countenances, 
 and the effect of the day, through the whole colony, was 
 like a shock of electricity, arousing every man, and 
 placing him erect and solidly on his centre.' 
 
 The most important transaction of this eventful ses- 
 sion remains to be considered. The chain of causes 
 were now bringing about the grand, result, so confi- 
 dently predicted by Mr Jefferson. It would hardly seem 
 credible at the present day, that a resolution for the 
 appointment of a religious ceremony, conceived in such 
 terms of mingled devotion and loyalty as was that of 
 the House of Burgesses, should have provoked the hos- 
 tile interposition of the Executive power : but so it was. 
 The order of the House for a general fast had no sooner 
 fallen under the eye of Lord Dunmore, than he made 
 his appearance before them with the following speech : 
 ' Mr Speaker and gentlemen of the House of Burgesses : 
 I have in my hand a paper published by order of your 
 House, conceived in such terms as reflect highly upon 
 His Majesty and the parliament of Great Britain, which 
 makes it necessary to dissolve you, and you are dissol- 
 ved accordingly.' 
 
 But the powers of the government had become com- 
 pletely paralyzed in that contumacious colony ; and its 
 Executive decrees were regarded as idle ceremonies. 
 The whole body of the members repaired in a mass to 
 the Apollo. They immediately organized themselves 
 into an independent Convention, agreed to an associa- 
 tion more solemnly than ever against the calamitous 
 
52 LIFE OF 
 
 revenue system ; declared that an attack on any one 
 colony to compel submission to arbitrary taxes, should 
 be considered as an attack on all British America ; and 
 instructed their committee of correspondence to propose 
 to the corresponding committees of the other colonies, 
 the expediency of appointing Deputies to meet in Congress 
 annually, at such place as should be convenient,^ to di- 
 rect from time to time the measures required by the 
 general interest. 
 
 That no time might be lost in carrying their recom- 
 mendation of a Congress into effect, they did not leave 
 their seats without first having arranged the preliminary 
 meeting for the choice of their own deputies. They 
 passed a resolution soliciting the people of the several 
 counties to elect representatives to meet at Williams- 
 burg, the 1st of August ensuing, to take into further con- 
 sideration the state of the colony ; and particularly to 
 appoint delegates to the General Congress, should that 
 measure be acceded to by the corresponding committees 
 of the other colonies. The meeting then dissolved ; 
 and the members were universally greeted with the ap- 
 plause of their countrymen. 
 
THOMAS JEFFERSON. 53 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 From this period, 1774, the royal government might 
 be considered at an end in Virginia. The self-constitu- 
 ted convention, w^hich was erected upon the ruins of 
 the regal Legislature, immediately succeeded by a bold 
 usurpation to all its functions, and took the reins of the 
 government into their own hands. 
 
 Agreeably to their instructions, the committee of cor- 
 respondence lost no time in proposing to the commit- 
 tees of the other provinces, the expediency of uniting 
 in the plan of a general congress. They met the day 
 after the adjournment of the convention, Mr Jeiferson 
 in the chair ; prepared letters according to their in- 
 structions ; and dispatched them by messengers express 
 to their several destinations. The proposition was 
 unanimously embraced ; by Massachusetts first, whose 
 Legislature was in session when it was received ; and 
 by all the other provinces, in quick succession, as their 
 respective Legislatures or conventions assembled. Dele- 
 gates were universally chosen — no province sending less 
 than two nor more than seven. Philadelphia was de- 
 signated as the place, and the 5th of September ensuing, 
 as the time of meeting. 
 
 Agreeably to the further recommendation of the meet- 
 ing at the Apollo, the people of the several counties of 
 Virginia elected delegates to the preliminary conven- 
 tion at Williamsburg. Mr Jefferson was chosen to 
 represent the county in which he resided. On the first 
 of August, '74, this formidable body, being the first de- 
 
54 LIFE OP 
 
 mocratic convention of Virginia, assembled at Williams- 
 burg, and was organized for business. 
 
 Mr Jefferson, before leaving home, had prepared a 
 code of instructions to the delegates who should be 
 chosen to Congress, which he meant to propose for the 
 adoption of the meeting. Speaking of these instruc- 
 tions, the author says, ' they were drawn in haste, with 
 a number of blanks, with some uncertainties, and inac- 
 curacies of historical facts, which I neglected at the 
 moment, knowing they could be readily corrected at the 
 meeting.' 
 
 It is generally admitted that this production ranks 
 second only to the Declaration of Independence, of 
 which it was indeed the genuine precursor, for boldness 
 and originality of sentiment, and felicity of composition. 
 He set out for Williamsburg, some days before that ap- 
 pointed for the meeting of the Convention, but was ar- 
 rested on his journey by sickness, which prevented his 
 attendance in person. His spirit, however, was there ; 
 and so anxious was he to discharge, in some way, the 
 duties of his appointment, that he forwarded by express 
 duplicate copies of his draught; one under cover to Pat- 
 rick Henry, the other to Peyton Randolph. His own 
 account of the reception of his draught is too interesting 
 to be omitted. 
 
 ' Whether Mr Henry disapproved the ground taken, or 
 was too lazy to read it, — for he was the laziest man in 
 reading I ever knew, — I never learned : but he commu- 
 nicated it to nobody. He probably thought it too bold, 
 as a first measure, as the majority of the members did. 
 On the other copy being laid upon the table of the Con- 
 vention, by Peyton Randolph, as the proposition of a 
 member who was prevented from attendance, by sickness 
 on the road, tamer sentiments were preferred, and, I be- 
 lieve, wisely preferred ; the leap I proposed being too 
 long, as yet, for the mass of our citizens. The distance 
 between these, and the instructions actually adopted, is 
 of some curiosity, however, as it shows the inequality of 
 
THOMAS JEFFERSON. 55 
 
 pace with which we moved, and the prudence required 
 to keep front and rear together.' 
 
 The paper was read, nevertheless, with great avidity 
 by the members ; and although they considered it ' a leap 
 too long ' for the existing state of things, they were so 
 impressed with its expositions of the rights and wrongs 
 of the Colonies, that they caused it to be published in a 
 pamphlet form, under the title of * A Summary View of 
 the Rights of British America.' A copy of the work 
 having found its way to England, was taken up by the 
 whigs in Parliament, interpolated in some places by the 
 celebrated Burke, to adapt it to opposition purposes there, 
 and in that form ran rapidly through several editions. 
 Such doctrines as were advanced in this pamphlet, had 
 never before been heard in England, nor even ventured 
 in America ; and they drew upon the author the hottest 
 vials of ministerial wrath. The name of Jefferson was 
 forthwith enrolled in a Bill of Attainder for treason, in 
 company with those of about twenty other American cit- 
 izens, who were considered the principal ' agitators ' in 
 the Colonies. The Attainder however although actually 
 commenced in Pdl'liament, never came to maturity, but 
 ' was suppressed in embryo by the hasty step of events, 
 which warned them to be a little cautious.' 
 
 This ancient paper is highly valuable as containing 
 the first disclosure, in a clear and authentic form, of the 
 state of Mr Jefferson's mind on the subject of those great 
 questions which were the bases of the American Revolu- 
 tion ; and as exhibiting in the discussions which it gave 
 rise to, and in the circumstances attending its rejection 
 by the Convention, the ' inequality of pace ' with which 
 the leaders in the American councils travelled onward to 
 the same result. It will not be thought invidious at the 
 present day, to compare the birth and trace the relative 
 progress of their opinions on those truths the practical 
 application of which, in a rational and peaceable way, 
 
56 LIFE OF 
 
 has already regenerated the political condition of half 
 the world. 
 
 It appears that in the most essential principles involved 
 in the emancipation of the American Colonies from Great 
 Britain — those principles which settled the question 
 upon its right basis and determined the final issue — Mr 
 Jefferson was for a long time ahead of his cotemporaries. 
 The great point at which the other leaders of that hazar- 
 dous enterprize, with a single exception,* halted, as the 
 utmost extremity of colonial right, he only called the 
 * half way house.' A brief memorandum which he him- 
 self has lefit of that period, explains the ground which he 
 occupied, and the precise distance between him and his 
 compatriots. Speaking of his draft of instructions, he 
 says — 
 
 ' In this I took the ground that, from the beginning, I 
 had thought the only one orthodox or tenable, which was, 
 that the relation between Great Britain and these Colo- 
 nies, was exactly the same, as that of England and Scot- 
 land, after the accession of James and until the union ; 
 and the same as her present relations with Hanover, hav- 
 ing the same executive chief, but no other necessary po- 
 litical connection ; and that our emigration from England 
 to this country, gave her no more rights over us, than 
 the emigrations of the Danes and Saxons gave to the 
 present authorities of the mother country, over England. 
 In this doctrine, however, I had never been able to get 
 any one to agree with me but Mr Wythe. He concurred 
 in it from the first dawn of the question — What was the 
 political relation between us and England ? Our other 
 patriots, Randolph, the Lees, Nicholas, Pendleton, stop- 
 ped at the half-way house of John Dickinson, who ad- 
 mitted that England had a right to regulate our com- 
 merce, and to lay duties on it for the purposes of regula- 
 tion, but not of raising revenue. But for this ground 
 there was no foundation in compact, in any acknowledged 
 principles of colonization, nor in reason — expatriation 
 
 * Mr Wythe. 
 
THOMAS JEFFERSON. 57 
 
 being a natural right, and acted on as such, by all nations, 
 in all ages.' 
 
 Again, in a letter to John Saunderson, in 1820, he 
 says: 
 
 * On the first dawn of the Revolution, instead of hig- 
 gling on half-way principles, as others did, who feared to 
 follow their reason, he [Wythe] took his stand on the 
 solid ground, that the only link of political union between 
 us and Great Britain, was the identity of our executive ; 
 that that nation, and its Parliament, had no more author- 
 ity over us, than we had over them ; and that we were 
 co-ordinate nations with Great Britain and Hanover.' 
 
 This point is farther illustrated in the Bill of Attainder, 
 before mentioned. After reciting a list of proscriptions, 
 among which were Hancock and the Adamses, as noto- 
 rious leaders of the opposition in Massachusetts, Patrick 
 Henry, as the same in Virginia, Peyton Randolph, as Pre- 
 sident of the General Congress in Philadelphia, the Bill 
 adds, « and Thomas Jefferson, as author of a proposition 
 to the Convention of Virginia, for an address to the Ring, 
 in which was maintained, that there was in right, no link 
 of union between England and the Colonies, but that of the 
 same King ; and that neither the Parliament, nor any other 
 functionary of that government, had any more right to ex- 
 ercise authority over the Colonies, than over the electorate 
 of Hanover ; yet expressing, in conclusion, an acquiescence 
 in reasonable restrictions of commerce for the benefit of 
 Great Britain, a conviction of the mutual advantages of 
 union, and a disavowal of the wish for separation.'* 
 
 It appears, therefore, that the final and only tenable 
 ground of answer to the great question which formed the 
 hinge of the American Revolution, the right of taxation 
 without representation, originated with Mr Jefferson. 
 Following out the right of expatriation into all its con- 
 sequences, he advanced at once to the necessary con- 
 
 * Girardin's History of Virginia, Appendix, No. 12, note. 
 6 
 
58 LIFE OP 
 
 elusion, that there was no political connection what- 
 ever between the Parliament of Great Britain and the 
 Colonies ; and consequently, that it had no right to tax 
 them in any case — not even for the regulation of com- 
 merce. The other patriots, either not admitting the right 
 of expatriation, or what is most likely, not having pursued 
 it to its legitimate results, conceded the authority of 
 Parliament over the Colonies for the purposes of com- 
 mercial regulation, though not of raising revenue. But 
 this was going no farther than did Burke, Chatham, 
 Wilkes, Fox, and the opposition members generally of 
 the House of Commons ; and it is not improbable that, 
 had the question been restrained to that issue, it would 
 have terminated in mutual reconciliation upon that basis. 
 But happily it was not so restrained, and quite a different 
 conclusion was the result. It is no small evidence of 
 originality, that one of the youngest of the American 
 counsellors, and a youth compared to most of them, should 
 have been the first to plant himself upon the farthest 
 verge of colonial right, short of absolute independence. 
 
 Upon a critical examination of this paper, which is in- 
 serted at length in the first volume of Jeficrson's Works, 
 it will appear that the author's mind had already attain- 
 ed those fundamental discoveries in Political Science, 
 which have since received such an astonishing exempli- 
 fication before the world. It is a more learned and 
 elaborate production than the Declaration of Independ- 
 ence, to which it is inferior as a literary performance ; 
 but in power and sublimity of conception, scarcely 
 exceeded by the ' Declaratory Charter of our rights 
 and of the rights of man.' 
 
 The author begins with the vindication of the first 
 principle of all political truth, the sovereignty of the peo- 
 ple^ as a right which they derive from God, and not from 
 His Majesty ; who, he afiirms, * is no more than the 
 chief ofiicer of the people, appointed by the laws, and 
 invested with definite powers, to assist in working the 
 
THOMAS JEFFERSON. 59 
 
 great machine of government, erected for their use, and 
 consequently subject to their superintendence.' He next 
 proceeds to vindicate the right of expatriation^ showing 
 that the barbarian nations in the North of Europe, from 
 whom the inhabitants of Great Britain descended, would 
 have as good right to usurp jurisdiction over them, as 
 thej over us ; and from this right, the basis of every oth- 
 er, he deduces the broad principle, that the American 
 States were co-ordinate nations with Great Britain her- 
 self, having a common executive head, but no other link 
 of political union. The doctors of nullification would 
 here find a triumphant justification of their theory, 
 should it be made to appear, that the States possess the 
 same relation to the federal, that they then did to the 
 mother government ! He refutes, with becoming satire, 
 the fictitious principle of the common law, that all lands 
 belong mediately or immediately to the Crown, and says, 
 * it is high time to declare, that His Majesty has no right 
 to grant lands of himself.' Finally, he recommends His 
 Majesty to ' open his breast to liberal and expanded 
 thought,' adding ' that the great principles of right and 
 wrong are legible to every reader,' and that ' the whole 
 art of government consists in the art of being honest.^ 
 
 In conformity to this ground, the word ' States ' is for 
 the first time substituted for that of ' Colonies.' This 
 will not be thought a small circumstance when it is 
 known, that in the debates upon the Declaration of In- 
 dependence even, the term ' States ' was made a topic of 
 repeated cavil, and in several instances expunged. The 
 Convention at Williamsburg were not prepared to sanction 
 the principles contained in these * instructions.' Tamer 
 sentiments were substituted ; the congressional delegates* 
 
 *Th,e Delegates to the first Congress, on the part of Virginia, 
 were Peyton Randolph, Richard H. Lee, George Washington, Pat- 
 rick Henry, Richard Bland, Benjamin Harrison, and Edmund Pen- 
 dleton. 
 
60 LIFE OP 
 
 were appointed, to the number of seven ; and resolutions 
 were adopted, in which they pledged themselves to make 
 common cause with the people of Boston, in every ex- 
 tremity. They broke off all commercial connection with 
 the mother country, until the grievances of which they 
 complained, should be redressed ; and empowered their 
 chairman, Peyton Randolph, or in case of his death, 
 Robert C. Nicholas, on any future occasion that might 
 in his opinion require it, to convene the several delegates 
 of the colony, at such time and place as he might judge 
 proper. This last resolve was more important, than all 
 the others, as it showed their determination to keep the 
 government in their own hands, to the exclusion of the 
 parent authorities, and was a virtual assumption of inde- 
 pendence in Virginia. 
 
 The General Congress assembled at Carpenter's Hall, 
 in Philadelphia, September 5th, '74 ; and organized for 
 business, by choosing Peyton Randolph of Virginia, 
 President, and Charles Thompson of Pennsylvania, Se- 
 cretary. Delegates attended from every province, ex- 
 cept Georgia, and were in number fifty-five. They ter- 
 minated their first session on the 26th of October, to 
 meet again at the same place on the 10th of May ensu- 
 ing, at which time Mr Jefferson became a Deputy elect. 
 
 On the 20th of March, 1775, the popular Convention 
 of Virginia assembled the second time, upon invitation of 
 the Chairman, to deliberate further on the state of pub- 
 lic affairs, and the measures it demanded. To a politi- 
 cal union with Great Britain, upon the broad basis of 
 reason and right, he was not averse ; nay, he most anx- 
 iously and fervently desired it, to avoid the horrors and 
 desolations which the other alternative presented. ' But, 
 hy the God that made »«e,' said he a short time afterwards, 
 ' I will cease to exist, before I yield to a connection on such 
 terms as the British Parliament propose.'' The distance 
 between tlfe terms upon which he would consent to a 
 union, and the terms which Great Britain had demand- 
 
THOMAS JEFFERSON. 61 
 
 ed, was too gi^eat for any reasonable hope of accommo- 
 dation. The only grounds upon which he would submit 
 to a compromise were, freedom from all jurisdiction of 
 the British Parliament, and the exclusive regulation, by 
 the colonies, of their own internal affairs, — freedom 
 from all restraints upon navigation with respect to other 
 nations, — freedom from all necessary accountability to 
 the common law, — and, in a word, freedom from all 
 the laws, institutions and customs of the mother country, 
 until they should have been specifically adopted as our 
 laws, institutions and customs, by the positive or implied 
 assent of the people. 
 
 But would Great Britain consent to an abandonment 
 of all her pretensions, and accept the proffered condi- 
 tions 1 The idea was preposterous. So far from it, there 
 was little probability she would yield to the far more 
 gracious proposals of Congress. Mr Jefferson saw with 
 prophetic certainty the inevitable result ; and he yearn- 
 ed to have the same clear, strong, yet terrible perspec- 
 tive burst upon the tardy vision of his countrymen. He 
 had long anticipated the awful crisis, to which the cur- 
 rent of events was fast tending; and we have now arriv- 
 ed to the epoch, when his mind was made up to meet 
 that crisis, with all the firmness which its nature de- 
 manded. ' My creed,'' says he, ' had been formed on iin- 
 sheathing the sword at Lexington.^ This event, it will be 
 recollected, occurred the ensuing month of April. 
 
 The Convention proceeded to business. They adopt- 
 ed a resolution expressive of their unqualified approba- 
 tion of the measures of Congress ; declaring that they 
 considered * this whole continent as under the highest ob- 
 ligations to that respectable body, for the wisdom of their 
 counsels, and their unremitted endeavors to maintain 
 and preserve inviolate, the just rights and liberties of his 
 Majesty's dutiful and loyal subjects in America.' They 
 next resolved, that ^ the warmest thanks of the convention 
 and of all the inhabitants of this colony, were due, and 
 6* 
 
62 
 
 LIFE OF 
 
 that this just tribute of applause be presented to the wor- 
 thy delegates deputed by a former convention to repre- 
 sent this colony in general congress, for their cheerful 
 undertaking and faithful discharge of the very important 
 trust reposed in them.' 
 
 It would be doing injustice to Mr Jefferson, to suppose 
 the above resolutions came from him. Not that he dis- 
 approved them ; on the contrary, he regarded their 
 adoption as an act of justice as well as gratitude. 
 But they probably proceeded from that side of the 
 House, which now, as heretofore, was content to follow; 
 and whose sentiments, being more in unison with the in- 
 structions given to their own deputies, were likewise 
 more conformable to the attitude assumed by Congress. 
 For, be it understood, there was a strong inequality of 
 sentiment in this, as in all former meetings ; nor was it 
 long in displaying itself. Soon there arose a leader from 
 the other side of the House, who responded in a note of 
 thunder to the preceding resolutions, as follows: 
 
 ' Resolved, that this colony be immediately put into a 
 
 state of defence, and that be a committee to 
 
 prepare a plan for embodying, arming, and disciplining, 
 such a number of men, as may be sufficient for that 
 purpose.' 
 
 The effect of this proposition was like a bolt from hea- 
 ven upon the members of the Convention. A deep and 
 painful sensation betrayed itself portending a desperate 
 resistance to the measure. Long and vehement was the 
 contest that succeeded. The resolution was opposed by 
 all the aged, including some of the warmest pati-iots of 
 the Convention; Pendleton, Harrison, Bland, Nicholas, 
 and even the sanguine and republican Wythe. Alluding 
 to these gentlemen and their backwardness upon this oc- 
 casion, Mr Jefferson writes to a friend, in 1815 : 
 
 ' These were honest and able men, who had begun the 
 opposition on the same grounds, but with a moderation 
 more adapted to their age and experience. Subsequent 
 
THOMAS JEFFERSON. ^ 
 
 events favored the bolder spirits of Henry, the Lees, 
 Pages, Mason, fcc, with whom I went in all points. 
 Sensible, however, of the importance of unanimity among 
 our constituents, although we often wished to have gone 
 on faster, we slackened our pace, that our less ardent 
 colleagues might keep up with us ; and they, on their 
 part, differing nothing from us in principle, quickened 
 their gait somewhat beyond that, which their prudence 
 might, of itself, have advised, and thus consolidated the 
 phalanx, which breasted the power of Britain. By this 
 harmony of the bold with the cautious, we advanced, 
 with our constituents, in undivided mass, and with fewer 
 examples of separation, than perhaps existed in any other 
 part of the union.' 
 
 These gentlemen were all characters of weight in the 
 Colony ; insomuch that in all proceedings of a popular 
 bearing it was essential to conciliate them. Their oppo- 
 sition therefore, at this stage of their progress, was a 
 source of real anguish to the more ardent chiefs of the 
 reform party. Their repugnance to the military propo- 
 sition was as unfeigned, as firm. They had never dream- 
 ed of carrying their resistance into more serious forms 
 than those of petition, remonstrance and passive non- 
 intercourse. With expectations yet warm and unclouded, 
 of a final reconciliation with the parent government, they 
 shrunk with horror, from any attitude which might en- 
 danger that result. Most of them were zealous Church- 
 men, ardently attached to the established religion of 
 Great Britain, and dreaded a disruption from her, on that 
 account, as from the anchor of their salvation. They 
 directed the whole weight of their influence, and exerted 
 all the powers of their eloquence to defeat the measure ; 
 but their resistance was overborne by the impetuosity of 
 that torrent which poured from the lips of the more reso- 
 lute champions of freedom. 
 
 The resolution was moved by Mr Henry, and support- 
 ed by him, by Mr Jefferson, and the whole of that host 
 which had achieved so much in council. They put 
 
64 LIFE OP 
 
 their united resources into action ; and bore off the palm 
 against the wisdom and pertinacity of the opposing corps. 
 The proposition was carried, and no sooner was the vote 
 dechued than the opjiosinji: members, one and all, went 
 over to the majority, and lent their names to supply the 
 blank in the resolution. They * quickened their gait 
 somewhat beyond that wliieh their prudence had of itself 
 advised,' and advanced boldly to a line with their col- 
 leagues. JMr JeiVerson was appointed on the committee 
 to prepare the plan called for by the resolution. The 
 committee met immediately ; and reported to the same 
 Convention a plan for embodying, arming and disciplin- 
 ing the militia, which was likewise adopted. 
 
 This was a revolutionary movement. In addition to 
 the local advantnges which it secured, it operated as a 
 direct appeal to the sister Colonies, and to Congress. 
 But it was even more important as recogni/.ing a funda- 
 mental princi})le. In the preamble to the resolution, 
 which bears the broad stamp of Mr Jellerson's senti- 
 ments, it is declared ' that a well-regulated militia, com- 
 posed of gentlemen and yeomen, is the natural strength 
 and only security of a free government ; and that a 
 standing army of mercenary soldiers is subversive of the 
 quiet, dangerous to the liberties, and burthensome to the 
 properties of tlie people.' 
 
 Having disposed of this subject, and transacted some 
 other business of minor importance, the Convention pro- 
 ceeded to the election of Deputies to the ensuing Con- 
 gress. They re-appointed the same persons ; and fore- 
 seeing the probability tliat Peyton Randolph woidd be 
 called otTto attend a meeting of the House of Burgesses, 
 they made choice of jMr Jefferson to supply the vacancy. 
 Lastly, having provided for a re-election of delegates to 
 the next Convention, they adjourned. 
 
 We have now reached the precise date. May 1775, at 
 which Mr JetVerson announced that creed which he 
 dictated to Congress, one year after, and they so un- 
 
THOMAH JEFFERSON. 05 
 
 dauntedly promulgated to tlie world. «The God who 
 gave us life, gave us liberty at the same time,' was first ; 
 'the hand of force may destroy, but cannot disjoin tliem,* 
 was last. The ' hand of force' had been upraised ; the 
 sword had been drawn at Lexington, and blood had been 
 spilt. From that moment all hope, not to say desire, of 
 a peaceable accommodation, was extinguished. 
 
 The following letter, written at this time, exhiljits the 
 state of his own, and .of the public mind, on the intelli- 
 gence of the first hostihties. It is the earliest of his 
 published correspondence, and was addressed to his 
 college friend, William Small. 
 
 'May 7, 1775. 
 'Dear Sir, — Within this week we have received the 
 unhappy news of an action of considerable magnitude, 
 between tlic King's troops and our brethren of Boston, 
 in which, it is said, five hundred of the former, with the 
 Earl of Percy are slain. That such an action has oc- 
 curred is undoubted, though, perhaps, the circumstances 
 may not have reached us with truth. This accident has 
 cut off our last hope of reconciliation, and a frenzy of 
 revenge seems to have seized all ranks of people. It is 
 a lamentable circumstance, that the only mediatory 
 power, acknowledged by both parties, instead of leading 
 to a reconciliation his divided people, should pursue the 
 incendiary purpose of still blowing up the flames, as we 
 find him constantly doing, in every speech and public 
 declaration. This may, perhaps, be intended to intimi- 
 date into acquiescence, but the effect has been most un- 
 fortunately otherwise. A little knowledge of human 
 nature, and attention to its ordinary workings, might 
 have foreseen that the spirits of the people here were in 
 a state, in which they were more likely to be provoked, 
 than frightened, by haughty deportment. And to fill up 
 the measure of irritation, a proscription of individuals 
 has been substituted in the room of just trial. Can it 
 be believed, that a grateful people will suffer those to be 
 consigned to execution, whose sole crime has been the 
 developing and asserting their rights ? Had the Parlia- 
 ment possessed the power of reflection, they would have 
 
66 LIFE OF 
 
 avoided a measure as impotent as it was inflammatory. 
 When I saw Lord Chatham's bill, I entertained high 
 hope that a reconciliation could have been brought 
 about. The difference between his terms, and those 
 offered by our Congress, might have been accommo- 
 dated, if entered on, by both parties, with a disposition 
 to accommodate. But the dignity of Parliament, it 
 seems, can brook no opposition to its power. Strange, 
 that a set of men, who have made sale of their virtue to 
 the minister, should yet talk of retaining dignity ! But 
 I am getting into politics, though I sat down only to ask 
 your acceptance of the wine, and express my constant 
 wishes for your happiness.' 
 
 According to expectation, the General Assembly of 
 Virginia was summoned by Governor Dunmore, to meet 
 on the 1st day of June, '75 ; and Peyton Randolph was 
 obliged to leave the chair of congress, to attend as 
 speaker to that assembly. Thus wa^created the antici- 
 pated vacancy in the congressional delegation, which 
 Mr Jefterson had been elected to fill. But he did not 
 take his seat in that memorable body until some weeks 
 afler. A more imperious duty required his attention at 
 home, just at that moment. 
 
 Lord Dunmore had paraded the Legislature before 
 him, declaring that His Majesty, in the plenitude of his 
 royal condescension, had extended the ' olive branch' to 
 his discontented subjects in America, and opened the 
 door of reconciliation upon such terms as demanded 
 their grateful consideration and prompt acceptance. 
 The olive branch proved to be the famous * Conciliatory 
 Proposition' of Lord North, than which, a more insidi- 
 ous overture, or a more awkward attempt at diplomacy 
 never disgraced the annals of ministerial intrigue. He 
 immediately laid his budget before the Legislature. 
 Happily Mr Jefferson was a member ; and he was en- 
 treated to delay his departure for Congress, until this 
 exciting subject should be disposed of. The speaker, 
 Randolph, knowing that the same proposition had been 
 
THOMAS JEFFERSON. 67 
 
 addressed to the governors of all the colonies, and anx- 
 ious that the answer of the Virginia Assembly should 
 harmonize with the sentiments and wishes of the body 
 he had recently left, persuaded Mr Jefferson to remain 
 at his post. * He feared,' says the latter, 'that Mr 
 Nicholas, whose mind was not yet up to the mark of the 
 times, would undertake the answer, and therefore press- 
 ed me to prepare it.' 
 
 The import of this celebrated proposition was, that 
 should any colony propose to contribute its proportion 
 towards providing for the common defence, such pro- 
 portion to he disposable hy Parliament^ and to defray the 
 amount of its own civil list, such colony, the proposal 
 heing approved by the parent government, should be ex- 
 empted from all parliamentary taxes, except those for 
 the regulation of commerce ; the net proceeds of which 
 should be passed to its separate credit. It was perceived 
 at once, that an official proposition from the British 
 court, so specious in its terms, and at the same time so 
 mischievous in its designs, required a fundamental evis- 
 ceration and reply. A committee of twelve therefore of 
 the strongest members, was raised, to devise the appro- 
 priate treatment ; and to Mr Jefferson, who was one of 
 the committee, was assigned with one accord the exclu- 
 sive preparation of the instrument. The admirable ad- 
 dress with which he baffled the diplomacy of the British 
 minister, and the designs of his vaunted * Proposition,' 
 has been the theme of the historian and the statesman, 
 from that day to the present. The original draught was 
 so strong that even the committee were in doubt ; and 
 although they consented to report it, they attacked it 
 with severity in the House. ' But with the aid of 
 Randolph,' says Mr Jefferson, 'I carried it through; 
 with long and doubtful scruples from Mr Nicholas and 
 James Mercer, and a dash of cold water on it here and 
 there, enfeebling it somewhat, but finally with unanimi- 
 ty, or a vote approaching it.' 
 
68 UFB OF 
 
 In this paper the author ilid not scruple to intimate to 
 the luimster, tliat lus pro[H>situni >vav< porfootlv under- 
 stood on tliis suio i>f the water. Tliat its real object was 
 to proiluco a ilivisii>n among" the (\>K>nies, some of 
 which, it was su[)poseil, wmild accept it anil torsake the 
 rest; or in tailure of that, to atVoiil a pretext to tlie peo- 
 ple of Kniilaml for justityinii" the (lovernment in the 
 aih^ption iW' tin* most coercive nu^asures. He ileclared 
 moreovtM" that havinij; examined it in the most tavorahle 
 point of view. \\c was still conipellcil m ith pain and dis- 
 appointment to conclude, that it only chanjicd the lorm 
 of oppression, without Hiihteninii' its burden ; and that 
 tluMctore it nnist be ntet by a tiiin and uncpialilicil rejec- 
 tion, lie saiil that the ]iroposal then n\ade to them, in- 
 volved the interests of all the Colonies, and shouhl \u\\c 
 been adilressed to them in their collective ca[n\city. 
 Thev were represented m a jicneral (\>niiress composed 
 of Oeputies frotn all the States, whose nmon, he trusted, 
 hail been so stnniiily ceinentcil that no partial applica- 
 tion could produce the shiihtcst dt>^>arture tVom the com- 
 mon cause. Thev consiilercvl themselves as bound m 
 honor, as \>ell as interest, to share one g\>uoral fate with 
 their sistt r colonies : and shoidd hoUl themselves as base 
 deserters of the Tnion to which they had acceded, were 
 thev to airree to any measure of a separate acconnuo- 
 dation. This celebratcil paper couchules with a reli- 
 jjious ejaculation: the \> ant i>f which in some of the 
 documents ilrawn by Mr JetVerson. has atVorded a theme 
 of unjust anin\ailveision upiui his vic\\s of the Oimuc 
 super inteiuleuce. 
 
 * These, my l^ord, are our sentiments, on this impor- 
 tant su\>icct. which we otVcr i>uly as an indi\idual part of 
 the whole empire. Final ilctcnuination we leave to the 
 General Conjiivss. now sittinjj, before whom we shall 
 lav the papers vour lordship tias ct>mmunicated to us. 
 For i>ursches, we have exhausted every mode of appli- 
 cation which tuir invention conld sujijjt^st, as proper and 
 promising-. >Ve have decently remonstrated with par- 
 
THOMAS JEFFERSON. (»0 
 
 liament — they have added new injuries to the oUl ; we 
 have wearied our Kin«»' witli supplications he has not 
 dei«!,nod to answer us; we liave appealed to the native 
 lionor ami justice of the l>ritish nation — their etVorts in 
 our favor have hitherto heen inellectual. AYhat then re- 
 mains to be done ! That we connnit onr injuries to the 
 even-handed justice of that llcini:^', who doc^tli no wrong, 
 earnestly beseeching' llim to iilunnnate the councils, and 
 prosper the endeavors of those to whom America hath 
 contidcd her ho[>es ; that through tiieir wise directions, 
 we may again see re-united the blessings of liberty, pros- 
 perity and harmony with CJreat Kritain.' 
 
 It may be considered fortunate that Virginia took the 
 precedence of the other Colonies, perhaps even of Con- 
 gress, in replying to this deceptive overture ; and no less 
 fortunate that the business of prei>ariug the answer de- 
 volved on Mr Jellerson. A less decisive and nnecpiivo- 
 cal stand at the outset, would have admitted the entering 
 wedge, and perhaps ended in ntter disorganization. It 
 is not anu)ng the least of the merits of tliis performance, 
 that the ' Union' is kept uppermost throughout, and the 
 word ' Congress ' sonnded in the ears of his lordship at 
 every step, sternly intimating that that is the door at 
 which he must knock with all his messaiics of negocia- 
 tion. Better evidence, however, of the high character 
 of this production could not be given, than the fact that, 
 on Mr Jefferson's repairing to Philadelphia and convey- 
 ing the first notice of it to Congress, that enlightened 
 body were so impressed with the gronnd taken, that 
 they very soon adopted it, after a slight revision by the 
 author, as the concurrent voice of the nation. This cir- 
 cumstance accounts for the similarity of feature in the 
 two instruments. Viewed in a political light the present 
 essay, like his 'Rights of British America,' proves the 
 author's mind to have been indoctrinated in the great 
 principles of the Revolution, long before he wrote the 
 Declaration of Independence. Its eiVect upon Lord 
 Dunmore may be inferred from his answer, a few days 
 after its presentation to his Excellency. It was suffi- 
 
 7 M 
 
70 
 
 LIFE OF 
 
 ciently laconic. ' Gentlemen of the House of Burgesses 
 — It is with real concern I can discover nothing in your 
 address, that I think manifests the smallest inclination 
 to, or will be productive of, a reconciliation with the 
 mother country.' 
 
 This was the last regal Assembly that ever met in 
 Virginia. They adjourned on the 24th of June, '75, and 
 the Governor could never afterwards collect a quorum. 
 In a paroxysm of terror he had some days before aban- 
 doned the palace, and fled for refuge on board one of the 
 British ships of war, declaring he would never return, 
 unless they accepted the conciliatory proposition of the 
 Prime Minister. Although his Excellency returned, the 
 people would never afterwards receive him or rever- 
 ence his authority. 
 
 As this was the last, so was it the most important As- 
 sembly that was held under the royal government. By 
 its decisions, a long stride was taken in the advancement 
 of the general cause. The example was electric upon 
 the other provinces, and was felt with awe in the great 
 American Council. ' The constant gratitude,' says Girar- 
 din, ' of the American people, will, through every succeed- 
 ing generation, be due to this assembly of enlightened 
 patriots. Had they, upon this occasion, have accepted 
 of any partial terms of accommodation, favorable to them- 
 selves alone, and in exclusion of the rights of the other 
 colonies, or had they been less firm in repelling the ag- 
 gressions of the Governor, or less able in defending their 
 own liberties, the cause of American Independence might 
 probably have terminated very differently from what it 
 actually did.' 
 
 The fall of the regal power in Virginia commenced 
 the literal verification of that blasting prophecy of Wilkes 
 in the House of Commons, the February before. But the 
 * loss of the first province of the empire ' was not follow- 
 ed, as he hoped, ' with the loss of the heads of the Min- 
 isters.' In the course of one of the most vehement and 
 
THOMAS JEFFERSON. 71 
 
 overwhelming onsets against the administration, and one 
 of the most ardent and powerful discourses upon human 
 liberty, every tittle of which was a prophecy, that intre- 
 pid defender of the rights of man uttered the following 
 sentences. ' In the great scale of empire, you will de- 
 cline, I fear from the decision of this day ; and the Amer- 
 icans will rise to independence, to power, to all the 
 greatness of the most renowned States ; for they build 
 on the solid basis of general public liberty.' * If you 
 persist in your resolution, all hope of reconciliation is 
 extinct. The Americans will triumph — the whole con- 
 tinent of North America will be dismembered from 
 Great Britain, and the w^ide arch of the raised empire 
 fall. But I hope the just vengeance of the people will 
 overtake the authors of these pernicious counsels, and 
 the loss of the first province of the empire, be speedily 
 followed by the loss of the heads of those Ministers who 
 first invented them.' 
 
72 LIFE OF 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 On the 21st of June, 1775, Mr Jefferson took his seat 
 in the grand council of arbiters, to whom America had 
 committed the direction of her destinies. In the origi- 
 nation of this Council, he had exercised a leading agen- 
 cy ; and through the whole process of its establishment, 
 had persevered with ardor. 
 
 He was now ushered upon a theatre, broad enough 
 to meet his own standard of thought and desire of ac- 
 tion. His patriotism had comprehended the whole ter- 
 ritory of British America, and would stop at nothing 
 short. The Union had had its birth place in his mind. 
 It had been first breathed from his lips. He had pointed 
 to it in all his propositions ; and hurled it in defiance 
 at the British Premier. The consolidation of the moral 
 and physical energies of the continent, was the first ob- 
 ject of his ambition ; and that object was now in a fair 
 course of accomplishment. 
 
 Congress had been in session about six weeks when 
 Mr Jefferson arrived ; yet an opportunity had been re- 
 served, in anticipation, for impressing the tone of his 
 sentiments upon the most important state-paper that had 
 yet been meditated. 
 
 On the 24th of June, the committee which ^ad been 
 appointed to prepare a Dcdar^ation of the causcjof taking 
 up arms, brought in their report. The report, being dis- 
 approved by the majority, was recommitted, and Mr 
 Jefferson and Mr Dickinson were added to the com- 
 mittee. This document was designed as a manifesto to 
 
THOMAS JEFFERSON. 73 
 
 the world, justifying a resistance to the parent govern- 
 ment, and required a skilful preparation. The com- 
 mittee requested Mr Jefferson to execute the draught. 
 He excused himself; but on their pressing him with 
 urgency, he consented. He brought it from his study, 
 and laid it before the committee. As anticipated by 
 the writer, it was too strong for Mr Dickinson, who 
 still retained the hope of reconciliation with the mother 
 country, and was unwilling it should be lessened by of- 
 fensive statements. ' He was so honest a man,' says 
 Jefferson, ' and so able a one, that he was greatly in- 
 dulged even by those who could not feel his scruples.' 
 They therefore requested him to take the paper, and re- 
 mould it according to his own views. He did so : pre- 
 paring an entire new statement, and retaining of the 
 former draught only the last four paragraphs and half 
 of the preceding one. The committee approved and 
 reported it. In Congress, it encountered the shrugs and 
 grimaces of the revolutionary party in every quarter of the 
 House ; and the desire of unanimity, ever predominant, 
 was the only motive which silenced their repugnance to 
 its lukewarmness. A humorous circumstance attending 
 its adoption is related by Mr Jefferson. It shows the 
 great disparity of opinion which prevailed in that body, 
 and the mutual sacrifices which were constantly requir- 
 ed to preserve an unbroken column. 
 
 ' Congress gave a signal proof of their indulgence to 
 Mr Dickinson, and of their great desire not to go too 
 fast for any respectable part of our body, in permitting 
 him to draw their second petition to the King, according 
 to his own ideas, and passing it with scarcely any 
 amendment. The disgust against its humility was gen- 
 eral ; and Mr Dickinson's delight at its passage was the 
 only circumstance which reconciled them to it. The 
 vote being passed, although farther observation on it 
 was out of order, he could not refrain from rising and 
 expressing his satisfaction, and concluded by saying, 
 ♦' There is but one word, Mr President, in the paper 
 •7* 
 
74 LIFE OF 
 
 which I disapprove, and that is the word Congress ; on 
 which Ben Harrison rose and said, " There is but one 
 word in the paper, Mr President, of which I approve, 
 and that is the word Congress." ' 
 
 This production enjoys a high reputation. The fact 
 that Mr Jefferson had any agency in its prepara- 
 tion, or that so radical an opposition of views existed 
 in the Congress of '75, has never been stated by 
 any writer ; nor indeed had many interesting minutiae, 
 connected with our ancient history come to the light, 
 before the publication of his private 'memoranda.' As 
 a literary performance, and as a specimen of revolu- 
 tionary fortitude perhaps unequalled, the effect of which 
 was to charge the entire responsibility of the war upon 
 Great Britain, it possesses great merit. But in a politi- 
 cal point of view, it is insufferably tame and humilia- 
 ting; though even in that light, it was the best perhaps 
 that the circumstances of the times allowed, inasmuch 
 as it coincided with the sentiments of the great majority 
 of the American people. It abandoned the whole ground 
 which Mr Jefferson had taken in his draught, the ground 
 which he had uniformly maintained in his previous 
 writings, and the one which Congress themselves adopt- 
 ed, the ensuing year, as the only orthodox and tenable 
 statement of their cause. It intimated a desire for an 
 amicable compact, something like Magna Charta, in 
 which doubtful, undefined points should be ascertained, 
 so as to secure that proportion of authority and liberty, 
 which would be for the general good of the whole em- 
 pire. It claimed only a partial exemption from the au- 
 thority of parliament ; expressed a willingness in the 
 colonies to contribute, in their own way, to the expenses 
 of government ; but made a traverse, at last, in prefer- 
 ring the horrors of war to submission to the unlimited 
 supremacy of parliament.* 
 
 * Ramsay. 
 
THOMAS JEFFERSON. 
 
 75 
 
 Such were the doctrines which influenced a very great 
 majority of Congress. The actual revolutionists were 
 a feeble body in the House. The decision of character 
 requisite to assume a posture so heretical at this time, 
 and so pregnant with the auguries of woe, desolation 
 and death, appeared almost supernatural. It was en- 
 joyed by few even of that race of men. After stating 
 the grounds upon which they rested the justification of 
 their appeal to arms, the manifesto concludes in the 
 language of Mr Jefferson's draught. 
 
 It is worthy of remark that, while all historians have 
 concurred in ascribing the entire production to Mr Dick- 
 inson, they have at the same time generally quoted only 
 Mr Jefferson's conclusion. 
 
 ' We are reduced to the alternative of choosing an 
 unconditional submission to the tyranny of irritated 
 ministers, or resistance by force — the latter is our 
 choice. We have counted the cost of this contest, and 
 find nothing so dreadful as voluntary slavery. Honor, 
 justice, and humanity, forbid us tamely to surrender that 
 freedom which we received from our gallant ancestors, 
 and which our innocent posterity have a right to receive 
 from us. We cannot endure the infamy and guilt of 
 resigning succeeding generations to that wretchedness 
 which inevitably awaits them, if we basely entail here- 
 ditary bondage upon them. 
 
 ' Our cause is just. Our union is perfect. Our in- 
 ternal resources are great ; and, if necessary, foreign 
 assistance is undoubtedly attainable. We gratefully ac- 
 knowledge, as signal instances of the Divine favor to- 
 wards us, that his Providence would not permit us to be 
 called into this severe controversy, until we were grown 
 up to our present strength, had been previously exer- 
 cised in warlike operation, and possessed of the means 
 of defending ourselves. With hearts fortified with these 
 animating reflections, we most solemnly, before God 
 and the world, declare, that, exerting the utmost energy 
 of those powers, which our beneficent Creator hath 
 graciously bestowed on us, the arms we have been com- 
 pelled by our enemies to assume, we will, in defiance of 
 
76 LIFE OF 
 
 every hazard, with unabating firmness and perseverance, 
 emploj for the preservation of our Uberties ; being with 
 one mind resolved to die freemen, rather than to live 
 slaves. 
 
 ' Lest this declaration should disquiet the minds of 
 our friends and fellow subjects in any part of the empire, 
 we assure them, that we mean not to dissolve that union 
 which has so long and so happily subsisted between us, 
 and which we sincerely wish to see restored — necessity 
 has not yet driven us into that desperate measure, or 
 induced us to excite any other nation to war against 
 them — we have not raised armies with ambitious de- 
 signs of separating from Great Britain, and establish- 
 ing independent States. We fight not for glory or for 
 conquest. We exhibit to mankind the remarkable spec- 
 tacle, of a people attacked by unprovoked enemies, 
 without any imputation or even suspicion of offence. 
 They boast of their privileges and civilization, and yet 
 proffer no milder conditions than servitude or death. 
 
 'In our own native land, in defence of the freedom 
 that is our birth right, and which we ever enjoyed until 
 the late violation of it — for the protection of our pro- 
 perty, acquired solely by the honest industry of our fore- 
 fathers and ourselves, against violence actually offered, 
 we have taken up arms. We shall lay them down when 
 hostilities shall cease on the part of the aggressors, and 
 all danger of their being renewed shall be removed — 
 and not before. 
 
 ' With an humble confidence in the mercies of the 
 supreme and impartial Judge and Ruler of the universe, 
 we most devoutly implore his divine goodness to protect 
 us happily through this great conflict, to dispose our 
 adversaries to reconciliation on reasonable terms, and 
 thereby to relieve the empire from the calamities of civil 
 war.' 
 
 This declaration was published to the army by Gen- 
 eral Washington ; and proclaimed from the pulpit, with 
 great solemnity, by the ministers of religion. 
 
 On the 22d of July, Congress took into consideration 
 the concihatory proposition of Lord North. This was 
 a final peace measure, and it is said they delayed their 
 
THOMAS JEFFERSON. 77 
 
 answer, under pretext of dignity, with a view to wait 
 the event of the first actions, from which they might 
 draw some prognostics of the probable issue of the war. 
 However this may be, they exercised great discrimina- 
 tion in constituting the committee who should prepare 
 the instrument. Being elected by ballot, the number of 
 votes received by each, decided his station on the com- 
 mittee — -which was in the following order : Dr Frank- 
 lin, Mr Jefferson, John Adams and Richard H. Lee. A 
 stronger committee could not have been raised in that 
 House. It combined the greatest maturity of judgment, 
 with the soundest revolutionary principles. It was a 
 signal compliment to Mr Jefferson, who was but a new 
 member, and the youngest man in the whole body. The 
 answer of the Virginia Assembly upon the same subject 
 having been read and admired, the committee requested 
 its distinguished author to prepare the present report. 
 He consented ; and as before observed, made his reply 
 on the former occasion the basis of this. Although 
 intimately blended with the reputation of the writer, 
 and next in importance at that time to the Declaration 
 of Independence, its great length excludes it from a 
 place in this volume. 
 
 On the first of August, Congress adjourned, to meet 
 again on the 5th of September following. 
 
 The following letters, which Mr Jefferson addressed 
 at this critical time to a friend in England, are rare 
 revolutionary fragments. They show how little there 
 was of any thing but principle, which entered into the 
 motives of a principal actor, and one who was pro- 
 scribed as unpardonable among the movers of the re- 
 bellion. 
 
 'Monticello, August 25, 1775. 
 
 ' Dear Sir, — I am sorry the situation of our country 
 should render it not eligible to you to remain longer in 
 it. I hope the returning wisdom of Great Britain will, 
 ere long, put an end to this unnatural contest. There 
 
78 LIFE OF 
 
 may be people to whose tempers and dispositions, con- 
 tention is pleasing, and who, therefore, wish a con- 
 tinuance of confusion ; but to me, it is of all states but 
 one, the most horrid. My first wish is a restoration of 
 our just rights ; my second, a return of the happy pe- 
 riod, when, consistently with duty, I may withdraw 
 myself totally from the public stage, and pass the rest 
 of my days in domestic ease and tranquillity, banishing 
 every desire of ever hearing what passes in the world. 
 Perhaps, (for the latter adds considerably to the warmth 
 of the former wish,) looking with fondness towards a 
 reconciliation with Great Britain, I cannot help hoping 
 you may be able to contribute towards expediting this 
 good work. I think it must be evident to yourself, that 
 the Ministry have been deceived by their officers on this 
 side of the water, who (for what purpose, I cannot tell) 
 have constantly represented the American opposition as 
 that of a small faction, in which the body of the people 
 took little part. This, you can inform them, of your 
 own knowledge, is untrue. They have taken it into 
 their heads, too, that we are cowards, and shall surren- 
 der at discretion to an armed force. The past and fu- 
 ture operations of the war must confirm or undeceive 
 them on that head. I wish they were thoroughly and 
 minutely acquainted with every circumstance relative to 
 America, as it exists in truth. I am persuaded, this 
 would go far towards disposing them to reconciliation. 
 Even those in parliament who are called friends to 
 America, seem to know nothing of our real determina- 
 tions. I observe, they pronounced in the last parlia- 
 ment, that the Congress of 1774, did not mean to insist 
 rigorously on the terms they held out, but kept some- 
 thing in reserve, to give up ; and, in fact, that they 
 would give up every thing but the article of taxation. 
 Now, the truth is far from this, as I can affirm, and put 
 my honor to the assertion. Their continuance in this 
 error may perhaps produce very ill consequences. The 
 Congress stated the lowest terms they thought possible 
 to be accepted, in order to convince the world they were 
 not unreasonable. They gave up the monopoly and 
 regulation of trade, and all acts of parliament prior to 
 1764, leaving to British generosity to render these, at 
 
THOMAS JEFFERSON. 79 
 
 some future time, as easy to America, as the interest of 
 Britain would admit. But this was before blood was 
 spilt. I cannot affirm, but have reason to think, these 
 terms would not now be accepted. I wish no false sense 
 of honor, no ignorance of our real intentions, no vain 
 hope that partial concessions of right will be accepted, 
 may induce the Ministry to trifle with accommodation, 
 till it shall be out of their power ever to accommodate. 
 If, indeed, Great Britain, disjoined from her colonies, 
 be a match for the most potent nations of Europe, with 
 the colonies thrown into their scale, they may go on 
 securely. But if they are not assured of this, it would 
 be certainly unwise, by trying the event of another 
 campaign, to risk our accepting a foreign aid, which 
 perhaps may not be obtainable, but on condition of ever- 
 lasting avulsion from Great Britain. This would be 
 thought a hard condition to those who still wish for re- 
 union with their parent country. I am sincerely one of 
 those ; and would rather be in dependence on Great 
 Britain, properly limited, than on any nation upon earth, 
 or than on no nation. But I am one of those, too, who, 
 rather than submit to the rights of legislating for us, as- 
 sumed by the British parliament, and which late expe- 
 rience has shown they will so cruelly exercise, would 
 lend my hand to sink the whole island in the ocean. 
 
 ' If undeceiving the Minister, as to matters of fact, may 
 change his disposition, it will perhaps be in your power, 
 by assisting to do this, to render service to the whole 
 empire at the most critical time, certainly, that it has 
 ever seen. Whether Britain shall continue the head of 
 the greatest empire on earth, or shall return to her 
 original station in the political scale of Europe, depends, 
 perhaps, on the resolutions of the succeeding winter. 
 God send they may be wise and salutary for us all. I 
 shall be glad to hear from you as often as you may be 
 disposed to think of things here. You may be at liberty, 
 I expect, to communicate some things, consistently with 
 your honor and the duties you will owe to a protecting 
 nation. Such a communication among individuals may 
 be mutually beneficial to the contending parties. On 
 this or any future occasion, if I affirm to you any facts, 
 your knowledge of me will enable you to decide on their 
 
LIFE OF 
 
 credibility ; if I hazard opinions on the dispositions of 
 men or other speculative points, you can only know they 
 are my opinions. My best wishes for your felicity at- 
 tend you wherever you go ; and believe me to be, assur- 
 edly, your friend and servant.' 
 
 ' Philadelphia, Nov. 29, 1775. 
 
 'Dear Sir, — * * * * * * It is an immense 
 misfortune to the whole empire, to have a King of such 
 a disposition at such a time. We are told, and every 
 thing proves it true, that he is the bitterest enemy we 
 have. His Minister is able, and that satisfies me, that 
 ignorance or wickedness somewhere, controls him. In 
 an earlier part of this contest, our petitions told him, 
 that from our King there was but one appeal. The ad- 
 monition was despised, and that appeal forced on us. 
 To undo his empire, he has but one truth more to learn : 
 that, after colonies have drawn the sword, there is but 
 one step more they can take. That step is now pressed 
 upon us by the measures adopted, as if they were afraid 
 we would not take it. Believe me, dear Sir, there is not 
 in the British empire a man who more cordially loves a 
 union with Great Britain than I do. But, by the God 
 that made me, I will cease to exist before I yield to a 
 connection on such terms as the British Parliament 
 propose ; and in this, I think I speak the sentiments of 
 America. We want neither inducement nor power to 
 declare and assert a separation. It is will alone which 
 is wanting ; and that is growing apace under the foster- 
 ing hand of our Ring. One bloody campaign will pro- 
 bably decide everlastingly our future course ; I am sorry 
 to find a bloody campaign is decided on. If t)ur winds 
 and waters should not combine to rescue their shores 
 from slavery, and General Howe's reinforcement should 
 arrive in safety, we have hopes he will be inspirited to 
 come out of Boston and take another drubbing ; and we 
 must drub him soundly, before the sceptred tyrant will 
 know we are not mere brutes, to crouch under his hand, 
 and kiss the rod with which he deigns to scourge us. 
 Yours,' i&c. 
 
 Mr Jefferson was re-elected to Congress in August, 
 1775, and again in June, '76 ; continuing a member of 
 
THOMAS JEFFERSON. 81 
 
 that body, without intermission, until he resigned his 
 seat in September, '76. 
 
 During his absence however, at Philadelphia, he was 
 not inattentive to the affairs of his native state. He 
 maintained a constant correspondence with the patriot 
 leaders in that province, particularly Mr Wythe, and 
 stimulated them, if any stimulus was wanting, to the 
 strongest measures of political enfranchisement. Hav- 
 ing headed the principal movements of a civil character 
 in Virginia, he exercised a preponderating influence in 
 her councils. 
 
 The dissolution of the regal, and substitution of the 
 popular administration in Virginia, was unattended by a 
 single convulsion. But as yet, no settled form of gov- 
 ernment had been established. There was no constitu- 
 tion, and no distinct executive head. The legislative, 
 judiciary, and executive functions were all lodged in one 
 body — the colonial convention. This was the grand 
 depository of the whole political power of the province. 
 Although confined to his station in congress and op- 
 pressed with the cares of the general administration, Mr 
 Jefferson could not overlook in silence, the dangers to 
 be apprehended from so jarring a combination of funda- 
 mental powers in the political establishment of Virginia ; 
 and he exerted his influence to procure a more perfect 
 organization, at the meeting of the next convention. 
 
 The Convention assembled at Williamsburg on the 
 6th of May, 1776, when the vices of the existing system 
 were removed by the adoption of a Declaration op 
 Rights and a Constitution, which have continued 
 without alteration from that day until the convention of 
 1829. The subject was brought forward on the 15th of 
 May, by colonel Archibald Cary, who moved the ap- 
 pointment of a committee ' to prepare a declaration of 
 rights and plan of government, to maintain peace and 
 order in the colony, and secure substantial and equal 
 liberty to the people.' Whereupon a committee of 
 8 
 
82 LIFE OP 
 
 thirty-four persons was appointed, consisting of the 
 wisest heads and firmest hearts of Virginia ; of whom, 
 that veteran republican, George Mason, was one. 
 
 The question now arises, which has been so often 
 agitated — What particular agency, if any, had Mr 
 Jefferson in the formation of the Virginia Constitution 1 
 He was distant from the scene of the Convention, and 
 immersed in the complicated duties of his official station. 
 This question has within a few years been put to rest by 
 Mr Girardin, in his Continuation of Burke's History of 
 Virginia. This gentleman had free access to Mr Jeffer- 
 son's papers while compiling his history, and has pre- 
 sented the matter in a clear light. 
 
 It appears that the entire Preamble, and some portions 
 of the body of the instrument, are the production of Mr 
 Jefferson ; but the bulk of the constitution, including the 
 Declaration of Rights, is the work of George Mason. 
 Eager in the great work of political reformation, the 
 former had composed at Philadelphia, and transmitted 
 to his friend Mr Wythe, the draught of an entire plan 
 of government, comprehending a preamble, declaration 
 of rights, and constitution. But his plan was not receiv- 
 ed until a previous one had gone through a committee 
 of the whole, and been submitted to the convention for 
 their final sanction. It was then too late to adopt it 
 entire. * Mr Jefferson's valuable communication,' says 
 Mr Girardin, ' reached the convention just at the mo- 
 ment when the plan originally drawn up by colonel 
 George Mason, and afterwards discussed and amended, 
 was to receive the final sanction of that venerable body. 
 It was now too late to retrace previous steps ; the ses- 
 sion had already been uncommonly laborious ; and con- 
 siderations of personal delicacy hindered those, to whom 
 Mr Jefferson's ideas were imparted, from proposing or 
 urging new alterations. Two or three parts of his plan, 
 and the whole of his preamble, however, were adopted ; 
 and to this circumstance must be ascribed the strong 
 
THOMAS JEFFERSON. 83 
 
 similitude between the Preamble, and the Declaration of 
 Independence subsequently issued by the Continental 
 Congress, both having been traced by the same pen.' 
 In the Life of Patrick Henry, it is also stated : ' There 
 now exists among the archives of this State, an original 
 rough draught of a Constitution for Virginia, in the 
 hand-writing of Mr JefFersoUf containing this identical 
 preamble. The body of the constitution had been 
 adopted by the committee of the whole, before the arrival 
 of Mr Jefferson's plan : his preamble, however, was pre- 
 fixed to the instrument ; and some of the modifications 
 proposed by him, introduced into the body of it.' 
 
 The constitution was adopted unanimously, on the 
 29th of June, 1776 ; and to that date may be referred 
 the first establishment of self-government, by a written 
 compact, in the western continent, and probably in the 
 whole world. It formed the model for all the other 
 States, as they successively recovered themselves from 
 the parent monarchy. The example of Virginia was 
 soon followed by other provinces, and the popular ad- 
 ministrations succeeded to the regal with astonishing 
 rapidity. 
 
 The following paragraph in a letter to Major John 
 Cartwright, in 1824, will suffice to show the general light 
 in which Mr Jefferson viewed the first republican char- 
 ter, as well as the extent to which he carried his dem- 
 ocratic theory, in 1776. 
 
 ' Virginia, of which I am myself a native and resident, 
 was not only the first of the States, but, I believe I may 
 say, the first of the nations of the earth, wMch assem- 
 bled its wise men peaceably together, to form a funda- 
 mental constitution, to commit it to writing, and place it 
 among their archives, where every one should be free to 
 appeal to its text. But this act was very imperfect. 
 The other States,^ as they proceeded successfully to the 
 same work, made successive improvements ; and several 
 of them, still further corrected by experience, have, by 
 conventions, still further amended their first forms. My 
 
84 LIFE OF 
 
 own State has gone on so far with its 'premiere ebauche ; 
 but it is now proposing to call a convention for amend- 
 ment. Among the other improvements, I hope they will 
 adopt the subdivision of our counties into wards. The 
 former may be estimated at an average of twenty-four 
 miles square ; the latter should be about six miles square 
 each, and would answer to the hundreds of your Saxon 
 Alfred. In each of these might be, 1. An elementary 
 school. 2. A company of militia, with its officers. 3. 
 A justice of the peace and constable. 4. Each ward 
 should take care of their own poor. 5. Their own roads. 
 6. Their own police. 7. Elect within themselves one or 
 more jurors to attend the courts of justice. And, 8. 
 Give in at their Folk-house, their votes for all function- 
 aries reserved to their election. Each ward would thus 
 be a small republic within itself, and every man in the 
 State would thus become an acting member of the com- 
 mon government, transacting in person a great portion 
 of its rights and duties, subordinate indeed, yet impor- 
 tant and entirely within his competence. The wit of 
 man cannot devise a more solid basis for a free, durable, 
 and well-administered Republic' 
 
 This was the remarkable extent to which Mr Jeffer- 
 son carried his theory of popular government at the first 
 * leap.' That he had imbibed these doctrines so early 
 as '76, is evident ; for in his celebrated Revisal of the 
 Laws of Virginia, commenced in the autumn of that 
 year, he introduced a proposition for dividing the whole 
 State into wards of six miles square, and for imparting 
 to each, those identical portions of self-government above 
 described. 
 
 This Convention aspired to a higher agency m direct- 
 ing the course of the Revolution. The same hour which 
 gave birth to the proposition for establishing the new 
 government, was signalized by the adoption of a recom- 
 mendation, which pointed directly to the grand object of 
 the struo'ole. The resolution containing it, was conceiv- 
 ed in the following terms ; 
 
 ' Resolved, unanimously ^ That the Delegates appoint- 
 
THOMAS JEFFERSON. 85 
 
 ed to represent this Colony in General Congress, be in- 
 structed to propose to that respectable body, to declare 
 THK United Colonies free and independent States, 
 absolved from all allegiance to, or dependancc upon, the 
 Crown or Parliament of Great Britain ; and that they 
 give the assent of this Colony to such declaration, and 
 to whatever measures may be tbought proper and neces- 
 sary by the Congress, for forming foreign alliances, and 
 a confederation of the Colonies, at such time, and in 
 the manner, as to them shall seem best. Provided, that 
 the power of forming government for, and the regulation 
 of, the internal concerns of each Colony, be left to the 
 respective Colonial Legislatures.' 
 
 The intelligence of this denouement was received with 
 a general feeling of approbation throughout the coun- 
 try, and in many places with demonstrations of joy. It 
 was the signal for corresponding manifestations in most 
 of the provincial Legislatures, and in the course of a 
 short period, a great majority of the Representatives in 
 Congress were instructed to the same effect. 
 
 At this moment, the author of ' Common Sense' light- 
 ed his liercest torch. The efforts of this unrivalled pro- 
 pagandist, were powerfully reinforced by those solid ap- 
 peals to the reason and conscience, which were pro- 
 pounded to individual characters of weight in different 
 sections, through the dignified medium of private cor- 
 respondence. This was the great political lever of Mr 
 Jefferson. These active moral causes, mingling in con- 
 fluence, poured a steady stream of excitement into the 
 popular mind. The brilliant success of the American 
 arms, in several important engagements, strengthened 
 the general feeling. 
 
 In Congress also, at this period (May '76) correspond- 
 ing advances had been made in political sentiment. 
 The doctrines of Mr Jefferson were now clearly in the 
 ascendant. It was no longer heresy to maintain the 
 sovereignty of the people, and the co-ordinate sove- 
 reignty of the States with Great Britain in all matters 
 8* 
 
86 
 
 LIFE OP 
 
 of government, external as well as internal ; at least, it 
 was not so in practice, however it may have been in the 
 abstract. The revolutionary party were predominant. 
 A powerful minority, however, still existed, who clung 
 with filial reverence to the supposed ties which bound 
 them in conscience and honor to the parent government. 
 But happily, this party were terribly shaken in their faith 
 •by a recent act of Parliament, which declared the Col- 
 onies in a state of rebellion, and out of the protection of 
 the British Crown. They reasoned from this, that as 
 protection and dependance were reciprocal, the one hav- 
 ing ceased, the other might also ; and that therefore, 
 Great Britain herself had actually declared them inde- 
 pendent ! This was a sound conclusion ; and who can 
 sufficiently admire the stupendous folly of the British 
 Parliament 1 Still, however, cautious approaches to the 
 last extremities were requisite to preserve the general 
 assent of the people. 
 
 A preparatory step was accordingly taken by the pa- 
 triots, which discovered great address. A resolution was 
 proposed, declaring that ' whereas the government of 
 Great Britain had excluded the United Colonies from the 
 protectio7i of the Croion^ it was therefore irreconcilable 
 to reason and good conscience, for the people to con- 
 tinue their allegiance to the government under that 
 crown ; and they accordingly recommended the several 
 colonies to establish independent governinents of their own.'' 
 
 This resolution was adopted on the loth of May ; and 
 by a remarkable coincidence the Convention of Virginia 
 had, on the same day, adopted the resolution appointing 
 a committee to prepare a declaration of rights and plan 
 of government for that colony. It is said that Mr Jef- 
 ferson^ being constantly apprised of the progress of the 
 Convention, promoted this singular concurrence of pa- 
 rallel results with a view to popular effect. Be this as it 
 may, he was an ardent supporter of the measure in con- 
 gress ; regarding it as the entering wedge to the grand 
 
THOMAS JEFFERSON. 87 
 
 proposition which he throbbed with impatience to see 
 carried. 
 
 On the 28th of May, upon motion of Mr Jefferson, 
 congress resolved ' that an animated address be pubUsh- 
 ed, to impress the minds of the people with the necessi- 
 ty of now stepping forward to save their country, their 
 freedom, and their property.' Being appointed chair- 
 man of the committee upon this resolution, he prepared 
 the address ; and an animated one it was ; conceived in 
 his happiest manner, with a power of expression and of 
 argument, which carried conviction and courage to the 
 breast of every man. This was another ingenious stroke 
 of policy, designed to prepare the popular mind for a 
 favorable reception of the momentous decision in reserve. 
 
 The plot of the drama now began to thicken. The 
 delegates from Virginia received their instructions early 
 in June, and immediately held a conference to devise 
 suitable means for their due execution. Richard H. 
 Lee, being the oldest in the delegation, and endowed 
 with extraordinary powers of eloquence, was designated 
 to make the introductory motion, and the seventh of 
 June was ordered as the day. Accordingly, on that day 
 he rose from his seat and moved that congress should 
 declare, ' That these United Colonies are, and of right 
 ought to be,/>'cc and indei)endent States ; that they are ab- 
 solved from all allegiance to the British Crown, and that 
 all political connection between them and the State of 
 Great Britain, is, and ought to be, totally dissolved ; that 
 measures should be immediately taken for procuring the 
 assistance of foreign powers, and a Confederation be 
 formed to bind the colonies more closely together.' 
 
 The House being obliged to attend at that time, to 
 some other business, the proposition was deferred till 
 the next day, when the members were ordered to attend 
 punctually at ten o'clock. 
 
 Saturday, June 8th, Congress proceeded to take the 
 subject into consideration, and referred it to a Commit- 
 
88 LIFE OF 
 
 tee of the Whole, into which they immediately resolved 
 themselves, and passed that day and Monday, the 10th, 
 in warm and vehement debates. 
 
 The conflict was painful. The grounds of opposition 
 to the measure affected its expediency as to time, rather 
 than its absolute propriety, and were strenuously urged 
 by Dickinson and Wilson of Pennsylvania, Robert R. 
 Livingston of New-York, Edward Rutledge of South 
 Carolina, and some others. The leading advocates of 
 the immediate declaration of independence were Mr 
 Jefferson, John and Samuel Adams, Lee, Wythe, and 
 some others. The heads only of the arguments de- 
 livered on this interesting occasion, have been preserved 
 — by one man alone, Mr Jefferson, and they owe their 
 first disclosure to the world, to his posthumous publica- 
 tion.* 
 
 The tehor of the debate indicated such a strength of 
 opposition to the measure, that it was deemed impolitic 
 to press it at this time. The Colonies of New- York, 
 New-Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, and 
 South Carolina, were not yet matured for falling from 
 the parent stem, but as they were fast advancing to that 
 state, it was thought most prudent to wait awhile for 
 them. The final decision of the question was therefore 
 postponed to the 1st of July. But, that this might occa- 
 sion as little delay as possible, it was ordered that a 
 committee be appointed to prepare a Declaration of 
 Independence, in accordance with the motion. Mr Jef- 
 ferson having the highest number of votes, was placed 
 at the head of this Committee ; the other members were 
 John Adams, Dr Franklin, Roger Sherman, and Robert 
 R. Livingston. The Committee met, and unanimously 
 solicited Mr Jefferson to prepare the draught of the De- 
 claration alone. He drew it ; but before submitting it 
 to the Committee, he communicated it separately to Dr 
 
 * See Vol. I, JefFerson's Works. 
 
THOMAS JEFFERSON. 89 
 
 Franklin and Mr Adams, with a view to avail himself of 
 the benefit of their criticisms. They criticised it, and 
 suggested two or three alterations, merely verbal, intend- 
 ed to soften somewhat the original phraseology. The 
 Committee unanimously approved it ; and on Friday, 
 the 28th of June, he reported it to Congress, when it was 
 read and ordered to lie on the table. 
 
 On Monday the first of July, agreeably to assignment, 
 the House resolved itself into a committee of the whole, 
 and resumed the consideration of the preliminary motion. 
 It was debated again through the day, and finally carri- 
 ed in the afiirmative by the votes of New-Hampshire 
 Connecticut, Massachusetts, Rhode-Island, New-Jersey, 
 Maryland, Virginia, North CaroHna and Georgia. South 
 Carolina and Pennsylvania voted against it. Delaware 
 had but two members present, and they were divided. 
 The Delegates from New- York declared they were for 
 it themselves, and were assured their constituents were 
 for it ; but that their instructions having been drawn near 
 a twelvemonth before, when reconciliation was still the 
 general object, they were enjoined by them to do nothing 
 which should impede that object. They therefore thought 
 themselves not justifiable in voting on either side, and 
 asked leave to withdraw from the question ; which was 
 granted them. In this state of things, the Committee 
 rose and reported their resolution to the House. Mr 
 Edward Rutledge, of South Carolina, then requested that 
 the decision might be put off* to the next day, as he 
 believed his colleagues, though they disapproved of the 
 resolution, would then join in it for the sake of unanimi- 
 ty. The ultimate decision by the House was according- 
 ly postponed to the next day, July 2d, when it was again 
 moved, and South Carolina concurred in voting for it. 
 In the mean time, a third member had come post from 
 the Delaware counties, and turned the vote of that Colo- 
 ny in favor of the resolution. Members of a difi"erent 
 sentiment attending that morning from Pennsylvania, 
 
90 LIFE OF 
 
 her vote also was changed ; so that the whole twelve 
 Colonies, who were authorised to vote at all, gave their 
 voice for it ; and within a few days, July 9th, the Con- 
 vention of New-York approved of it, and thus supplied 
 the void occasioned by the withdrawal of her Delegates 
 from the question. 
 
 It should be observed that these fluctuations and the 
 final vote were upon the original motion^ to declare the 
 Colonies independent. 
 
 Congress proceeded the same day, July 2d, to consider 
 the Declaration of Independence, which had been report- 
 ed the 28th of June, and ordered to lie on the table. 
 The debates were again renewed with great violence — 
 greater than before. Tremendous was the ordeal through 
 which the title-deed of our liberties, perfect as it had 
 issued from the hands of its artificer, was destined 
 to pass. Inch by inch, was its progress through the 
 House disputed. Every dictum of peculiar political force, 
 and alml^t every expression was made a subject of ac- 
 rimonious animadversion by the anti-revolutionists. On 
 the other hand, the champions of Independence con- 
 tended with the constancy of martyrs, for every tenet 
 and every word of the precious gospel of their faith. 
 Among the latter class, the Author of the Declaration 
 himself has assigned to John Adams the station of pre- 
 eminence. Thirty-seven years afterwards, he declared 
 that ' Mr Adams was the pillar of its support on the floor 
 of Congress, its ablest advocate and defender against the 
 multifarious assaults it encountered.' At another time, 
 he said 'John Adams was our Colossus on the floor. 
 Not graceful, not elegant, not always fluent in his public 
 addresses, he yet came out with a power, both of thought 
 and of expression, which moved us from our seats.' 
 
 The debates were continued with unremitting heat 
 through the 2d, 3d, and 4th days of July, till on the 
 evening of the last the most important day perhaps, 
 politically speaking, that the world ever saw — they were 
 
THOMAS JEFFERSON. 91 
 
 brought to a close. The principle of unanimity finally 
 prevailed; reciprocal concessions, sufficient to unite all 
 on the solid ground of the main purpose, were made. 
 In the generous spirit of compromise, however, some of 
 the most splendid specifications in the American Char- 
 ter were surrendered. On some of these it is well known 
 the author himself set the highest value, as recognizing 
 principles to which he was enthusiastically partial, and 
 which were almost peculiar to him. His scorching 
 malediction against the traffickers in human blood, stood 
 conspicuously among the latter. The light in which he 
 viewed these depredations upon the original, may be 
 gathered from the following memorandum of the trans- 
 action ; in which too, he betrays a fact in relation to 
 New England, that is not generally known. 
 
 * The pusillanimous idea that we had friends in Eng- 
 land worth keeping terms with, still haunted the minds 
 of many. For this reason, those passages which con- 
 veyed censures on the people of England, were struck 
 out, lest they should give them offence. The clause too, 
 reprobating the enslaving the inhabitants of Africa, was 
 struck out, in complaisance to South Carolina and 
 Georgia, who had never attempted to restrain the im- 
 portation of slaves, and who, on the contrary, still wish- 
 ed to continue it. Our northern brethren also, I believe, 
 felt a little tender under those censures ; for though the 
 people had very few slaves themselves, yet they had been 
 pretty considerable carriers of them to others.'' 
 
 For the purpose of comparing the original, with the 
 amended form, the Declaration shall be presented as it 
 came from the hands of the author. The parts strick- 
 en out by Congress are printed in italics, and inclosed 
 in brackets ; and those inserted by them are placed in 
 the margin. The sentiments of men are known by 
 what they reject, as well as by what they receive, and 
 the comparison in the present case, will demonstrate the 
 singular forwardness of one mind on certain great prin- 
 ciples of Political Science. 
 
92 LIFE OF 
 
 A Declaration by the Representatives of the United 
 States of America, in General Congress assembled. 
 
 When, in the course of human events, it 
 becomes necessary for one people to dissolve 
 the political bands which have connected 
 them vrith another, and to assume among the 
 powers of the earth, the separate and equal 
 station to which the laws of nature and of 
 nature's God entitle them, a decent respect 
 to the opinions of mankind requires, that 
 they should declare the causes which impel 
 them to the separation. 
 
 We hold these truths to be self-evident : 
 that all men are created equal ; that they 
 are endowed by their Creator with [inherent 
 certain and] inalienable rights ; that among these 
 are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness ; 
 that to secure these rights, governments are 
 instituted among men, deriving their just 
 powers from the consent of the governed ; 
 that whenever any form of government be- 
 comes destructive of these ends, it is the 
 right of a people to alter or abolish it, and 
 to institute a new government, laying its foun- 
 dation on such principles, and organizing its 
 powers in such form, as to them shall seem 
 most likely /to effect their safety and happi- 
 ness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that 
 governments long established should not be 
 changed for light and transient causes ; and 
 accordingly all experience hath shown that 
 mankind are more disposed to suffer while 
 evils are sufferable, than to right themselves 
 by abolishing the forms to which they are 
 accustomed. But when a long train of abuses 
 and usurpations \hegiin at a distinguisJied pe- 
 riod andl pursuing invariably the same ob- 
 ject, evinces a design to reduce them under 
 absolute despotism, it is their right, it is their 
 duty to throw off such government, and to 
 provide new guards for their future security. 
 
THOMAS JEFFERSON. 93 
 
 Such has been the patient sufFerance of the 
 Colonies ; and such is now the necessity 
 which constrains them to [expunge] , their alter 
 former systems of government. The his- 
 tory of the present King of Great Britain is 
 a history of [unremitting] injuries and usur- repeated 
 patio ns, [among which appears no solitary fact 
 to contradict the uniform tenor of the rest, but 
 all have] in direct object the establishment of all having 
 an absolute tyranny over these States. To 
 prove this, let facts be submitted to a candid 
 world [for the truth of which we pledge a faith 
 yet unsullied by falsehood.] 
 
 He has refused his assent to laws the most 
 wholesome and necessary for the public good. 
 
 He has forbidden his governors to pass 
 laws of immediate and pressing importance, 
 unless suspended in their operation till his 
 assent should be obtained ; and, when so sus- 
 pended, he has utterly neglected to attend to 
 them. 
 
 He has refused to pass other laws for the 
 accommodation of large districts of people, 
 unless those people would relinquish the right 
 of representation in the legislature, a right 
 inestimable to them, and formidable to tyrants 
 only. 
 
 He has called together legislative bodies 
 at places unusual, uncomfortable, and distant 
 from the depository of their public records, 
 for the sole purpose of fatiguing them into 
 compliance with his measures. 
 
 He has dissolved representative Houses re- 
 peatedly [and continually] for opposing with 
 manly firmness his invasions on the rights of 
 the people. 
 
 He has refused for a long time after such 
 dissolutions to cause others to be elected, 
 whereby the legislative powers, incapable of 
 annihilation, have returned to the people at 
 large for tlieir exercise, the State remaining, 
 m the mean time, exposed to all the dangers 
 9 ^ 
 
94 LIFE OF 
 
 of invasion from without and convulsions 
 within. 
 
 He has endeavored to prevent the popula- 
 tion of these States ; for that purpose ob- 
 structing the laws for naturalization of for- 
 eigners, refusing to pass others to encourage 
 their migrations hither, and raising the con- 
 ditions of new appropriations of lands, 
 obstructed He has l^suffered] the administration of 
 justice \totally to cease in some of these 
 by States'\ refusing his assent to laws for esta- 
 
 blishing judiciary powers. 
 
 He has made \our'^ judges dependant on 
 his will alone for the tenure of their offices, 
 and the amount and payment of their 
 salaries. 
 
 He has erected a multitude of new offices, 
 \hy a self assumed 'power'\ and sent hither 
 swarms of new officers to harass our people, 
 and eat out their substance. 
 
 He has kept among us in times of peace 
 standing armies \^and ships of war^ without 
 the consent of our legislatures. 
 
 He has affected to render the military in- 
 dependent of, and superior to, the civil power. 
 
 He has combined with others to subject us 
 to a jurisdiction foreign to our constitutions 
 and unacknowledged by our laws, giving his 
 assent to their acts of pretended legislation 
 for quartering large bodies of armed troops 
 among us ; for protecting them by a mock 
 trial from punishment for any murders which 
 they should commit on the inhabitants of 
 these States ; for cutting off our trade with 
 all parts of the world ; for imposing taxes 
 on us without our consent ; for depriving us 
 in many [ ] of the benefits of trial by jury ; for trans- 
 cases porting us beyond seas to be tried for pre- 
 tended offences ; for abolishing the free sys- 
 tem of English laws in a neighboring Pro- 
 vince, establishing therein an arbitrary gov- 
 ernment, and enlarging its boundaries, so as 
 
THOMAS JEFFERSON. 95 
 
 to render it at once an example and fit in- 
 strument for introducing the same absolute 
 rule into these [s^«^es] ; for taking away our colonies 
 charters, abolishing our most valuable laws, 
 and altering fundamentally the forms of our 
 governments ; for suspending our own legis- 
 latures, and declaring themselves invested 
 with power to legislate for us in all cases 
 whatsoever. 
 
 He has abdicated government here \witli- by declaring 
 drawing his governors, and declaring us out o/us out of his 
 his allegiance and protection^ protection 
 
 tr I 1 J J 1 and wafi^inff 
 
 He has plundered our seas, ravaged our ^^^ against 
 
 coasts, burnt our towns, and destroyed the us 
 lives of our people. 
 
 He is at this time transporting large armies 
 of foreign mercenaries to complete the works 
 of death, desolation, and tyranny already be- 
 gun with circumstances of cruelty and per- 
 fidy [] unworthy the head of a civilized scarcely par- 
 nation, alleledinthe 
 TT 1 • 1 f n '^- most barbar- 
 He has constrained our tellow-citizens Q^g ^^^^ ^.^^ 
 
 taken captive on the high seas to bear arms totally 
 against their country, to become the execu- 
 tioners of their friends and brethren, or to 
 fall themselves by their hands. 
 
 He has [ ] endeavored to bring on the in- excited do- 
 habitants of our frontiers the merciless In- "^^^tic msur- 
 
 rGCtions 
 dian Savages, whose known rule of warfare amonff us 
 
 is an undistinguished destruction of all ages, and has 
 sexes and conditions [^of existence.~\ 
 
 [He has incited treasonable insurrections of 
 our fellow- citizens, with the allurements of for- 
 feiture and confiscation of our property. 
 
 He has urged cruel war against human na- 
 ture itself, violating its most sacred rights of 
 life and liberty in the persons of a distant peo- 
 ple who never offended him, captivating and 
 carrying them into slavery in another hemi- 
 sphere, or to incur miserable death in their 
 transportation thither. This piratical ivar- 
 fare, the opprobrium of infidel powers^ is th^ 
 
96 LIFE OF 
 
 warfare of the christian hing of Great Brit- 
 ain. Determined to keep open a market where 
 MEN should he bought and sold, he has prosti- 
 tuted his negative for suppressing every legis- 
 lative attempt to prohibit or to restrain this ex- 
 ecrable commerce. And that this assemblage of 
 horrors might want no fact of distinguished 
 die, he is now exciting those very people to rise 
 in arms among us, and to purchase that liberty 
 of ivhich he has deprived them, by murdering 
 the people on whom he also obtruded them : thus 
 paying off former crimes committed against the 
 LIBERTIES of ojic pcoplc with crimcs which he 
 urges them to commit against the lives of an- 
 other.'\ 
 
 In every stage of these oppressions we 
 have petitioned for redress in the most hum- 
 ble terms : our repeated petitions have been 
 answered only by repeated injuries. 
 
 A prince whose character is thus marked 
 by every act which may define a tyrant is 
 free unfit to be the ruler of a [ ] people [who 
 
 mean to be free. Future ages will scarcely 
 believe that the hardiness of one man adventur- 
 ed, ivithin the short compass of twelve years 
 only, to lay a foundation so broad and so 
 undisguised for tyranny over a people fos- 
 tered and fixed in principles of freedom.']^ 
 
 Nor have we been wanting in attentions to 
 our British brethren. We have warned them 
 from time to time of attempts by their legis- 
 an unwar- lature to extend [a] jurisdiction over [these 
 rantable our states.l We have reminded them of the 
 us circumstances of our emigration and settle- 
 
 ment here [no one of which could warrant so 
 strange a pretension : that these were effected 
 at the expense of our oion blood and treasure, 
 unassisted by the wealth or the strength of 
 Great Britain : that in constituting indeed our 
 several forms of government, we had adopted 
 one common king, thereby laying a foundation 
 for perpetual league and amity with them : hut 
 
THOMAS JEFFERSON. 97 
 
 that submission to their parliament was no part 
 of our constitution, nor ever in idea, if history 
 may he credited: and,] we [ ] appealed to Have 
 their native justice and magnanimity [as wetland we have 
 as to] the ties of our common kindred to dis- conjured 
 avow these usurpations which [were likely to] ^^^^ ^7 
 interrupt our connection and correspond- would inevit- 
 ence. They too have been deaf to the voice ^^^^ 
 of justice and of consanguinity, [and when 
 occasions have been given them, by the regular 
 course of their laws, of removing from their 
 councils the disturbers of our harmony, they 
 have, by their free election, re-established them 
 inpoiver. At this very time too, they are per- 
 mitting their chief magistrate to send over not 
 only soldiers of our common blood, but Scotch 
 and foreign mercenaries to invade and destroy 
 us. These facts have given the last stab to 
 agonizing affection, and manly spirit bids us 
 to renounce for ever these unfeeling brethren. 
 We must endeavor to forget our former love 
 for them, and hold them as we hold the rest 
 of mankind, enemies in war, in peace friends. 
 We might have been a free and a great people 
 together ; but a communication of grandeur 
 and of freedom, it seems, is below their dignity. 
 Be it so, since they will have it. The road to 
 happiness and to glory is open to us too. We We must 
 will tread it apart from them, and] acquiesce therefore 
 in the necessity which denounces our [eter- 
 nal] separation [ ] ! and hold 
 
 them as we 
 hold the rest 
 of mankind, 
 enemies in 
 war, in peace, 
 friends. 
 
 We, therefore, the representatives 
 of the United States of America in appealing to the supreme 
 General Congress assembled, [ ] doJ"'*^^ ^f, ^^^ ^o'"^^ f^^ 
 in the name? and by the authority Mentions ' '"' '"" 
 of the good people of these [states ^^^^^-^^^ ,^j,^^l ^^^ 
 reject ana renounce alt allegiance and lish and declare, that 
 
 9* 
 
98 LIFE OF 
 
 these united colonies are, subjection to the kings of Great Brit- 
 and of right ought to ^^^ ^^^ ^jj others who may hereafter 
 
 %11\1b^, that they^are lb- ^^^«"^ %' through, or under them ; we 
 solved' from all alle- utterly dissolve all political connec- 
 giance to the British tion which may heretofore have sub' 
 crown, and that all po- gjgigf^ between us and the people or 
 
 twernthemSXestate>«^^««w^«^^ «/ ^^««^ Britain: and 
 of Great Britain is, and Jinally we do assert and declare these 
 ought to be, totally dis- colonies to be free and independent 
 ^^^^^^i states,] and that as free and inde- 
 
 pendent states, they have full power 
 to levy war, conclude peace, con- 
 tract alliances, establish commerce, 
 and do all other acts and things 
 which independent states may of 
 right do. 
 
 And for the support of this decla- 
 with a firm reliance on ration, [ ] we mutually pledge to 
 the protection of divine each other our lives, our fortunes, 
 providence, and our sacred honor. 
 
 The world has long since passed judgment upon the 
 relative merits of these two forms of the American 
 Declaration, and awarded the meed of pre-eminence to 
 the primitive one. The amendments obliterated some 
 of its best and brightest features ; impaired the beauty 
 and force of others ; and softened the general tone of 
 the whole instrument. 
 
 The Declaration thus amended in committee of the 
 whole, was reported to the House on the 4th of July, 
 agreed to, and signed by every member present except 
 Mr Dickinson. On the 19th of July it was ordered to be 
 engrossed on parchment ; and on the 2d of August, the 
 engrossed copy, after being compared at the table with 
 the original, was ordered to be signed by every member. 
 
 On the same day that Independence was declared, Mr 
 Jefferson was appointed one of a committee of three, to 
 devise an appropriate Coat of Arms for the republic of 
 the 'United States of America.' 
 
 The Declaration was received by the people with un- 
 
THOMAS JEFFERSON. 99 
 
 bounded admiration and joy. On the 8th of July it was 
 promulgated with great solemnity, at Philadelphia, and 
 saluted by the assembled multitude with peals on peals 
 of acclamation. On the 11th it was published in New 
 York, and proclaimed before the American Army, then 
 assembled in the vicinity, with all the pomp and circum- 
 stance of a military pageant. It was received with ex- 
 ultation by the collected chivalry of the Revolution. 
 They filled the air with their shouts, and shook the earth 
 with the thunders of their artillery. In Boston, the 
 popular transports were unparalleled. The national 
 manifesto was proclaimed from the balcony of the capi- 
 tol, in the presence of all the authorities, civil and mili- 
 tary, and of an innumerable concourse of people. An 
 immense banquet was prepared, at which the authori- 
 ties and all the principal citizens attended, and drank 
 toasts expressive of enthusiastic veneration for liberty, 
 and of detestation of tyrants. The rejoicings were con- 
 tinued through the night, and every ensign of royalty 
 that adorned either the public or private edifice, was 
 demolished before morning. 
 
 Similar demonstrations of patriotic enthusiasm attend- 
 ed the reception of the Declaration in all the cities and 
 chief towns of the continent. 
 
 In Virginia, the annunciation was greeted with graver 
 tokens of public felicitation. The convention decreed 
 that the name of the King should be expunged from the 
 liturgy of the established religion. All the remaining 
 emblems of royal authority were superseded by appro- 
 priate representations of the new order of things. A 
 new cbat of arms for the commonwealth was immedi- 
 ately ordered. 
 
 The author of the Declaration himself was not un- 
 conscious of the amazing consequences which would 
 flow from it, when thus ushered before the world as the 
 simultaneous fiat of the whole people. On the contrary, 
 they formed the theme of his constant reflection and 
 
100 LIFE OF 
 
 of his proudest prognostications. The emancipation of 
 the whole family of nations, as the ultimate result, was 
 the immovable conviction of his mind. It was in unison 
 with the reveries of his early youth ; and experience 
 but confirmed him in the animating presentiment. Stir- 
 ring effusions upon this topic abound in his private mem- 
 oranda, and in his familiar correspondence with friends. 
 Speaking of the French Revolution as the first link in 
 the chain of great consequences, he says, in his notes 
 upon that ill-starred drama : 
 
 ' As yet, we are but in the first chapter of its history. 
 The appeal to the rights of man, which had been made 
 in the United States, was taken up by France, first of 
 the European nations. From her the spirit has spread 
 over those of the South. The tyrants of the North have 
 allied indeed against it; but it is' irresistible. Their op- 
 position will only multiply its millions of human victims; 
 their own satellites will catch it, and the condition of 
 man will be finally and greatly meliorated. This is a 
 wonderful instance of great events from small causes. 
 So inscrutable is the arrangement of causes and conse- 
 quences in this world, that a two-penny duty on tea, un- 
 justly imposed in a sequestered part of it, changes the 
 condition of all its inhabitants.' 
 
 Again, in a letter to John Adams, in 1823, the kind- 
 ling prophecy is pursued. 
 
 ' The generation which commences a revolution rare- 
 ly completes it. Habituated from their infancy to passive 
 submission of body and mind to their kings and priests, 
 they are not qualified, when called on, to think and pro- 
 vide for themselves; and their inexperience, their ignor- 
 ance and bigotry, make them instruments often, in the 
 hands of the Bonapartes and Iturbides, to defeat their 
 own rights and purposes. This is the present situation 
 of Europe and Spanish America. But it is not desper- 
 ate. The light which has been shed on mankind by the 
 art of printing, has eminently changed the condition of 
 the world. As yet, that light has dawned on the mid- 
 dling classes only of the men in Europe. The kings 
 
THOMAS JEFFERSON. 101 
 
 and the rabble, of equal ignorance, have not yet receiv- 
 ed its rays ; but it continues to spread, and wliile print- 
 ing is preserved, it can no more recede than the sun re- 
 turn on his course. A first attempt to recover the right 
 of self-government may fail, so may a second, a third, 
 &c. But as a younger and more instructed race comes 
 on, the sentiment becomes more and more intuitive, 
 and a fourth, a fifth, or some subsequent one of the 
 ever-renewed attempts will ultimately succeed. In 
 France, the first effort was defeated by Robespierre, the 
 second by Bonaparte, the third by Louis XVIII, and 
 his holy allies; another is yet to come, and all Europe, 
 Russia excepted, has caught the spirit ; and all will at- 
 tain representative government, more or less perfect. 
 This is now well understood to be a necessary check on 
 Kings, whom they will probably think it more prudent 
 to chain and tame, than to exterminate. To attain all 
 this, however, rivers of blood must yet flow, and years 
 of desolation pass over; yet the object is worth rivers 
 of blood, and years of desolation. For what inheritance 
 so valuable, can man leave to his posterity 1 The spirit 
 of the Spaniard, and his deadly and eternal hatred to a 
 Frenchman, give me much confidence that he will never 
 submit, but finally defeat the atrocious violation of the 
 laws of God and man, under which he is suffering; and 
 the wisdom and firmness of the Cortes, afford reason- 
 able hope, that that nation will settle down in a temper- 
 ate representative government, with an executive prop- 
 erly subordinated to that. Portugal, Italy, Prussia, 
 Germany, Greece, will follow suit. You and I shall 
 look down from another world on these glorious achieve- 
 ments to man, which will add to the joys even of heaven.' 
 
 Such are the ulterior tendencies and probable results 
 of this stupendous act. Enough has already elapsed 
 to demonstrate, that the author was scarcely more hap- 
 py in originating its principles, than in predicting its 
 glorious consequences. 
 
 The term for which Mr Jefferson had been elected to 
 Congress, expired on the 11th of August, '76 ; and he 
 had communicated to the Convention of Virginia, in 
 
102 LIFE OF 
 
 June preceding, his intention to decline are-appoint- 
 ment. But his excuses were overruled by that body, 
 and he was unanimously re-elected. On receiving intel- 
 ligence of the result, gratifying as it evidently was, he 
 addressed a second letter to the chairman of the Con- 
 vention, in which he adhered to his original resolution, — 
 as follows : 
 
 *I am sorry the situation of my domestic affairs renders 
 it indispensably necessary, that I should solicit the substi- 
 tution of some other person here, in my room. The deli- 
 cacy of the House will not require me to enter minutely 
 into the private causes which render this necessary. I 
 trust they will be satisfied I would not have urged it 
 again, were it not unavoidable. I shall with cheerful- 
 ness continue in duty here till the expiration of our year, 
 by which time I hope it will be convenient for my suc- 
 cessor to attend.' 
 
 He continued in Congress until the 2d of September 
 following, when his successor having arrived, he resign- 
 ed his seat and returned to Virginia. 
 
 Thus closed the extraordinary career of Mr Jefferson 
 in the Continental Congress. His actual attendance in 
 that renowned Legislature, had been only about nine 
 months ; and yet he had succeeded in impressing his 
 character, in distinct and legible traces, upon the whole. 
 The result is remarkable when considered in connection 
 with his immature age. He had at this time attained 
 only his thirty-third year, and was the youngest man 
 but one in the session of '76. 
 
 We have been restrained by our design, to the capital 
 and distinguishing points in his course. The minor 
 features of his service, while engaged in conducting the 
 general administration, were proportioned to the same 
 standard; but they are shorn of all interest by the 
 overshadowing importance of his labors in the cause of 
 the Revolution. In the multiplied transactions of a 
 subordinate character which engaged the attention of 
 
THOMAS JEFFERSON. 103 
 
 the House, he sustained a corresponding reputation. 
 To estimate the extent of his labors, it is only necessary 
 to turn over the journals of Congress. In constituting 
 the committees of importance it was the policy, in gen- 
 eral, to put Virginia at the head ; and the effect of this 
 policy was to throw him into the situation of chairman, 
 unusually often. No member probably served on more 
 committees, or executed a greater amount of business, 
 in proportion to his term of service, than he did. The 
 union of great practical ability, with uncommon theo- 
 retical acuteness, is an anonaaly in the constitution of 
 man. It is proverbial however, that he displayed a 
 promptitude no less remarkable in the ordinary details 
 of legislation, than in the high concerns of an abstract 
 and metaphysical nature, which were committed to him. 
 The retirement of Mr Jefferson from a stage of ac- 
 tion on which he had performed so much, in the zenith 
 of human popularity, and at the first crisis of Inde- 
 pendence, may appear unaccountable, with the lights al- 
 ready in the possession of the reader. The motives as- 
 signed by him, seem clearly disproportioned to the act, 
 reasoning from all analogy applicable to the human cha- 
 racter at large ; and compel us to resort to more com- 
 petent sources of information, for a satisfactory solution 
 of the mystery. The real and controlling motive of his 
 resignation, but which his modesty would not permit 
 him to urge to the Convention, is found inserted among 
 his private ' Memoranda.' It is alike curious and hon- 
 orable. He says : ' The new government (in Virginia) 
 was now organized ; a meeting of the Legislature was 
 to be held in October, and I had been elected a mem- 
 ber by my county. / knew that our legislation, under 
 the regal government, had many very vicious points which 
 urgently required reformation ; and I thought I could be 
 of more use in forwarding that work. I therefore retired 
 from my seat in Congress,' &>c. 
 
 The whole secret of the transaction is here unveiled, 
 
104 LIFE OP 
 
 and is singularly in unison with the reigning attribute 
 of his character. Those who recollect the irrepressible 
 anxiety which he felt for Virginia, while in the crisis of 
 her transition from the monarchical to the republican 
 state, and the severe requisition which he made upon his 
 own industry to secure the greatest practicable measure 
 of freedom and liberality there, will be impressed with 
 the admirable steadiness of purpose which influenced 
 his present determination. The nevv government in the 
 first province of free empire, was now fairly put in mo- 
 tion ; and he felt an invincible desire to participate in 
 the measures of the first republican Legislature under 
 it. Every thing, he conceived, depended upon the stamp 
 of political integrity that should be impressed upon the 
 new institutions of a State government, which was to 
 set the example in the career of republican legislation, 
 and which constituted so influential a member of the 
 incipient confederacy. The principles of her present 
 code were incompatible with the enjoyment of any con- 
 siderable benefits under the change of administration, 
 and required a fundamental revision, and reduction to 
 a consistent standard. The English common law, with 
 its odious and despotic refinements of feudal origin, was 
 in full force ; many of the British statutes, of the most 
 obnoxious character, still existed ; whilst the Virginian 
 statutes themselves were scarcely less aristocratic, and 
 hostile to well-regulated liberty; presenting together, 
 an unwieldy and vicious mass of legislation, civil and 
 religious, which, to the mind of the political reformer, 
 presented stronger attractions than the scene in which 
 he had just been distinguished by his labors. To have 
 descended from an eminence in congress which placed 
 him near the helm of the Revolution, to the subordinate 
 station of representative to the municipal assembly, was 
 an act of magnanimity, of which history furnishes few 
 examples : but he was impressed with the necessity of 
 
THOMAS JEFFERSON. 105 
 
 carrying into action, the sound principles which he had 
 meditated during the first effort of emancipation ; and 
 now, he thought was a propitious moment to place 
 them on a safe foundation. 
 
 * The spirit of the times,* he said, » may alter, will alter. 
 Our rulers will become corrupt, our people careless. A 
 single zealot may become a persecutor, and better 
 men be his victims. It can never be too often repeated, 
 that the time for fixing every essential right on a legal 
 basis, is while our rulers are honest, and ourselves unit- 
 ed. From the conclusion of this war we shall be going 
 down hill. It will not then be necessary to resort every 
 moment to the people for support. They will be for- 
 gotten, therefore, and their rights disregarded. They 
 will forget themselves, but in the sole faculty of making 
 money, and will never think of uniting to eflTect a due 
 respect for their rights. The shackles, therefore, which 
 shall not be knocked off at the conclusion of this war, 
 will remain on us long, will be made heavier and 
 heavier, till our rights shall revive or expire in a con- 
 vulsion.* 
 
 With the special design, therefore, of heading in per- 
 son the great work of political regeneration, which he 
 had sketched for his country and for mankind, he early 
 signified his determination to relinquish his station in 
 the National Councils ; and was immediately thereupon 
 elected to a seat in the Legislature of Virginia. 
 
 Before following him into that body, however, the 
 order of time requires us to notice a singular mark 
 of distinction conferred on him by Congress. He had 
 been absent from Philadelphia but a few days, before he 
 received the appointment of Commissioner to France, 
 with Dr Franklin, to negotiate treaties of alliance and 
 commerce with that government. Silas Dean, then in 
 France, acting as agent for procuring military supphes 
 and for sounding the dispositions of the government 
 towards us, was joined with them in the commission. 
 The appointment was made on the last day of Septem- 
 10 
 
106 LIFE 6F 
 
 ber, 1776. Greater importance was attached to the 
 successful issue of this mission, than to any other that 
 had yet been meditated. The prevailing object of de- 
 claring Independence had been to secure the countenance 
 and assistance of foreign powers ; and towards France, 
 whose friendship and co-operation appeared most like- 
 ly to be obtained, the hopes of the country were undi- 
 videdly directed. 
 
 If any thing could mark more unequivocally the re- 
 spect of Congress for the abilities of Mr Jefferson by 
 this appointment, it was the fact of their having asso- 
 ciated, a young man of thirty-three, with a venerable 
 philosopher of seventy, then the most distinguished civil 
 character in America. 
 
 But the same reasons which influenced his retirement 
 from Congress, induced him to decline accepting the 
 foreign station also, as appears by the following letter 
 addressed to the President of Congress. 
 
 'Williamsburg, October 11, 1776. 
 ' Honorable Sir, — Your favor of the 30th, together 
 with the resolutions of Congress, of the 26th ultimo, 
 came safe to hand. It would argue great insensibility 
 in me, could I receive with indifference, so confidential 
 an appointment from your body. My thanks are a poor 
 return for the partiality they have been pleased to en- 
 tertain for me. No cares for my own person, nor yet 
 for my private affairs, would have induced one moment's 
 hesitation to accept the charge. But circumstances 
 very peculiar in the situation of my family, such as 
 neither permit me to leave, nor to carry it, compel me 
 to ask leave to decline a service so honorable, and, at 
 the same time, so important to the American cause. 
 The necessity under which I labor, and the conflict I 
 have undergone for three days, during which I could not 
 determine to dismiss your messenger, will, I hope, plead 
 my pardon with Congress ; and I am sure there are too 
 many of that body to whom they may with better hopes 
 confide this charge, to leave them under a moment's 
 difiiculty in making a new choice. I am, sir, with the 
 
THOMAS JEFFERSON. 107 
 
 most sincere attachment to your honorable body, and 
 the great cause they support, their and your most obe- 
 dient, humble servant. 
 
 A more adequate and interesting revelation of his 
 motives than is contained in the above letter, is found 
 among his private Memoranda. After repeating the 
 domestic causes already stated, he says : ^ I saw, too, that 
 the laboring oar was really at home, where much was to he 
 done, of the most permanent interest, in new-modelling our 
 governments, and much to defend our fanes and firesides, 
 from the desolations of an invading enemy, pressing on 
 our country in every point. I declined, therefore, and 
 Dr Lee was appointed in my place.' 
 
108 LIFE OF 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 Mr Jefferson took his seat in the Legislature of 
 Virginia, on the 7th of October, 1776, the opening day 
 of the session. The first object of reform, which ar- 
 rested his attention, was the Judiciary System ; the or- 
 ganization of which, upon the broad basis of reason and 
 common sense, struck him as a measure of the first 
 importance. Besides being indispensable to meet the 
 external revolution of the government, such a scheme of 
 improvement was eminently calculated to gain popular 
 favor for the new order of things, — which should al- 
 ways be the first object of,the reformer. 
 
 On the 11th of October, therefore, he obtained leave 
 to bring in a Bill for the establishment of Courts of Jus- 
 tice. The proposition was referred to a committee, of 
 which he was chairman. He drafted the ordinance ; 
 submitted it to the committee, by whom it was approv- 
 ed ; and reported it to the House, where, after passing 
 through the ordinary course, it was adopted with unan- 
 imity. 
 
 The system proposed by Mr Jefi*erson, was simple in 
 its organization, and highly republican in its spirit. It 
 is retained essentially unaltered in the existing code of 
 Virginia. It established the model for succeeding Legis- 
 latures, in different States, as they successively pro- 
 ceeded to the same duty ; and its main features are ob- 
 servable in the Judiciary Systems of all our State go- 
 vernments at the present day. 
 
THOMAS JEFFERSON. 
 
 109 
 
 It divided the State into counties, and erected three 
 distinct grades of Courts — County, Superior, and Su- 
 preme. The quahty and extent of jurisdiction, pre- 
 scribed to each grade, were similar to the prevaiUng di- 
 visions on that subject in the United States. The trial 
 by jury was guarded with extreme circumspection. In 
 all questions of fact and law combined, the reference to 
 a jury was made imperative in the courts of law ; and 
 the framer of the bill had designed to make it imperative 
 also in the court of chancery ; but the provision was 
 defeated in the House by the introduction of a discre- 
 tionary clause, on motion of Mr Pendleton, a gentleman 
 of high English prejudices. The consequence has been, 
 that no suiter will say to his judge, ' Sir, I distrust you, 
 give me a jury,' juries are rarely, perhaps never, seen 
 in that court, but when ordered by the chancellor of 
 his own accord. 
 
 On the following day, October 12, he brought forward 
 his celebrated bill for the abolition of the Law of En- 
 tails. This was a cardinal measure, and a bold one for 
 the political semi-barbarism of that age. Nor could a 
 body of men have been easily selected, upon whose sen- 
 sibilities the proposition would have grated with more 
 harshness, than upon the aristocracy of a Virginia As- 
 sembly. The strong lines of discrimination impressed 
 upon the society of Virginia, during the early stages of 
 the settlement, are celebrated in history ; nor has the 
 genius of her republican institutions been successful, 
 as yet, in obliterating those artificial and dissocial 
 distinctions, or in extinguishing the high aristocratical 
 spirit which they engendered. In the earlier times of 
 the colony, when lands were to be obtained for little or 
 nothing, certain provident individuals procured large 
 grants ; and, desirous of founding great families for 
 themselves, settled them on their descendants in fee tail. 
 The transmission of these estates from generation to 
 generation, in the same name, raised up a distinct class 
 10* 
 
110 LIFE OF 
 
 of families, who being privileged by law in the per- 
 petuation of their wealth, were thus formed into a Pa- 
 trician order, distinguished by the splendor and luxury 
 of their establishments. This order, having in process 
 of time, engulphed the greater part of the landed pro- 
 perty, and with it, the political power of the province, re- 
 mained stationary, in general, on the grounds of their fore- 
 fathers ; for there was no emigration to the westward in 
 those days. The Irish, who had gotten possession of 
 the valley between the Blue-Ridge and the North Moun- 
 tain, formed a barrier over vrhich none ventured to leap ; 
 and their manners presented no attractions to the opu- 
 lent lowlanders to settle among them* 
 
 ' In such a state of things,' says Mr Jefferson, ' scarce- 
 ly admitting any change of station, society would settle 
 itself down into several strata, separated by no marked 
 lines, but shading off imperceptibly from top to bottom, 
 nothing disturbing the order of their repose. There 
 were, then, first aristocrats, composed of the great land- 
 holders who had seated themselves below tide water on 
 the main rivers, and lived in a style of luxury and ex- 
 travagance, insupportable by the other inhabitants, and 
 which indeed ended, in several instances, in the ruin of 
 their own fortunes. Next to these Avere what may be 
 called half breeds ; the descendants of the younger sons 
 and daughters of the aristocrats, who inherited the pride 
 of their ancestors without their wealth. Then came the 
 pretenders, men who from vanity or the impulse of grow- 
 ing wealth, or from that enterprize which is natural to 
 talents, sought to detach themselves from the plebeian 
 ranks, to which they properly belonged, and imitated at 
 some distance, the manners and habits of the great. 
 Next to these, were a solid and independent yeomanry, 
 looking askance at those above, yet not venturing to jos- 
 tle them. And last and lowest, afeculum of beings call- 
 ed overseers, the most abject, degraded, unprincipled 
 race ; always cap in hand to the dons who employed 
 them, and furnishing materials for the exercise of their 
 pride, insolence, and spirit of domination.' 
 
THOMAS JEFFERSON. Ill 
 
 By birth and fortune, Mr Jefferson belonged to the 
 aristocracy ; but his intellectual habits made him revolt 
 at the indolence and voluptuousness which marked the 
 lives of that order ; and his political principles attached 
 him, by early and indissoluble sympathies, to the solid 
 and independent yeomanry, 
 
 * Those who labor in the earth,' he early declared, 
 * are the chosen people of God, if ever he had a chosen 
 people, whose breasts he has made his peculir deposit 
 for substantial and genuine virtue. It is the focus in 
 which he keeps alive that sacred fire, w^hich otherwise 
 might escape from the face of the earth. Corruption of 
 morals in the mass of cultivators, is a phenomenon of 
 which no age nor nation has furnished an example. It 
 is the mark set on those, who, not looking up to heaven, 
 to their own soil and industry, as does the husbandman, 
 for their subsistence, depend for it on the casualties and 
 caprice of customers. Dependence begets subservience 
 and venality, suffocates the germ of virtue, and prepares 
 fit tools for the designs of ambition. This^ the natural 
 progress and consequence of the arts, has sometimes, 
 perhaps, been retarded by accidental circumstances ; 
 but, generally speaking, the proportion, which the ag- 
 gregate of the other classes of citizens bears, in any 
 State, to that of its husbandmen, is the proportion of its 
 unsound to its healthy parts, and is a good enough ba- 
 rometer whereby to measure its degree of corruption.' 
 
 Impressed with these strong, unsophisticated views, he 
 beheld with an incessant desire of reformation, the anti- 
 republican features which characterized the social state 
 of Virginia. The Law of Entails was the key-stone of 
 this pernicious superstructure. Besides locking up the 
 lands of the Commonwealth in the hands of a fixed no- 
 bility, and thereby discouraging immigration, it legiti- 
 mated the mastery of might over right, and in the most 
 effectual forms. It was a weapon which the law itself 
 superadded to the multitude of natural means, to assist 
 the strong in beating down and trampling upon the 
 weak. It enabled the original and opulent proprietors 
 
112 LIFE OP 
 
 of the ' Ancient Dominion,' or their descendants, to 
 perpetuate the supremacy of wealth over talents and 
 virtue, and to entail upon society forever, the most dis- 
 astrous corruptions of monarchy. Creditors were de- 
 frauded of their honest debts ; and bona fide purchasers 
 were, in many instances, either deprived of their title 
 altogether, or compelled to resort to courts of justice to 
 substantiate it against innumeruble entails. The aboli- 
 tion of this prerogative, therefore, was rightly deemed 
 by Mr Jefferson a first measure in republicanizing the 
 institutions, manners and customs of his country. 
 
 ' To annul this privilege,' says he, ' and instead of an 
 aristocracy of wealth, of more harm and danger, than 
 benefit to society, to make an opening for the aristoc- 
 racy of virtue and talent, which nature has wisely pro- 
 vided for the direction of the interests of society, and 
 scattered with equal hand through all its conditions, was 
 deemed essential to a well ordered republic. To effect 
 it, no violence was necessary, no deprivation of natural 
 right, but rather an enlargement of it, by a repeal of the 
 law. For this would authorize the present holder to di- 
 vide the property among his children, equally, as his af- 
 fections were divided; and would place them, by natural 
 generation, on the level of their fellow citizens.' 
 
 The repeal was resisted, with desperation, by the 
 sturdy and inexorable barons of the Legislature. The 
 opposition was headed by Edmund Pendleton, speaker 
 of the House, a gentleman of great capacity, but zeal- 
 ously attached to ancient establishments. He had been 
 under the protection of the lordly John Robinson, the 
 acknowledged leader of the landed aristocracy for half 
 a century ; and the mantle of his patron had fallen upon 
 himself. His personal influence was great, and his pow- 
 ers as a debater were of a high order. For dexterity 
 of address, fertility of resource, and parliamentary man- 
 agement, he was without a rival. With such a champi- 
 on, some idea may be formed of the character and force 
 
THOMAS JEFFERSON. 113 
 
 of the opposition. But their resistance was unavailing. 
 Finding they could not overthrow the general principle 
 of the bill, they took their stand on an amendment which 
 they proposed — instead of absolute abolition, to permit 
 the tenant in tail to convey in fee simple, if he chose it : 
 and they were within a few votes of saving so much of 
 the old law. But after a severe contest, the bill finally 
 passed for entire abolition ; and thus, to use the language 
 of the author, was * broken up the hereditary and high- 
 handed aristocracy, which, by accumulating immense 
 masses of property in single lines of family, had divided 
 our country into two distinct orders, of nobles and ple- 
 beians.' The following short preamble introduces the 
 act. 
 
 * Whereas, the perpetuation of property in certain 
 families, by means of gifts made to them in fee taille, is 
 contrary to good policy, tends to deceive fair traders, 
 who give credit on the visible possession of such estates, 
 discourages the holders thereof from taking care and 
 improving the same, and sometimes does injury to the 
 morals of youth, by rendering them independent of, and 
 disobedient to their parents ; and whereas the former 
 method of docking such estates taille, by special act of 
 Assembly, formed for every particular case, employed 
 very much of the time of the legislature, and the same, 
 as well as the method of defeating such estates when of 
 small value, was burthensome to the public, and also to 
 individuals : 
 
 * Be it therefore enacted, &c. 
 
 The next prominent heresy in the political system of 
 Virginia, which encountered the glance of the reformer, 
 was her rehgious establishment. This institution he 
 considered one of the most preposterous and deleterious 
 remnants of the repudiated monarchy ; but his advances 
 on this subject, in all its breadth and bearings, had left 
 the rest of mankind, with few exceptions, far in the rear. 
 
 The church establishment of Virginia was of the 
 Episcopal order, coeval with its first colonization, and 
 
114 LIFE OF 
 
 in all respects a scion of the parent hierarchy. The first 
 settlers of the colony were Englishmen, loyal subjects to 
 their king and church ; and the grant of Sir Walter 
 Raleigh contained an express proviso, that their laws 
 ' should not be against the true christian faith, now pro- 
 fessed in the church of England.' They emigrated 
 from the bosom of the mother church, at a point of time 
 when it was flushed with complete victory over the re- 
 ligious of all other persuasions. Possessed, as they be- 
 came, of the powers of making, administering and ex- 
 ecuting the laws, they showed equal intolerance in this 
 colony, with their Presbyterian brethren, who had em- 
 igrated to the northern governments.' As soon as the 
 state of the colony admitted, it was divided into parishes, 
 in each of which was installed a minister of the Angli- 
 can church, endowed with a fixed salary in tobacco, a 
 glebe house and land, with other appendages. To meet 
 these expenses, all the inhabitants of the parish were 
 assessed, whether they were, or were not, members of the 
 established church. The integrity of the institution was 
 guarded by the severest penalties against schismatics. 
 In addition to the common law provisions against heresy, 
 making it a capital oflfence punishable by burning, their 
 own statuary enactments were scarcely less flagitious. 
 Several acts of the Virginia Assembly had made it penal 
 in parents to refuse to have their children baptised ; had 
 prohibited the unlawful assembling of Quakers ; had 
 made it penal for any master of a vessel to bring a 
 Quaker into the State ; had ordered those already there, 
 and such as should come thereafter, to be imprisoned 
 till they should abjure the country ; prescribed a milder 
 punishment for the first and second return, but death 
 for the third ; had inhibited all persons from suffering 
 their meetings in or near their houses, entertaining them 
 individually, or disseminating books which supported 
 their tenets. And so late as 1705, an act of assembly 
 
THOMAS JEFFERSON. 115 
 
 was passed declaring, if any person, brought up in the 
 christian religion, denied the being of a God, or the 
 Trinity, or asserted there were more Gods than one, or 
 denied the christian religion to be true, or the scriptures 
 to be of divine authority, he was punishable on the first 
 oiFence, by incapacity to hold any office or employment, 
 ecclesiastical, civil, or military ; on the second, by dis- 
 ability to sue, to take any gift or legacy, to be guardian, 
 executor, or administrator, and by three years imprison- 
 ment without bail. 
 
 Such is an epitome of the religious slavery which ex- 
 isted at this time in Virginia ; and if no executions had 
 taken place, as in New England, it was not owing to the 
 moderation of the church, or spirit of the legislature, 
 as may be inferred from the laws themselves ; but to his- 
 torical circumstances which have not been handed down 
 to us. The convention which sat in May, '76, in their 
 Declaration of Rights, had indeed proclaimed it to be a 
 truth, and a natural right, that the exercise of religion 
 should be free; 'but when they proceeded,' says Mr 
 Jefferson, ' to form on that declaration, the ordinance 
 of government, instead of taking up every principle de- 
 clared in the Bill of Rights, and guarding it by legisla- 
 tive sanction, they passed over that which asserted our 
 religious rights, leaving them as they found them.' 
 The whole catalogue of spiritual oppressions, therefore, 
 was reserved for himself to wipe away; to effect which, 
 was an enterprise of a more desperate character than 
 any he had ever undertaken. The excitement of the 
 revolution was a powerful auxiliary to him; but the 
 state of the country, in general, exhibited the strange 
 phenomenon of a people devoting their lives and for- 
 tunes for the recovery of their civil freedom, and yet 
 cUnging to a mental tyranny tenfold more presumptuous 
 and paralyzing- Other moral causes still more effica- 
 cious, combined with the spirit of the revolution to assist 
 
116 LIFE OF 
 
 him in the arduous labor of spiritual disenchantment. 
 These causes are summarily stated by himself. 
 
 * In process of time, however, other sectarisms were 
 introduced, chiefly of the Presbyterian family ; and the 
 established clergy, secure for life in their glebes and sal- 
 aries, adding to these generally, the emoluments of a 
 classical school, found employment enough in their farms 
 and school rooms, for the rest of the week, and devoted 
 Sunday only to the edification of their flock, by service, 
 and a sermon at their parish church. Their other pas- 
 toral functions were little attended to. Against this in- 
 activity, the zeal and industry of sectarian preachers had 
 an open and undisputed field ; and by the time of the 
 revoUition, a majority of the inhabitants had become 
 dissenters from the established church, but were still 
 obliged to pay contributions to support the pastors of 
 the minority. This unrighteous compulsion, to maintain 
 teachers of what they deemed religious errors, was grie- 
 vously felt during the regal government, and without a 
 hope of relief. But the first republican legislature, 
 which met in '76, was crowded with petitions to abolish 
 this spiritual tyranny.' 
 
 Encouraged by the rising spirit of determination among 
 the dissenters, and relieved from the complicated re- 
 straints which externally barred all improvement under 
 the monarchy, he commenced his attack on the then 
 dominant religion, early in the session — to wit, on the 
 11th of October. This bold movement, supported by 
 the incessant and well directed appeals of the petition- 
 ers, roused the privileged clergy from their protracted 
 inertness. Counter memorials, accordingly, poured in 
 from every quarter, soliciting a continuance of the ec- 
 clesiastical polity upon principles of justice, wisdom and 
 expediency. They represented that the repeal of the 
 church establishment would be an ex post facto enact- 
 ment, and a violation of the public faith ; that the Epis- 
 copal clergy had entered upon their endowments with 
 the plighted obligation of the government to continue 
 
THOMAS JEFFERSON. 117 
 
 them therein during life, or good behavior, as a compen- 
 sation for their services ; and that they held them by a 
 tenure as sacred as that by which any man has secured 
 to him his private property ; that the Episcopalians did 
 not mean to encroach on the religious rights of any sect 
 of men, yet they conceived the existing institution, con- 
 secrated by the practice of so many years, as eminently 
 conducive to the peace and happiness of the State ; that 
 much confusion, and probably civil commotions would 
 attend the proposed change ; and finally, that an appeal 
 should be made for the decision of so important a ques- 
 tion, to the sentiments and wishes of the people at large. 
 The petitions, on the other hand, expatiated upon the 
 theme of liberty ; and blended with unanswerable de- 
 monstrations of right and reason, the expostulations of 
 bereaved freemen. 
 
 The subject was referred to the committee of the 
 whole house on the state of the country, with the multi- 
 tude of appertaining memorials and remonstrances. 
 'These,' says Mr Jefferson in 1820, 'brought on the 
 severest contests in which I have ever been engaged. 
 Our great opponents were Mr Pendleton and Robert 
 Carter Nicholas; honest men, but zealous churchmen.' 
 The majority of the legislature, unfortunately, were of 
 the same stamp, which forced on Mr Jefferson an alter- 
 ation in the mode of attack. Finding he could not main- 
 tain the ground on which he set out, he varied his po- 
 sition from absolute to partial abolition ; and after vehe- 
 ment contests in the committee, almost daily, from the 
 11th of October to the 5th of December, he prevailed 
 so far only as to repeal the laws which rendered the 
 maintenance of any religious opinions criminal, the for- 
 bearance of repairing to church, or the exercise of any 
 mode of worship. By the same act also, he secured a 
 provision exempting dissenters from contributions to the 
 support of the established church, and suspending until 
 the next session only, levies on the members of the 
 11 
 
118 LIFE OF 
 
 church for the salaries of their own incumbents. But 
 his opponents inserted a declaratory saving, that religious 
 assemblies ought to be regulated, and that provision 
 ought to be made for continuing the succession of the 
 clergy and superintending their conduct. They also 
 succeeded in incorporating an express reservation of the 
 ultimate question, — Whether a general assessment 
 should not be established by law on every one, to support 
 the pastor of his choice ; or whether all should be left 
 to free and voluntary contributions. 
 
 This question, the last prop of the toUtering hierarchy, 
 reduced the struggle to one of pure principle. The par- 
 ticular object of the dissenters being secured, they de- 
 serted the volunteer champion of their cause, and went 
 over in a body to the advocates of a general assessment. 
 This step showed them incapable of religious liberty up- 
 on an expansive scale, or broader than their own inter- 
 ests as schismatics. The defection of the dissenters, 
 painful as it was, only stimulated his desire for total ab- 
 olition, as it developed more palpably, the evidences of 
 its necessity. He remained unshaken at his post ; and 
 brought on the reserved question, at every session for 
 three years afterwards, during which time, he could only 
 obtain a suspension of the levies from year to year, until 
 the session of '79 when by his unwearied exertions, the 
 question was carried definitively against a general as- 
 sessment, and the establishment of the Anglican church 
 entirely overthrown. 
 
 Thus was the cause of religious liberty astonishingly 
 advanced. But still the work was incomplete. Statu- 
 tory oppressions were disannulled ; but those which 
 existed at the common law, continued in force ; nor were 
 the advantages already gained, secured by any positive 
 legislative sanction. The proceedings hitherto upon the 
 subject, were of a belligerent character ; and although 
 crowned with success, were regarded by the mover in 
 great part, as an experiment upon public opinion, ' in- 
 
THOMAS JEFFERSON. 119 
 
 dicative,' as he expressed it, ' of the general pulse of re- 
 formation.' The barrier subsequently erected, in perpetu- 
 al security of the rights of which he procured the recog- 
 nition, forms the conclusion of this impressive drama. 
 We allude to his celebrated Religious Freedom Bill, 
 universally regarded as one of the chief bulwarks of hu- 
 man rights. As it constitutes a part of his general code 
 of revisal, the merits of this bill will be more particular- 
 ly considered, when we come to develope the features of 
 that great and useful labor. 
 
 The next prominent corruption of the monarchy, 
 which Mr Jefferson regarded as fatally inconsistent with 
 the republican change, was the existence and the practice 
 of slavery. We have already seen him on two occasions, 
 exerting his talents, and raising his voice, in awful ad- 
 monition, against the continuance of this atrocious and 
 wide spread injustice. The result of his former attempt 
 in the Legislature, which was based upon manumission, 
 or the permission to emancipate, had convinced him of 
 the utter impracticability of maintaining that ground ; 
 and of the necessity of attacking the evil in such a mode 
 as should mihtate less diametrically against the interests 
 and prejudices of the reigning population. He took his 
 stand, therefore, upon a proposition to abolish the exe- 
 crable commerce in slaves ; which by stopping importa- 
 tion, would arrest the increase of the evil, and diminish 
 the obstacles to eventual eradication. But the business 
 of the war pressing heavily upon the Legislature, the sub- 
 ject was not acted upon definitively, until the session of 
 '78, when the bill was carried without opposition, and 
 the slave trade triumphantly abolished in Virginia. The 
 importance of this measure, and the grounds upon which 
 the author may contest the merit of priority with the 
 world, in the benevolent enterprise of African emanci- 
 pation, will be more particularly explained at that period 
 of his history. 
 
 Such were some of the efforts in legislation, with which 
 
130 LIFE OF 
 
 Mr Jefferson commenced the process of republicanizing 
 the institutions of America, in the first State legislature 
 that was organized after the dissolution of the monarchy. 
 They were all, it will be perceived, of an elementary 
 character, and highly democratic in their object and ten- 
 dency. But still, the interesting work was only begun. 
 The plan originally proposed to himself on determining 
 to leave the floor of Congress, comprehended the re- 
 casting into other republican forms, the anciently estab- 
 lished and generally received basis of civil government. 
 
 ' So far,' says he, in his brief notes of these transactions, 
 > we were proceeding in the details of reformation only ; 
 selecting points of legislation, prominent in character 
 and principle, urgent, and indicative of the strength of 
 the general pulse of reformation. " When I left congress 
 in '76, it was in the persuasion, that our whole code 
 must be review^ed, adapted to our republican form of 
 government; and now, that we had no negatives of 
 councils, governors and kings to restrain us from doing 
 right, that it should be corrected in all its parts, with a 
 single eye to reason and the good of those for whose 
 government it was framed.' 
 
 In pursuance of his original design, therefore, he now 
 brought forward a proposition which stands recorded in 
 the statute books of Virginia, in the following terms. 
 
 « Whereas, on the late change which hath of neces- 
 sity been introduced into the form of government in 
 this country, it is become also necessary to make cor- 
 responding changes in the laws heretofore in force; 
 many of which are inapphcable to the powers of go- 
 vernment as now organized, others are founded on prin- 
 ciples heterogeneous to the republican spirit; others, 
 which long before such change, had been oppressive to 
 the people, could yet never be repealed while the regal 
 power continued ; and others, having taken their origin 
 while our ancestors remained in Britain, are not so v/ell 
 adapted to our present circumstances of time and place ; 
 and it is also necessary to introduce certain other laws, 
 which, though proved by the experience of other States 
 
THOMAS JEFFERSON. 121 
 
 to be friendly to liberty and the rights of mankind, we 
 have not heretofore been permitted to adopt ; and where- 
 as a work of such magnitude, labor, and difficulty, may 
 not be effected during the short and busy term of a ses- 
 sion of assembly : 
 
 ' Be it therefore enacted, by the General Assembly of 
 the Commonwealth of Virginia, and it is hereby enacted 
 by the authority of the same, — That a committee, to 
 consist of five persons, shall be appointed by joint bal- 
 lot of both houses, (three of whom to be a quorum,) 
 who shall have full power and authority to revise, alter, 
 amend, repeal, or introduce all or any of the said laws, 
 to form the same into bills, and report them to the next 
 meeting of the General Assembly.' 
 
 The resolution was passed on the 24th of October, 
 '76, and on the 5th of November, Mr Jefferson, as 
 chairman, was associated in a commission with Edmund 
 Pendleton, (jrlorge Wythe, George Mason and Thomas 
 Ludwell Lee, to execute the contemplated revisal. The 
 commissioners were elected by a joint ballot of both 
 houses ; and the choice resulted in the selection of an 
 assemblage of characters, which united the first order 
 of capacity, intelligence, and legal research, to the 
 rankest revolutionary principles. Suitable provisions 
 were added, to render the execution of a work of such 
 magnitude and difficulty, as easy and expeditious as 
 practicable ; and such was the importance attached to 
 the result of their labors, that the assembly excused 
 Mr Wythe from his attendance in Congress, to secure 
 his undivided co-operation. Having accepted the ar- 
 duous charge, the committee of revisors immediately 
 came to an agreement to meet at Fredericksburg, in 
 January ensuing, to settle the plan of operation and to 
 distribute the work. The foundation was thus laid for 
 the great republican lawgiver to pursue his system of re- 
 form, so auspiciously commenced, in all the latitude of 
 his long cherished and well expressed purpose, — ' with 
 a single eye to reason, and the good of mankind.' 
 11* 
 
122 
 
 LIFE OF 
 
 In the midst of this brisk action of the republican ad- 
 ministration, an irregularity occurred which, had it been 
 permitted to prevail, would have been a standing evi- 
 dence of the incapacity of man for self-government. 
 The autumn of '76, was one of the most distressing 
 periods of the i evolution. The courage of the country 
 seemed to be breaking down. The fortitude of the 
 Virginia legislature fell for a season ; and in a moment 
 of terror and despondency, the frantic project was se- 
 riously meditated of creating a Dictator, invested with 
 every power, legislative, executive and judiciary, civil 
 and military, of life and of death. The scheme origi- 
 nated with an anti-republican portion of the House, and 
 excited a tempest of altercation, threatening a violent 
 dissolution. A discordancy of political views was im- 
 mediately developed, which before was thought impossi- 
 ble in that legislature. The republican and the mo- 
 narchist stood unveiled, as if by the power of magic, 
 and such was the spirit of mutual hostility, that they 
 walked the streets on different sides. It was on this 
 occasion, that Col, Archibald Cary, mover of the celebra- 
 tated resolutions of Independence, and then Speaker of 
 the Senate, manifested a patriotic sternness which should 
 place him in history by the side of Cato and Brutus.^ 
 Meeting Col. Syme, the step-brother of Patrick Henry, 
 in the lobby of the House during the agitation, he ac- 
 costed him with great fierceness, in the following terms : 
 — ' I am told that your brother wishes to be dictator : 
 tell him from me, that the day of his appointment, shall 
 be the day of his death, — for he shall feel my dagger 
 in his heart, before the sun set of that day.'t The emo- 
 tions excited in the mind of Mr Jefferson, who was 
 
 * Girardin, p. 192. 
 
 t Although it was generally supposed that Mr Henry, then go- 
 vernor of the State, was the person in view for the dictatorship, 
 yet there is no evidence that he was implicated in the scheme him- 
 self, or had any knowledge of it. 
 
THOMAS jeff1]:rson. 123 
 
 eminently instrumental in crushing the parricidal pro- 
 ject, may be inferred from that nervous and able develop- 
 ment of its nature and tendency, which appeared soon 
 after this event. The following is an extract. 
 
 'One, who entered into this contest, from a pure love 
 of liberty, and a sense of injured rights, who determined 
 to make every sacrifice, and to meet every danger, for 
 the re-establishment of those rights, on a firm basis, who 
 did not mean to expend his blood and substance, for the 
 wretched purpose of changing this master for that, but 
 to place the powers of governing him, in a plurality of 
 hands of his own choice, so that the corrupt will of no 
 one man, might in future oppress him, must stand con- 
 founded and dismayed, when he is told, that a consider- 
 able portion of that plurality, had meditated the surren- 
 der of them, into a single hand, and in lieu of a limited 
 monarchy, to deliver him over to a despotic one ! How 
 must he find his efforts and sacrifices abused and bafiled, 
 if he may still, by a single vote, be laid prostrate at the 
 feet of one man 1 In God's name, from whence have 
 they derived this power 1 Is it from our ancient laws 1 
 None such can be produced. Is it from any principle 
 in our new constitution, expressed or implied 1 Every 
 lineament of that, expressed or implied, is in full oppo- 
 sition to it. Its fundamental principle is, that the State 
 shall be governed as a commonwealth. It provides a 
 republican organization, proscribes under the name of 
 prerogative, the exercise of all powers undefined by the 
 laws ; places on this basis, the whole system of our laws ; 
 and by consolidating them together, chooses that they 
 should be left to stand or fall together, never providing 
 for any circumstances, nor admitting that such could 
 arise, wherein either should be suspended ; no, not for a 
 moment. Our ancient laws expressly declare, that those 
 who are but delegates themselves, shall not delegate to 
 others, powers which require judgment and integrity in 
 their exercise. Or was this proposition moved, on a sup- 
 posed right in the movers of abandoning their posts in a 
 moment of distress 1 The same laws forbid the aban- 
 donment of that post, even on ordinary occasions; and 
 
124 LIFE OF 
 
 much more a transfer of their powers into other hands, 
 and other forms, without consulting the people. They 
 never admit the idea, that these, like sheep or cattle, 
 may be given from hand to hand, without an appeal to 
 their own will. Was it from the necessity of the case ? 
 Necessities which dissolve a government, do not convey 
 its authority to an oligarchy or a monarchy. They 
 throw back, into the hands of the people, the powers 
 they had delegated, and leave them as individuals to shift 
 for themselves. A leader may offer, but not impose 
 himself, nor be imposed on them. Much less can their 
 necks be submitted to his sword, their breath to be held 
 at his will, or caprice. The necessity which should op- 
 erate these tremendous effects, should at least be palpa- 
 ble and irresistible. * * * In this State alone, did 
 there exist so little virtue, that fear was to be fixed in 
 the hearts of the people, to become the motive of their 
 exertions, and the principle of their government ? The 
 very thought alone, was treason against the people ; was 
 treason against mankind in general ; riveting for ever 
 the chains which bow down their necks, by giving to 
 their oppressors a proof, which they would have trump- 
 eted through the universe, of the imbecility of republi- 
 can government, in times of pressing danger, to shield 
 them from harm. Those who assume the right of giv- 
 ing away the reins of government in any case, must be 
 sure that the herd, whom they hand on to the rods and 
 hatchet of the dictator, will lay their heads on the block, 
 when he shall nod to them. But if our assemblies sup- 
 posed such a resignation in the people, I hope they mis- 
 took their character. I am of opinion, that the govern- 
 ment, instead of being braced and invigorated for great- 
 er exertions, under their difficulties, would have been 
 thrown back upon the bungling machinery of county 
 committees for administration, till a convention could 
 have been called, and its wheels again set into regular mo- 
 tion. What a cruel moment was this, for creating such 
 an embarrassment, for putting to the proof, the attach- 
 ment of our countrymen to republican government?' 
 
 On the 13th of January, 1777, the committee appoint- 
 ed to revise the laws, assembled at Fredericksburg to 
 
THOMAS JEFFERSON. 125 
 
 settle the general principles of execution, and to dis- 
 tribute the labor. In relation to the first business of the 
 consultation, the primary question was, ' whether they 
 should propose to abolish the whole existing system of 
 laws, and prepare a new and complete Institute, or pre- 
 serve the general system, and only modify it to the pre- 
 sent state of things.' Mr Pendleton, contrary to his 
 usual disposition in favor of ancient things, was for the 
 former proposition, in which he was joined by Mr Lee. 
 To this it was objected by Mr Jefferson, that to abro- 
 gate the whole system would be a bold measure, and 
 probably far beyond the views of the legislature ; that they 
 had beeninthe practice of revising from time to time, the 
 laws of the colony, omitting the expired, the repealed, 
 and the obsolete, amending only tho^e retained, and that 
 they probably now intended to do the same, only inclu- 
 ding the British statutes as well as our own ; that to 
 compose a new institute, like those of Justinian and 
 Bracton, or that of Blackstone, which was the model 
 proposed by Mr Pendleton, would be an arduous under- 
 taking, of vast research, of great consideration and 
 judgment ; and when reduced to a text, from the imper- 
 fection of human language would become a subject of 
 question and chicanery, until settled by repeated adjudi- 
 cations ; that this would involve us for ages in litigation, 
 and render property uncertain, until like the statutes of 
 old, every word had been tried and settled by numerous 
 decisions, and by new volumes of reports and commen- 
 taries ; and, to be systematical, must be the work of one 
 hand. This last was the opinion also of Mr Wythe 
 and Mr Mason, and was consequently adopted as the 
 rule. They then proceeded to the distribution of the la- 
 bor; upon which, Mr Mason excused himself, as, being 
 no lawyer, he felt himself unqualified to participate in 
 the execution of the work. Mr Lee excused himself 
 on the same ground. The whole undertaking conse- 
 quently, devolved on Mr Jefferson, Mr Pendleton, and 
 
126 LIFE OF 
 
 Mr Wythe, who divided it among themselves in the fol- 
 lowing manner: — The whole common law, and the 
 statutes to the 4th James I — when their separate leg- 
 islature was established — were assigned to Mr Jeffer- 
 son ; the British statutes from that period to the present 
 day, to Mr Wythe ; and the Virginia laws to Mr Pen- 
 dleton. ^ 
 
 As the law of descents and the criminal law fell 
 within the portion assigned to Mr Jefferson, in both of 
 which he designed to introduce certain fundamental 
 changes, he submitted his intentions to the committee for 
 their approbation. First, with respect to descents, he 
 proposed to abolish the law of primogeniture, and to 
 make real estate heritable in equal partition to the next 
 of kin, as personal property was, by the statute of dis- 
 tribution. Mr Pendleton objected to the plan, and in- 
 sisted upon preserving the right of primogeniture ; but 
 finding he could not maintain the whole, he proposed to 
 give a double portion to the elder son. In reply, Mr 
 Jefferson observed, * that if the elder son could eat 
 twice as much, or do double work, it might be a natural 
 evidence of his right to a double portion ; but being on 
 a par, in his powers and wants, with his brothers and 
 sisters, he should be on a par also in the partition of the 
 patrimony.' The argument was conclusive; and the 
 other members of the committee concurring with him, 
 the principle was adopted. 
 
 On the subject of the criminal law he proposed as a 
 fundamental rule, that the punishment of death should 
 be abolished in all cases, except for treason and murder. 
 The humanity of this proposition is illustrated by the 
 fact, that at this time the penal code of Great Britain 
 comprehended more than two hundred offences, besides 
 treason and murder, punishable by hanging ; many of 
 which were of so venial a nature as scarcely to deserve 
 punishment. The innovation recommended would sweep 
 from the parent code all its cruel and sanguinary fea- 
 
THOMAS JEFFERSON. 127 
 
 tures, without impairing its energy, as modern experi- 
 ence has proved, and present an example to mankind of 
 wise and philanthropic legislation, which of itself would 
 be enough to immortalize the revolution. The propo- 
 sition was approved by the committee; and for all felo- 
 nies under treason and murder, it was agreed to substitute 
 in the room of capital punishment, hard labor in the pub- 
 lic works, and in some cases the lex talionis, or law of re- 
 taliation. With the last mentioned substitute, Mr Jeffer- 
 son was dissatisfied, but acquiesced in the decision of the 
 board. ' How this revolting principle,' says he, ' came 
 to obtain our approbation, I do not remember. There 
 remained, indeed, in our laws, a vestige of it, in a single 
 case of a slave. It was the English law, in the time of 
 the Anglo-Saxons, copied probably from the Hebrew law 
 of "an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth," and it 
 was the law of several ancient people ; but the modern 
 mind had left it far in the rear of its advances.' Having 
 decided upon these general principles, as the basis of re- 
 vision, they repaired to their respective abodes to accom- 
 plish the magnificent design. 
 
 During the years 1777 and 8, the anxieties and agita- 
 tions of the war weighed so heavily and constantly upon 
 the legislature, that little attention could be spared to 
 advancing the progress of political reform. Mr Jefferson 
 continued a member, but in obedience to more pressing 
 engagements, suspended in great part the ruling purpose 
 of his mind, and buried himself in the external concerns 
 of revolution. In all the practical details of legislation 
 he contributed his full quota of service ; but they are too 
 voluminous for incorporation into this work. Not a mo- 
 ment was passed unemployed. Every interval which 
 could be safely spared from his duties in the legislature, 
 was devoted to the preparation of the revised code of 
 Virginia, or to a vigilant circumspection of the national 
 affairs. 
 
 The following letter to Dr Franklin, in Paris, evinces 
 
128 LIFE OP 
 
 the satisfaction with which he contemplated the esta- 
 blishment of republicanism in his native State, as well 
 as the anxiety and zeal which he carried into every de- 
 partment of the public service. It is the fourth in date 
 of his published correspondence. 
 
 ' Vu'ginia, August 13, 1777. 
 ' Honorable Sir, — I forbear to write you news, as 
 the time of Mr Shore's departure being uncertain, it 
 might be old before you receive it, and he can, in per- 
 son, possess you of all we have. With respect to the 
 State of Virginia, in particular, the people seem to have 
 laid aside the monarchical, and taken up the republican 
 government, with as much ease as would have attended 
 their throwing oiF an old, and putting on a new suit of 
 clothes. Not a single throe has attended this important 
 transformation. A half dozen aristocratical gentlemen, 
 agonizing under the loss of pre-eminence, have some- 
 times ventured their sarcasms on our political metamor- 
 phosis. They have been thought fitter objects of pity 
 than of punishment. We are at present in the complete 
 and quiet exercise of well organized government, save 
 only that our courts of justice do not open till the fall. 
 I think nothing can bring the security of our continent 
 and its cause into danger, if we can support the credit 
 of our paper. To do that, I apprehend one or two steps 
 must be taken. Either to procure free trade by alliance 
 with some naval power able to protect it ; or, if we find 
 there is no prospect of that, to shut our ports totally to 
 all the world, and turn our colonies into manufactories. 
 The former would be most eligible, because most con- 
 formable to the habits and wishes of our people. Were 
 the British court to return to their senses in time to 
 seize the little advantage which still remains within their 
 reach from this quarter, I judge that, on acknowledging 
 our absolute independence and sovereignty, a commer- 
 cial treaty beneficial to them, and perhaps even a league 
 of mutual oflfence and defence, might, not seeing the 
 expense or consequences of such a measure, be approved 
 by our people, if nothing in the mean time, done on 
 your part, should prevent it. But they will continue to 
 grasp at their desperate sovereignty, till every benefit 
 
THOMAS JEFFERSON. 129 
 
 short of that is forever out of their reach. I wish my 
 domestic situation had rendered it possible for me to 
 join you in the very honorable charge confided to you. 
 Residence in a polite court, society of literati of the 
 first order, a just cause and an approving God, will add 
 length to a life for which all men pray, and none more 
 than your most obedient and humble servant.' 
 
 In addition to the military operations which engaged 
 the attention of the legislature, two important transac- 
 tions of a civil character, in both of which Mr Jefferson 
 took the lead, distinguished the autumnal session of 
 1777. These were, the ratification of the Articles of 
 Confederation and Perpetual Union, proposed by Con- 
 gress on the 17th of November, '76 ; and the adoption 
 of a plan to dispose of the unappropriated lands of Vir- 
 ginia on the western waters, the avails of which were to 
 be applied to the creation of a sinking fund in aid of 
 the taxes, for discharging the public debt. A loan office 
 was established, in which the waste lands were register- 
 ed, and sold from time to time on moderate terms, for 
 the benefit of the State. In the then posture of affairs 
 no measure could have been proposed, more directly and 
 widely beneficial ; it opened an incalculable resource for 
 the support of the public credit. 
 
 The May session of 1778, also, notwithstanding the 
 exigencies of the war, was distinguished by a civil trans- 
 action, which is intimately connected with the reputation 
 of Mr Jefferson, and the honor of our country, — name- 
 ly the abolition of the Slave Trade. The bill for this 
 purpose was introduced by him in October '76, but was 
 not acted upon finally until the present session, when a 
 more particular illustration of its merits was promised, 
 by a historical comparison of the efforts of other nations. 
 The British empire has claimed the honor of having set 
 the example of the renunciation of this diabolical traf- 
 fic ; and Lord Castlereagh declared in the House of 
 Commons, on the 9th of February, 1818, that on the 
 12 
 
130 LIFE OP 
 
 subject of making the slave trade punishable by law, 
 Great Britain had led the way. A slight recurrence to 
 dates will unfold the historical truth on this point. 
 
 In the year 1791, Mr Wilberforce, who is considered 
 the father of African abolition in England, made his first 
 grand motion to that effect in the house of Commons. 
 After a vehement and protracted debate, in the course 
 of which Mr Fox said, that ' if the house did not, by 
 their vote, mark to all mankind their abhorrence of a 
 practice so savage, so enormous, so repugnant to all 
 laws, human and divine, they would consign their char- 
 acter to eternal infamy,' — the motion was lost by a con- 
 siderable majority. The ensuing year, he renewed his 
 proposition with unabated ardor, and again it was reject- 
 ed by the house. They nevertheless manifested some 
 relaxation in their repugnance to the general principle, 
 by voting a gradual abolition, the same year ; but the 
 House of Lords refused to concur. The same vote was 
 again carried in 1794, in commons, by a very thin 
 house pbut lost with the peers, by a majority of forty- 
 five to four. Similar results attended the indefatigable 
 exertions of the abolitionists, for fourteen years ; and it 
 was not until the 25th of March, 1807, that England 
 consented to renounce the slave trade, by a law which 
 enacted that no vessels should clear out for slaves from 
 any port within the British dominions after the 1st of 
 May, 1807 ; and that no slave should be landed in the 
 colonies after the first of March, 1808^ On the 16th 
 of March, 1792, Denmark promulgated a law, which 
 interdicted the slave trade on the part of Danish sub- 
 jects after the commencement of the year 1803 ; and 
 which prescribed that all importations of slaves into the 
 Danish dominions should cease at the same period. 
 Sweden, who had never authorized the traffic, consent- 
 ed to its prohibition in 1813 ; and the Ring of the Neth- 
 erlands in 1814. In France, Bonaparte interdicted it 
 immediately on his return from Elba, in 1815. In 1816, 
 
THOMAS JEFFERSON. 131 
 
 Spain stipulated in a treaty with England, to renounce 
 the trade entirely after the 30th of March, 1820, in con- 
 sideration of the sum of four hundred thousand pounds 
 sterling. About the same time also, a treaty was con- 
 cluded by the same power with Portugal, in which she 
 required the period of eight years to complete the work 
 of abolition, together with certain material changes in 
 the commercial relations of the two countries.* 
 
 From the foregoing statement, it appears, that the 
 honor of having set the example in the magnanimous 
 work of African abolition, belongs clearly and absolute- 
 ly to America. That Virginia was the first sovereign 
 and independent State, herself a slave-holding commu- 
 nity, which renounced the nefarious commerce ; that she 
 preceded Great Britain twenty-nine years, and the other 
 principal slave-dealing powers in Europe, except Den- 
 mark, more than thirty-five years ; and that among the 
 multitude of statesmen and philanthropists, whose prais- 
 es have been deservedly emblazoned for their splendid 
 successes in this species of legislation, the merit of pri- 
 ority and of self-denying patriotism, attaches incontesti- 
 bly to Mr Jefferson. The bill which he submitted to 
 the legislature, and which finally received their sanc- 
 tion, prohibited under heavy penalties, the introduction 
 of any slave into Virginia, by land or by water; and de- 
 clared that every slave imported contrary thereto, should 
 be immediately free ; excepting such as might belong 
 to persons emigrating from the other States, or be claim- 
 ed by discount, devise, or marriage, or be at that time 
 the actual property of any citizen of the commonwealth 
 residing in any other of the United States, or belong to 
 travellers making a transient stay and carrying their 
 slaves away with them. The circumstance ought not 
 to be overlooked, that this important triumph was achiev- 
 ed amid the turbulence and anxiety of revolution ; thus 
 
 ^ Walsh's Appeal, pp. 320 — 364 
 
132 LIFE OF 
 
 exhibiting the sublime spectacle of a people legislating 
 for the liberties of another and distant continent, before 
 the recovery of their own. The example was followed 
 by Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, Connecticut and Rhode 
 Island, in the years 1780, '87, '88 ; and in 1794 the Con- 
 gress of the United States interdicted the trade from all 
 the ports of the Union, under severe penalties. The 
 cause of emancipation is a very different subject. The 
 o]3inions and a part of the official labors of Mr Jeffer- 
 son upon that point, have already appeared, or will be 
 seen in due time. 
 
 In the month of February, 1779, the committee of 
 revisors, having completed their respective tasks, con- 
 vened at Williamsburg to review, approve, and consoli- 
 date them into one report. They came together day 
 after day, and examined critically their several parts, 
 scrutinizing and amending until they had agreed on the 
 whole. They had, in this work, embodied all the com- 
 mon law which it was thought necessary to alter, all 
 the British statutes from Magna Charta to the present 
 day, and all the laws of Virginia from the establishment 
 of their separate legislature to the present time, which 
 they thought should be retained, within the compass of 
 one hundred and twenty-six hills, making a printed folio 
 of ninety pages only. A monument of codification upon 
 the republican model, almost incredible at that period ! 
 The whole of this labor, the major part of which fell to 
 Mr Jefferson, was accomplished at intervals, amidst the 
 occupations and anxieties of the times, within the brief 
 space of two years. 
 
 In the execution of his part, Mr Jefferson observed a 
 rule in relation to style, which may appear rather odd to 
 the modern draughtsman. In reforming the ancient stat- 
 utes he preserved the diction of the text ; and in all new 
 jiraughts he avoided the introduction of modern techni- 
 calities, and adopted the sample of antiquity ; which, 
 from its greater simplicity, would allow less scope for 
 
THOMAS JEFFERSON. 133 
 
 the chicanery of the lawyers, and remove from among 
 the people numberless liabilities to litigation. Against 
 the labored phraseology of modern statutes, he has en- 
 tered an amusing protest. ' Their verbosity,' says he, 
 * their endless tautologies, their involutions of case with- 
 in case, and parenthesis vv^ithin parenthesis, and their 
 multiplied efforts at certainty, by saids and aforesaids, 
 by ors and by ands, to make them more plain, laave ren- 
 dered them more perplexed and incomprehensible, not 
 only to common readers, but to the lawyers themselves,' 
 
 12-* 
 
134 LIFE OF 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 On the ISth of June, 1779, the committee of revi- 
 sors communicated their report to the general assem- 
 bly, accompanied by a letter to the speaker, signed by 
 Mr Jefferson and Mr Wythe, and authorized by Mr 
 Pendleton. 
 
 The revised code was not enacted in a mass, as was 
 contemplated. The minds of the legislature were not 
 prepared for so extensive a transition at once, and the 
 violence of the times afforded little leisure for metaphy- 
 sical discussion. Some bills were taken out occasion- 
 ally, from time to time, and passed ; but the main body 
 of the work was not entered upon until after the general 
 peace, in 1785 ; ' when,' says Mr Jeiferson, ' by the un- 
 wearied exertions of Mr Madison, in ojDposition to the 
 endless quibbles, chicaneries, perversions, vexations, and 
 delays of lawyers and demi-lawyers, most of the bills 
 were passed by the legislature, with little alteration.' 
 The distinguished cotemporary, who is represented as 
 having had so important an agency in carrying this code * 
 into operation, has added verbal testimony of the un- 
 common estimate which he put upon its merits. ' It has,' 
 says he, ' been a mine of legislative wealth, and a model 
 of statutory composition, containing not a single super- 
 fluous word, and preferring always words and phrases of 
 a meaning fixed as much as possible by oracular trea- 
 tises, or solemn adjudications.'* 
 
 * Letter to S. H. Smith, 1827. 
 
THOMAS JEFFERSON. 135 
 
 In preparing this work, Mr Jefferson improved the 
 opportunity to push his favorite system of reform into 
 every branch of administration. The principal innova- 
 tions which he made upon the established order of things, 
 were the following : 
 
 1. The Repeal of the Law of Entails, which, though 
 separately enacted at the first republican session, he in- 
 corporated into the Revised Code. 
 
 2. The Abrogation of the right of Primogeniture, and 
 the equal division of inheritances among all the children, 
 or other representatives in equal degree. 
 
 3. The Assertion of the right of Expatriation, or a 
 republican definition of the rules whereby aliens may be- 
 come citizens, and citizens make themselves aliens. 
 
 4. The Establishment of Religious Freedom upon the 
 broadest foundation. 
 
 5. The Emancipation of all Slaves born after the pas- 
 sage of the act, and deportation at a proper age — not 
 carried into effect. 
 
 6. The Abolition of Capital Punishment in all cases, 
 except those of treason and murder ; and the gradua- 
 tion of punishments to crimes throughout, upon the prin- 
 ciples of reason and humanity — enacted with amend- 
 ments. 
 
 7. The Establishment of a systematical plan of Gen- 
 eral Education, reaching all classes of citizens and adapt- 
 ed to every grade of capacity — not carried into effect. 
 
 The first of these prominent features of the revisal, 
 has already been considered at sufficient length. 
 
 The second in the catalogue, holds an eminent rank 
 among the ancient and venerable foundations of repub- 
 licanism. It overturned one of the most arbitrary and 
 unrighteous, among the multiplied institutions, which 
 have been permitted to evict the laws of God and the 
 order of nature from the social systems of mankind. 
 The aristocracy of Virginia opposed the innovation with 
 the usual pertinacity which marked their adherence to 
 
136 LIFE OF 
 
 the ancient privileges of the order ; but the bill was 
 finally carried, in 1785, and forms the present law of 
 descents in that commonwealth. 
 
 The law on the subject of expatriation, established 
 the republican doctrine on the much controverted prin- 
 ciple of revolution. The opinions of the author in ref- 
 erence to this question, with the singular discrepancy 
 between them and those of his leading compatriots, have 
 been illustrated in a preceding chapter, by an appeal 
 to the written testimony of that period. Heterodox and 
 presumptuous as his rights of colonization were deemed 
 by the politicians of the first stages of the revolution, 
 the public mind had now approached so nearly to the 
 same point, as to authorize the attempt to establish them 
 upon a legal basis. The bill for this purpose was taken 
 up separately, and carried, on the 26th of June, '79, 
 principally through the exertions of George Mason, into 
 whose hands the author had committed it, on his retiring 
 from the legislature. After stating the conditions of 
 naturalization, and declaring who shall be deemed citi- 
 zens and who aliens, on terms extremely liberal and 
 democratic, the act goes on to prescribe : ' And in order 
 to preserve to the citizens of this commonwealth that 
 natural right, which all men have, of relinquishing the 
 country in which birth or other accident may have thrown 
 them, and seeking subsistence and happiness whereso- 
 ever they may be able, or may hope to find them ; and 
 to declare, unequivocally, what circumstances shall be 
 deemed evidence of an intention in any citizen to exer- 
 cise that right : It is enacted and declared,' &c. Hav- 
 ing defined the necessary circumstances of evidence and 
 the mode of proceeding thereon, the act concludes by 
 giving to all free white inhabitants of other States, ex- 
 cept paupers and fugitives from justice, the same rights, 
 privileges and immunities, as belong to the free citizens 
 of the Commonwealth, and the liberty of free ingress 
 and egress to* and from the same ; reserving, however, 
 
THOMAS JEFFERSON. 137 
 
 the right and authority of retaining persons guilty, or 
 charged with the commission of any high crim^e or mis- 
 demeanor in another State, and of delivering them over 
 to the authorities of the State from which they fled, upon 
 demand of the governor or executive power of such 
 State. Speaking of this act, in the continuation of 
 Burk's History of Virginia, it is observed : 
 
 'Its operation has been superseded by subsequent in- 
 stitutions ; but that philanthropy which opened, in Vir- 
 ginia, an asylum to individuals of any nation not at open 
 war with America, upon their removing to the State to 
 reside, and taking an oath of fidelity ; and that respect 
 tor the natural and social rights of men, which lays no 
 restraints whatever on expatriation, and claims the al- 
 legiance of citizens so long only as they are willing to 
 retain that character, cannot be forgotten. The legis- 
 lators of Virginia well knew, that the strongest hold of 
 a goyeniment on its citizens, is that affection which ra- 
 tional liberty, mild laws, and protecting institutions nev- 
 er tail to produce ; especially, when physical advantages 
 march in front with political blessings, and industry and 
 biht '' ^''^ perennial sources of comfort and respecta- 
 
 The act for the establishment of Rehgious Freedom 
 IS perhaps the most interesting feature in the revised 
 code. With the exception of the Declaration of Inde- 
 pendence, it is the most celebrated of the author's pro- 
 ductions, and the one to which he recurred with the 
 highest pride and satisfaction. The preamble which 
 ushers in the act, designates, with pecuHar emphasis, 
 the premises upon which the proposition was found- 
 ed. The following is the preamble, with the accom- 
 panying act. 
 
 ' Whereas Almighty God hath created the mind free ; 
 that all attempts to influence it by temporal punishments 
 or burthens, or by civil incapacitations, tend only to be- 
 get habits of hypocrisy and meanness, and are a depart- 
 ure from the plan of the Holy Author of our religion, 
 
138 LIFE OF 
 
 who being Lord both of body and mind, yet chose not 
 to propagate it by coercions on either, as was in his Al- 
 mighty power to do ; that the impious presumption of 
 legislators and rulers, civil as well as ecclesiastical, who, 
 being themselves but fallible an<l uninspired men, have 
 assumed dominion over the faith of others, setting up 
 their own opinions and modes of thinking, as the only 
 true and infallible, and as such, endeavoring to impose 
 them on others, hath established and maintained false 
 religions over the greatest part of the world, and through 
 all time ; that to compel a man to furnish contributions 
 of money for the propagation of opinions which he dis- 
 believes, is sinful and tyrannical ; that even the forcing 
 him to support this or that teacher of his own religious 
 persuasion, is depriving him of the comfortable liberty 
 of giving his contributions to the particular pastor, whose 
 morals he would make his pattern, and whose powers 
 he feels most persuasive to righteousness, and is with- 
 drawing from the ministry those temporary rewards, 
 which, proceeding from an approbation of their personal 
 conduct, are an additional incitement to earnest and un- 
 remitting labors for the instruction of mankind ; that 
 our civil rights have no dependence upon our religious 
 opinions, any more than our opinions in physics or ge- 
 ometry ; that therefore the proscribing any citizen as 
 unworthy the public confidence, by laying upon him an 
 incapacity of being called to offices of trust and emolu- 
 ment, unless he profess or renounce this or that religious 
 opinion, is depriving him injuriously of those privileges 
 and advantages, to which in common with his fellow cit- 
 izens he has a natural right ; that it tends only to cor- 
 rupt the principles of that religion it is meant to en- 
 courage, by bribing with a monopoly of worldly honors 
 and emoluments, those who will externally profess and 
 conform to it ; yet though indeed these are criminal who 
 do not withstand such temptation, yet neither are those 
 innocent who lay the bait in their way ; that to suffer 
 the civil magistrate to intrude his powers into the field 
 of opinion, and to restrain the profession or propagation 
 of principles on supposition of their ill tendency, is a 
 dangerous fallacy, which at once destroys all religious 
 liberty, because he being of course judge of that ten- 
 
THOMAS JEFFERSON. 139 
 
 dency will make his opinions the rule of judgment, and 
 approve or condemn the sentiments of others only as they 
 shall square with or differ from his own ; that it is time 
 €fnough for the rightful purposes of civil government, 
 for its officers to interfere when principles break out into 
 overt acts against peace and good order ; and finally, 
 that truth is great and will prevail if left to herself, that 
 she is the proper and sufficient antagonist to error, and 
 has nothing to fear from the conflict, unless by human 
 interposition disarmed of her natural weapons, free ar- 
 gument and debate, errors ceasing to be dangerous when 
 it is permitted freely to contradict them : 
 
 * Be it enacted by the general assembly, That no man 
 shall be compelled to frequent or sujiport any religious 
 worship, place, or ministry, whatsoever, nor shall be en- 
 forced, restrained, molested, or burthened in his body or 
 goods, nor shall otherwise suffer on account of his re- 
 ligious opinions or belief; but that all men shall be free 
 to profess, and by argument to maintain, their opinion 
 in matters of religion, and that the same shall in no wise 
 diminish, enlarge, or affect their civil capacities. 
 
 ' And though we well know that this assembly, elected 
 by the people for the ordinary purposes of legislation 
 only, have no power to restrain the acts of successive 
 assemblies, constituted with powers equal to our own, 
 and that therefore to declare this act to be irrevocable 
 would be of no effect in law ; yet we are free to declare, 
 and do declare, that the rights hereby asserted are of 
 the natural rights of mankind, and that if any act should 
 be hereafter passed to repeal the present, or to narrow 
 its operation, such act will be an infringement of nat- 
 ural right.' 
 
 The above is the form in which it received the sanc- 
 tion of the legislature, and varies somewhat from the 
 original draught. ' The variations,' says the compiler 
 of the Virginia statutes, ' rendered the style less elegant, 
 though they did not materially affect the sense.' The 
 bill was not acted upon until the year 1785, nor carried 
 then but with considerable difficulty. 
 
 ' I had drawn it,' says the author, * in all the latitude 
 
140 LIFE OP 
 
 of reason and right. It still met with opposition ; but 
 with some mutilations in the preamble, it was finally 
 passed ; and a singular proposition proved that its pro- 
 tection of opinion was meant to be universal. Where the 
 preamble declares that coercion is a departure from the 
 plan of the Holy Author of our religion, an amendment 
 was proposed, by inserting the words "JesUs Christ," 
 so that it should read, " a departure from the plan of 
 Jesus Christ, the Holy Author of our religion ;" the in- 
 sertion was rejected by a great majority, in proof that 
 they meant to comprehend, within the mantle of its pro- 
 tection, the Jew and the Gentile, the Christian and Ma- 
 hometan, the Hindoo, and Infidel of every denomination.' 
 
 This act has been the standing model of legislation 
 for the security of religious freedom in all parts of the 
 Union from that day to the present ; and there is not, we 
 believe, a State, which has legislated at all upon the subject, 
 that has not incorporated, either in its constitution or its 
 statutory code, the substance of its provisions, and in 
 some instances, its phraseology. 
 
 On its promulgation, in 1785, it excited great admira- 
 tion, and was copied into every newspaper that made any 
 pretensions to liberality with approving comments. In 
 Europe, it produced a considerable sensation. It was 
 translated into all the principal languages, copied into the 
 newspapers, reviews, and encyclopedias, and applauded 
 beyond measure by the statesmen and philosophers of the 
 ancient world. Mr Jefferson was in France when the in- 
 telligence of its passage was received in Europe, resi- 
 dent Minister at the Court of Versailles ; and in his pri- 
 vate letters to America, of that date, he speaks of the 
 admiration expressed for the act of religious freedom, 
 and the revised code generally. 
 
 In a letter to Mr Wythe, dated Paris, August 13, 1786, 
 he thus writes : 
 
 ' The European papers have announced, that the As- 
 sembly of Virginia were occupied in the revisal of their 
 code of laws. This, with some other similar intelli- 
 
THOMAS JEFFERSON. 141 
 
 gence, has contributed much to convince the people of 
 Europe, that what the English papers are constantly 
 publishing of our anarchy, is false : as they are sensible, 
 that such a work is that of a people only, who are in 
 perfect tranquillity. Our act for freedom of rehgion is 
 extremely applauded. The ambassadors and ministers 
 of the several nations of Europe, resident at this court, 
 have asked of me copies of it, to send to their sovereigns, 
 and it is inserted at full length in several books now in 
 the press ; among others, in the new Encydopedie. I 
 think it will produce considerable good, even in these 
 countries, where ignorance, superstition, poverty, and 
 oppression of body and mind, in every form, are so firm- 
 ly settled on the mass of the people, that their redemp- 
 tion from them can never be hoped. If all the sove- 
 reigns of Europe were to set themselves to work, to 
 emancipate the minds of their subjects from their pres- 
 ent ignorance and prejudices, and that, as zealously as 
 they now endeavor the contrary, a thousand years would 
 not place them on that high ground, on which our com- 
 mon people are now settin.g out. Ours could not have 
 been so fairly placed under the control of the common 
 sense of the people, had they not been separated from 
 their parent stock, and kept from contamination, either 
 from them, or the other people of the old world, by the 
 intervention of so wide an ocean. To know the worth 
 of this, one must see the want of it here.' 
 
 The next distinguishing and fundamental change re- 
 commended by the revisal, regarded the freedom of the 
 unhappy sons of Africa ; and proposed, directly, the 
 emancipation of all slaves born after the passage of the 
 act. The bill reported by the revisors, did not itself 
 contain this proposition ; but an amendment containing 
 it, was prepared, to be offered to the legislature when- 
 ever the bill should be taken up. ' It was thought bet- 
 ter,' says the author, ' that this should be kept back, and 
 attempted only, byway of amendment.' It was farther 
 agreed to embrace in the residuary proposition a clause, 
 directing that the after born slaves should continue with 
 their parents to a certain age, and then be brought 
 13 
 
142 
 
 LIFE OF 
 
 up at the public expense, to tillage, arts or sciences, ac- 
 cording to their geniuses, till the females should be 
 eighteen, and the males twenty-one years of age, when 
 they should be colonized to such place as the circum- 
 stances of the time should render most proper, sending 
 them out with arms, implements of household and the 
 handicraft arts, seeds, pairs of the useful domestic ani- 
 mals, &LC ; to declare them a free and independent peo- 
 ple, and to extend to them our alliance and protection, 
 till they should have acquired strength ; and to send 
 vessels, at the same time, to other parts of the world for 
 an equal number of white inhabitants, to induce whom 
 to migrate hither, proper encouragements were to be 
 proposed. But when the bill was taken up by the legis- 
 lature, in 1785, neither Mr Jefferson, nor Mr Wythe, 
 his chief coadjutor in the undertaking, were members ; 
 the former being absent on the Legation to France, and 
 the latter, an officer of the judiciary department ; so 
 the contemplated amendment was not proposed, and the 
 bill passed unaltered, being a mere digest of the existing 
 laws on the subject, without any intimation of a plan 
 for future and general emancipation. 
 
 If there was any question connected with the freedom 
 and happiness of mankind, on which the genius of Mr 
 Jefferson kindled into an extravagance, incompatible 
 with sobriety and right reason, it was that of the eman- 
 cipation of slaves. It was hardly possible for him, as 
 he declared, to write and be temperate on the subject. 
 The quotations already given, exhibit abundant evi- 
 dence of the intensity with Avhich he yearned, to use his 
 own language, ' for the moment of delivery to this op- 
 pressed description of men.' The following vehement 
 exhortation was penned in France, on learning the pas- 
 sage of the Slave Bill in Virginia, without the adoption 
 of his concerted amendment. 
 
 ' What a stupendous, what an incomprehensible ma- 
 chine is man ! who can endure toil, famine, stripes, im- 
 
THOMAS JEFFERSON. 143 
 
 prisoiiment, and death itself, in vindication of his own 
 liberty, and, the next moment, be deaf to all those mo- 
 tives whose power supported him through his trial, and 
 inflict on his fellow men a bondage, one hour of which 
 is fraught with more misery, than ages of that which he 
 rose in rebellion to oppose ! But we must await, with 
 patience, the workings of an overruling Providence, and 
 hope that that is preparing the deliverance of these our 
 suffering brethren. When the measure of their tears 
 shall be full, when their groans shall have involved 
 heaven itself in darkness, doubtless a God of justice will 
 awaken to their distress, and by diffusing light and 
 liberality among their oppressors, or at length, by his 
 exterminating Thunder, manifest his attention to the 
 things of this world, and that they are not left to the 
 guidance of a blind fatality.' 
 
 The following paragraph in allusion to the same trans- 
 action of the legislature, was written at the age of 
 seventy-seven. Time but added emphasis to his appal- 
 ling predictions, and strengthened his attachment to the 
 plan of redemption originally proposed by him. 
 
 ' It was found that the public mind would not yet 
 bear the proposition, nor will it bear it even at this day, 
 (1821.) Yet the day is not distant, when it must bear 
 and adopt it, or worse will follow. Nothing is more 
 certainly written in the book of fate, than that these 
 people are to be free; nor is it less certain, that the 
 two races, equally free, cannot live in the same govern- 
 ment. Nature, habit, opinion have drawn indelible 
 lines of distinction between them. It is still in our 
 power to direct the process of emancipation and depor- 
 tation, peaceably, and in such slow degree, as that the 
 evil will wear off insensibly, and their place be, pari 
 passu, filled up by free white laborers. If, on the con- 
 trary, it is left to force itself on, human nature must 
 shudder at the prospect held up. We should in vain 
 look for an example in the Spanish deportation, or dele- 
 tion of the Moors. This precedent would fall far short 
 of our case.' 
 
 The ' bill for proportioning crimes and punishments 
 
144 LIFE OF 
 
 in cases heretofore capital,' occupies a proud niche in 
 the temple of revolutionary reform. The changes it 
 proposed in the criminal code of the old world, were 
 of the most extensive character, and such as modern 
 experience has proved not inconsistent with the protec- 
 tion and good order of society, while they prevented 
 the sacrifice of human life. Theoretical writers had 
 previously shaken the barbarous opinions which pre- 
 vailed on the subject of penal jurisprudence ; among 
 whom Mr Jefferson mentions Beccaria, in particular, as 
 having ' satisfied the reasonable world, of the unright- 
 fulness and inefiicacy of the punishment of crimes by 
 death.' But no mitigation had been effected in prac- 
 tice ; and the author of this act stands before the world 
 as the first official lawgiver, who having advanced to the 
 true theory of criminal ethics, went boldly and rationally 
 to work to incorporate it into the body of civil juris- 
 prudence. The legitimate object of all punishment 
 being, in his opinion, discipline rather than vengeance, 
 he made the reformation of the offender the fundamental 
 maxim of his theory, and graduated his scale of penal 
 sanctions by that standard. The punishment of death 
 putting this object entirely out of the question, he re- 
 strained its infliction to cases in which reformation was 
 either hopeless, or too hazardous to attempt. Succeed- 
 ing legislators and moral philosophers have adopted the 
 same principle for their guide ; and pursuing it to a still 
 greater extent, have effected still greater improvements 
 on the ancient economy. It led eventually to the 
 penitentiary system, now so well tested by experi- 
 ence, as to have become nearly universal ; and the 
 idea has of late been carried so far as to have 
 brought seriously in question, the right and utility of 
 capital punishment in any case. That strong confidence 
 in the innate virtue of man, which led Mr Jefferson to 
 exclude the agency of force from every portion of the re- 
 vised system that came under his control, placed him at 
 
THOMAS JEFFERSON. 145 
 
 once on the same high and humane ground, in relation 
 to criminal jurisprudence, which is maintained by the 
 philanthropists of the present day. 
 
 The bill was brought forward in the legislature by Mr 
 Madison, in 1785, and lost by a single vote. The intel- 
 ligence of the country had not then advanced to a requi- 
 site point for sanctioning the opinions of the revisor on 
 the subject of capital punishment. But it was well per- 
 haps, on the whole, that the bill was rejected ; for it 
 enabled the author to effect a substantial improvement 
 on his original plan ; to wit, the substitution of labor in 
 solitary confinement, for labor in the public works. The 
 latter, it will be recollected, had been adopted by the 
 revisers, in the room of punishment by death ; but it had 
 not then been essayed by actual experiment. Afterwards, 
 in 1786, the experiment was tried in Pennsylvania for two 
 years, without approbation, when it was followed by the 
 Penitentiary system, on the principle of labor in confine- 
 ment, which succeeded beyond calculation. About the 
 same time Mr Jefferson, in France, had heard of a 
 benevolent society in England, which had been indulged 
 by the government in an expej-iment of the effect of labor 
 in solitary confinement on some of their criminals ; 
 which experiment was proceeding auspiciously. The 
 same idea had been suggested in France, and an archi- 
 tect of Lyons had proposed a well contrived plan of a 
 prison, on the principle of solitary confinement. Atten- 
 tive to these valuable hints, Mr Jefferson procured a 
 drawing of the prison proposed by this architect ; and 
 having a little before been written to by the governor of 
 Virginia, for a plan of a capitol and prison for that 
 State, he sent him the Lyons drawing, ' in the hope,' 
 says he, ' that it would suggest the idea of labor in soli- 
 tary confinement, instead of that on the public works, 
 which we had adopted in our revised code.' This was 
 in June, 1786. The principle, but not the exact form 
 of the drawing, was preserved in the erection of what is 
 13* 
 
146 LIFE OF 
 
 now called the Penitentiary at Richmond. In the mean 
 time, the increasing inteUigence and sensibility of the 
 age were preparing the way for the general sweep of 
 capital revocations, recommended by the revisors ; and 
 the pubHc opinion was ripening, by reflection, and by 
 the example of Pennsylvania, for the adoption of the 
 newly essayed substitute. 
 
 In 1796, therefore, after the steady humanization of 
 ten years, the legislature resumed the subject of the 
 criminal law, and passed the bill reported by Mr Jeffer- 
 son, with the substitution of solitary, in the room of 
 public labor. The diction of the text, however, was 
 modernized, which the author had scrupulously avoided, 
 to prevent new questions by new expressions ; and, in- 
 stead of the settled distinctions of murder and man- 
 slaughter, preserved by him, the new terms of murder in 
 the first and second degree, were introduced. These 
 alterations were probably not for the better, as they 
 gave occasion for renewed questions of definition. The 
 bill was brought forward the last time by Mr G. K. 
 Taylor, who was chiefly instrumental in procuring its 
 passage, with the amendments. 
 
 We come now to consider the last, and clearly the 
 most important scheme of public reformation contained 
 in the revised code, forming, as it does, the entrance 
 and a perpetual guard to the enjoyment of all the others. 
 The system, proposed for the diffusion of knowledge 
 through the whole mass of the people, by extending to 
 every degree of capacity a proportionate degree of edu- 
 cation, and placing all upon an equal footing for ob- 
 taining the first and necessary degrees, was an original 
 idea ; than which nothing would seem more admirably 
 contrived for the foundation of a durable and well or- 
 dered republic. This portion of the work fell more 
 properly within the division assigned to Mr Pendleton ; 
 but it was agreed, on the urgent recommendation of Mr 
 Jefferson, that a new and systematical plan of universal 
 
THOMAS JEFFERSON. 147 
 
 education should be proposed, and he was requested to 
 undertake it. He did so, preparing three bills for that 
 purpose, proposing three distinct grades of instruction, 
 in the following order : 1. Elementary schools, for all 
 children generally, rich and poor, without distinction. 
 2. Colleges, or, as they are more usually styled, in this 
 country, academies, for a middle degree of instruction, 
 calculated for the common purposes of life, yet such as 
 would be desirable for all who were in easy circum- 
 stances. 3. A University, in the room of William and 
 Mary College, constituting the ultimate grade, for teach- 
 ing the sciences generally, and in their highest degree. 
 
 The first and second bills were for the organization 
 of this system ; and the third for the establishment of 
 a public library and gallery, by the appropriation of a 
 certain sum annually to the purchase of books, paint- 
 ings and statues. 
 
 The organization of the system, in all its parts, ex- 
 hibits a model of republican equality and harmonious 
 arrangement. It proposed the division of the State into 
 twenty-four districts, and the subdivision of these into 
 wards called hundreds, of five or six miles square, ac- 
 cording to the size and population of the district. In 
 each hundred was to be established an elementary 
 school, in which should be taught reading, writing, and 
 common arithmetic ; the expenses of which should be 
 borne by the inhabitants of the county, every one in pro- 
 portion to his general tax rate. All free children, male 
 and female, resident in the hundred, should be entitled 
 to three years instruction at the school, free of expense, 
 and to as much more as they chose, by paying for it. 
 In each district was to be established an academy, or 
 grammar school, to be supported at the public expense, 
 in which should be taught the classics, grammar, geo- 
 graphy, and the higher branches of numerical arith- 
 metic. 
 
 The bill provides farther, for the annual selection of 
 
148 LIFE OF , 
 
 the most promising subjects from the elementary schools, 
 whose parents were too poor to educate them, who' 
 should be transferred to the district institutions at the 
 public expense. And from the district institutions also, 
 a certain number annually were to be selected, of the 
 most promising character, but whose parents were un- 
 able to incur the burthen, who should be sent on to the 
 University, to receive the ultimate degree of intellectual 
 cultivation. Genius and worth would thus be sought out 
 of every walk of life ; and, to adopt a favorite senti- 
 ment of the author, the veritable aristocracy of nature 
 would be completely prepared by the laws, for defying 
 and defeating the pseudo-aristocracy of wealth and birth, 
 in the competition for public trusts. 
 
 It was farther in the contemplation of the author, had 
 his system been carried into operation, to have imparted to 
 the wards or hundreds, all those portions of self-govern- 
 ment, for which they are best qualified ; by confiding 
 to them the care of their poor, their roads, police, elec- 
 tions, the nomination of jurors, administration of justice 
 in small cases, and elementary exercises of militia ; in 
 short, to have made them little republics, with a warden 
 at the head of each, for all those concerns which, being 
 under their eye, they would better manage than the 
 larger republics of the county, or State. A general call 
 of ward meetings by the wardens, on the same day 
 throughout the State, would at any time embody the 
 genuine sense of the people, on any required point, 
 and present a forcible illustration of democratic govern- 
 ment. 
 
 The three several bills, for the ward schools, the dis- 
 trict institutions, the University, and for the establish- 
 ment of a library and gallery, were all brought before 
 the legislature, in the year 1796. The first only was 
 acted upon, and finally adopted ; but with an amend- 
 ment which completely defeated it. They inserted a 
 provision leaving it to the court of each county to de- 
 
THOMAS JEFFERSON. 149 
 
 termine for itself, when the act should be carried into 
 execution. The effect of the bill being to throw on 
 wealth the education of the poor, and the justices being 
 unwilling to incur the responsibility, the plan was not 
 suffered to commence in a single county. The propo- 
 sition to erect the College of William and Mary into a 
 University, encountered insuperable impediments. The 
 present college was an establishment purely of the 
 church of England ; the visitors were required to be all 
 of that church ; the professors to subscribe its thirty- 
 nine articles ; the students to learn its catechism ; and 
 one of its fundamental objects was declared to be, to 
 raise up ministers for that church. The dissenters took 
 alarm, lest the enlargement of the institution might give 
 an ascendency to the Anglican sect, and refused to act 
 'upon the proposition. The bill for the establishment of 
 a library and gallery met a similar fate ; and thus no 
 part of this grand and beneficial system was ever per- 
 mitted to take effect. 
 
 Perhaps there was no one feature of the revised code, 
 on which Mr Jefferson placed a more justly exalted es- 
 timate, than that which proposed the diffusion of edu- 
 cation universally and impartially among the people. 
 Knowledge is unquestionably, to use an expression of 
 his own, ' the key-stone of the political arch,' in popu- 
 lar governments, and the only foundation which can be 
 laid for permanent freedom and prosperity. Upon this 
 point he was enthusiastically pertinacious. His efforts 
 were perseveringly directed to its attainment, in the 
 form originally proposed by him, on all possible occa- 
 sions which subsequently offered ; and on his final re- 
 tirement from public affairs, he made it the great busi- 
 ness of his life. Being in Europe, as before stated, at 
 the time the main body of the revisal was entered on, 
 he was prevented from raising his voice and utter- 
 ing his opinions in the legislature, with the power 
 and authority he had formerly done ; but his letters to 
 
150 LIFE OF 
 
 his friends in Virginia, of that date, abound with the 
 most eloquent persuasions of the importance of carrying 
 into eifect those portions of the work, which he deemed 
 most essential to the freedom and happiness of the peo- 
 ple. Among these, the bill under consideration occu- 
 pied a prominent share of his solicitude ; as is manifested 
 by the following extract of a letter to Mr Wythe, dated 
 Paris, August 13, 1786. 
 
 ' I think by far the most important bill in our whole 
 code, is that for the diffusion of knowledge among the 
 people. No other sure foundation can be devised for the 
 preservation of freedom and happiness. If any body 
 thinks, that kings, nobles, or priests are good conserva- 
 tors of the public happiness, send him here. It is the 
 best school in the universe to cure him of that folly. 
 He will see here, with his own eyes, that these descrip- 
 tions of men are an abandoned confederacy against the 
 happiness of the mass of the people. The omnipotence 
 of their effect cannot be better proved, than in this 
 country particularly, where, notwithstanding the finest 
 soil upon earth, the finest climate under heaven, and a 
 people of the most benevolent, the most gijy and amia- 
 ble character of which the human form is susceptible ; 
 where such a people, I say, surrounded by so many 
 blessings from nature, are loaded with misery by kings, 
 nobles, and priests, and by them alone. Preach, my 
 dear Sir, a crusade against ignorance : establish and 
 improve the law for educating the common people. Let 
 our countrymen know, that the people alone can pro- 
 tect us against these evils, and that the tax which will 
 be paid for this purpose, is not more than the thousandth 
 part of what will be paid to kings, priests and nobles, 
 who will rise up among us, if we leave the people in ig- 
 norance. The people of England, I think, are less op- 
 pressed than here. But it needs but half an eye to see, 
 when among them, that the foundation is laid in their 
 dispositions for the establishment of a despotism. No- 
 bility, wealth, and pomp are the objects of their admi- 
 ration. They are by no means the free minded people, 
 we suppose them in America. Their learned men, too. 
 
THOMAS JEFFERSON. 151 
 
 are few in number, and are less learned, and infinitely 
 less emancipated from prejudice than those of this coun- 
 try.' 
 
 Such are some of the innovations on the established 
 order of things, contained in the celebrated revised 
 code of Virginia, in 1779 ; of all which, Mr Jefferson 
 was the originator and draughtsman. It is impossible, 
 at the present day, to form an adequate idea of this 
 great political work, or of the genius and application it 
 required. On the authority of Mr Madison we are en- 
 abled to say, ' that it, perhaps, exceeded the severest of 
 Mr Jefferson's public labors.' And the whole of this 
 magnificent undertaking was executed during the short 
 interval of three years, chiefly by an individual, and 
 carried into action mainly by his own efforts ; supported, 
 indeed, by able and faithful coadjutors from the ranks of 
 the house, very effective as seconds, but who would not 
 have taken the field as leaders. The natural equality 
 of the human race, the first maxim of the author's poli- 
 tical creed, was the governing principle of his present 
 general institute. Four of the bills reported were I'e- 
 markable illustrations of this principle, sufficient ' to 
 crush forever the eternal antagonism of artificial aristo- 
 cracy, against the rights and happiness of the people.' 
 Tfiey were marshalled in phalanx by the author, for the 
 express purpose of carrying out the principle of equality 
 in all its latitude, as appears by his own record of the 
 transaction. 
 
 ' I considered four of these bills, passed or reported, 
 as forming a system by which every fibre would be 
 eradicated of ancient or future aristocracy ; and a foun- 
 dation laid for a government truly republican. The 
 Repeal of the Laws of Entail would prevent the accu- 
 mulation and perpetration of wealth, in select families, 
 and preserve the soil of the country from being daily 
 more and more absorbed in mortmain. The Abolition 
 of Primogeniture, and equal partition of inheritances, 
 removed the feudal and unnatural distinctions, which 
 
152 LIFE OF 
 
 made one member of every family rich, and all the rest 
 poor, substituting equal partition, the best of all Agrarian 
 laws. The Restoration of the Rights of Conscience re- 
 lieved the people from taxation for the support of a re- 
 ligion not theirs ; for the establishment was truly of the 
 religion of the rich, the dissenting sects being entirely 
 composed of the less wealthy people; and these, by the 
 Bill for a General Education, would be qualified to un- 
 derstand their rights, to maintain them, and to exercise 
 with intelligence their parts in self-government : and all 
 this would be effected, without the violation of a single 
 natural right of any one individual citizen. To these, 
 too, might be added, as a farther security, the introduc- 
 tion of the trial by jury into the chancery courts, which 
 have already engulphed, and continue to engulph, so 
 great a proportion of the jurisdiction over our property.' 
 
 Our detail of the public and official serviees of Mr 
 Jefferson, must now give place to an incident in pri- 
 vate life, which discovers his social affections, and his 
 general philanthropy. At the memorable surrender of 
 Burgoyne in '77, it will be recollected, about four thous- 
 and British troops fell prisoners of war into the hands of 
 the American general ; and by an express article in the 
 capitulation it was provided, that the surrendering army 
 should be retained in America, until an authentic ratifi- 
 cation of the convention entered into between the bel- 
 ligerents, should be received from the British govern- 
 ment. The troops were at first ordered to Boston, 
 where they remained about a twelve-month, when they 
 were removed to Charlottesville, in Virginia, a short dis- 
 tance from Monticello. They arrived at the latter place, 
 in January 1779, harassed by a long journey, during a 
 most inclement season, and doomed to encounter the 
 severest hardships -on their arrival, from the unfinished 
 state of their barracks, the insufficiency of stores, and 
 the condition of the roads, which rendered the pros- 
 pect of a timely and competent supply of subsistence al- 
 most hopeless. 
 
THOMAS JEFFERSON. 153 
 
 A general alarm was disseminated among the inhab- 
 itants, insomuch that reasonable minds were affected by 
 the panic. Mr Jefferson remained tranquil and unmoved. 
 He stood among the multitude and exhorted them to pa- 
 tience and composure ; and soon, agreeably to his re- 
 peated assurances, every difficulty disappeared, and ev- 
 ery apprehension vanished. The planters, being more 
 generally sellers than buyers, availed themselves, with 
 great activity, of the advantages produced by the extra- 
 ordinary demand for provisions, and quickly removed a 
 scarcity merely accidental, to their own evident benefit. 
 
 In the mean time, Mr Jefferson engaged personally in 
 erecting barracks for the privates, and establishing ac- 
 commodations for the officers. It is true, these men 
 were the instruments of a cruel and implacable enemy, 
 foes to the freedom and happiness of their benefactor, 
 and who, he well knew, regarded him with such animos- 
 ity, that under any other circumstances, they would have 
 treated his offers of generosity with contempt. They 
 were the enemies of his country, whose cries were now 
 ascending to Heaven against the injuries of its oppres- 
 sors ; but they were human beings, and as such entitled, 
 in his opinion, to the same offices of kindness and hos- 
 pitality, when in distress, as those who were united to 
 him by the ties of national alliance. He was indefati- 
 gable in his endeavors to render the situation of the 
 captives comfortable. Aided by the benevolent inter- 
 position of the citizens of Charlottesville, and by the 
 genius and humane dispositions of the Commissary, 
 his exertions were attended with the most gratifying suc- 
 cess. In a short time, the residence of the prisoners 
 assumed an air of comfort and ease ; the barracks were 
 completed, and a plentiful supply of provisions was pro- 
 cured. The officers had rented houses at an extravagant 
 price, erected additional buildings at their own expense, 
 and hired small farms in the neighborhood, on which 
 they beguiled the tedious hours of captivity in the occu- 
 14 
 
]54 LIFE OF 
 
 pations of agriculture and gardening. The men imitat- 
 ed, on a smaller scale, the example of the officers. The 
 environs of the barracks presented a charming appear- 
 ance. 
 
 But these extensive and promising arrangements were 
 scarcely completed, when the executive of Virginia, who 
 had been invested by congress with certain discretionary 
 powers over the ' convention troops,' as they were call- 
 ed, came to the determination of removing them, either 
 wholly or in part, from Charlottesville, on the ground of 
 the insufficiency of the State for their animal subsistence. 
 The rumored intelligence of this determination, filled 
 the soldiers with the deepest regret and disappointment. 
 Loud comjDlaints were heard against the inhumanity of 
 the measure ; the nation was accused of violation of 
 faith ; and such was the degree of excitement among 
 the prisoners, that mutiny was seriously apprehended. 
 
 The citizens among whom they were quartered par- 
 ticipated in the general disapprobation. They contem- 
 plated the proposition, with regret and mortification. 
 Mr Jefierson addressed a long letter to Gov. Henry, and 
 arrayed before him the public reasons, which militated 
 against the measure. 
 
 The reasonableness of this appeal, produced the in- 
 tended effect. The governor and council, on a dispas- 
 sionate review of the arguments submitted by Mr JeflTer- 
 son, were convinced, that the removal or separation of 
 the troops would be a breach of the public faith, and fix 
 the character of unsteadiness, and what was worse, of 
 cruelty, on the councils of the nation. The proposition 
 was accordingly abandoned, and the troops permitted to 
 remain together at Charlottesville. 
 
 The conduct of Mr Jefferson, on this occasion, and 
 his uniform endeavors durinor their confinement, to ame- 
 liorate their suffering condition, excited in the soldiers 
 the liveliest emotions of gratitude. They loaded him 
 with expressions of their sensibility ; and no time could 
 
THOMAS JEFFERSON. 155 
 
 obliterate the impression from their hearts. Subse- 
 quently, when ambassador in Europe, Mr Jefferson vis- 
 ited Germany ; and passing through a town where one 
 of the Hessian corps, that had been at Charlottesville, 
 happened to be in garrison, he met with Baron De Geis- 
 mar, who immediately apprized his brother officers of 
 the presence of their benefactor. They flocked around 
 him, greeted him with affecting tokens of their remem- 
 brance, and spoke of America with enthusiasm. 
 
 On taking leave of Charlottesville, the principal offi- 
 cers, Major Generals Phillips and Riedesel, Brigadier 
 Specht, C. De Geismar, J. L. De linger, and some oth- 
 ers, addressed him letters expressive of their lasting at- 
 tachment, and bidding him an affectionate adieu. Phil- 
 lips emphatically extols his ' delicate proceedings.' 
 Riedesel repeatedly and fervently pours out his thanks, 
 and those of his wife and children. To all these letters, 
 Mr Jefferson returned answers. Some of these answers 
 have been preserved. « The great cause which divides 
 our countries,' he replied to Phillips, ' is not to be de- 
 cided by individual animosities. The harmony of pri- 
 vate societies cannot weaken national efforts. To con- 
 tribute, by neighborly intercourse and attention, to make 
 others happy, is the shortest and surest way of being 
 happy ourselves. As these sentiments seem to have di- 
 rected your conduct, we should be as unwise as illiberal, 
 were we not to preserve the same temper of mind.' 
 
 To General Riedesel he thus wrote : * The little at- 
 tentions you are pleased to magnify so much, never de- 
 served a mention or thought. Opposed as we hap- 
 pen to be, in our sentiments of duty and honor, and anx- 
 ious for contrary events, I shall nevertheless sincerely 
 rejoice in every circumstance of happiness and safety 
 which may attend you personally.' 
 
 To Lieutenant De linger he replied in the following 
 manner : ' The very small amusements which it has been 
 in my power to furnish, in order to lighten your heavy 
 
156 LIFE OF 
 
 hours, by no means merited the acknowledgments you 
 make. Their impression must be ascribed to your ex- 
 treme sensibility rather than to their own weight. When 
 the course of events shall have removed you to distant 
 scenes of action, where laurels not moistened with the 
 blood of my country, may be gathered, I shall urge my 
 sincere prayers for your obtaining every honor and pre- 
 ferment which may gladden the heart of a soldier. On 
 the other hand, should your fondness for philosophy re- 
 sume its merited ascendancy, is it impossible to hope, 
 that this unexplored country may tempt your residence, 
 by holding out materials, wherewith to build a fame, 
 founded on the happiness, and not on the calamities of 
 human nature 1 Be this as it may, a philosopher or a 
 soldier, I wish you personally many felicities.' De lin- 
 ger was a votary of literature and science. He was a 
 frequent visitor at the hospitable mansion of Mr Jeffer- 
 son, and enjoyed in his library advantages, which his 
 taste combined with his situation to render doubly pre- 
 cious. Other officers loved music and painting ; they 
 found in him a rich and cultivated taste for the fine arts. 
 They were astonished, delighted ; and their letters to 
 several parts of Germany, gave of the American char- 
 acter, ideas derived from that exalted specimen. These 
 letters found their way into several Gazettes of the an- 
 cient world, and the name of Jefferson was associated 
 with that of Franklin, whose fame had then spread over 
 Europe. ' Surely,' says an historian,* ' this innocent 
 and bloodless conquest over the minds of men, whose 
 swords had originally been hired to the oppressors of 
 America, was in itself scarcely less glorious, though in 
 its effects less extensively beneficial, than the splendid 
 train of victories which had disarmed their hands.' 
 
 * Girardin, p. 327. 
 
THOMAS JEFFERSON. ' 157 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 On the 1st of June, 1779, Mr Jefferson was elected 
 Governor of the Commonwealth of Virginia, and retired 
 from the legislature with the highest dignity in their 
 gifts. Political distinctions being then unknown, the 
 ballot box determined the exact value put upon the 
 abilities of public characters. 
 
 On assuming the helm of administration, Mr Jeffer- 
 son directed the weight of his station, and the powers 
 confided to him, towards reclaiming the enemy to the 
 principles of humanity in the treatment of American 
 prisoners. He had seen that the conduct of the British 
 officers, civil and military, had through the whole course 
 of the war, been savage, and unprecedented among 
 civilized nations ; that American officers and soldiers, 
 captured by them, had been loaded with irons — con- 
 signed to crowded gaols, loathsome dungeons, and pri- 
 son-ships — supplied often with no food, generally with 
 too little for the sustenance of nature, and that little so 
 unsound and unwholesome, as to have rendered cap- 
 tivity and death almost synonymous terms ; that they 
 had been transported beyond seas, where their fate 
 could not be ascertained, or compelled to take arms 
 against their country, and by a refinement in cruelty to 
 become the murderers of their own brethren. 
 
 On the other hand, the treatment extended to British 
 prisoners by American victors, had been marked, he 
 well knew, with singular moderation and clemency. 
 They had: been supplied, on all occasions, with whole- 
 
 14* 
 
158 LIFE OF 
 
 some and plentiful food, provided with comfortable ac- 
 commodations, suffered to range at large within exten- 
 sive tracts of country, permitted to live in American 
 families, to labor for themselves, to acquire and enjoy 
 property, and to participate in the principal benefits of 
 society, while privileged from all its burthens. In some 
 cases they had been treated with hospitality and courtesy. 
 We have already witnessed the gratifying spectacle of 
 four thousand British troops, prisoners of war, relieved 
 suddenly from an accumulation of miseries, and raised 
 to a condition of competency and comfort, chiefly by his 
 own private enterprise, seconded by the liberality of his 
 fellow citizens. 
 
 Reviewing this contrast, governor Jefferson felt im- 
 pelled by a sense of public justice, to substitute a system 
 of rigorous retribution. He felt ' called on,' in the im- 
 pressive language of his order, 'by that justice we owe 
 to those who are fighting the battles of our country, to 
 deal out miseries to their enemies, measure for measure, 
 and to distress the feelings of mankind by exhibiting to 
 them spectacles of severe retaliation, where we had 
 long and vainly endeavored to introduce an emulation 
 in kindness.' 
 
 Happily, the fortune of war had thrown into his power 
 some of those very individuals who, having distinguish- 
 ed themselves personally in the practise of cruelties, 
 were proper subjects on which to begin the work of re- 
 taliation. Among these were Henry Hamilton, who for 
 some years past had acted as lieutenant governor of 
 the settlement at Detroit, under Sir Guy Carlton ; Philip 
 Dejean, justice of the peace for Detroit, and William 
 Lamothe, captain of volunteers, — taken prisoners of 
 war by colonel Clarke at Fort St Vincents, and brought 
 under guard to Williamsburg, early in June, '79. Pro- 
 clamations under his own hand, and the concurrent tes- 
 timony of indifferent witnesses, proved governor Hamil- 
 ton a remorseless destroyer of the human race, instead 
 
THOMAS JEFFERSON. 159 
 
 of an open and honorable enemy. He had excited the 
 Indians to perpetrate their accustomed atrocities upon 
 the citizens of the United States, with an eagerness 
 and ingenuity, which evinced that the general nature of 
 the employment harmonized with his particular dispo- 
 sition. He gave standing rewards for scalps, but offered 
 none for prisoners, which induced the Indians, after 
 compelling their captives to carry their baggage into the 
 neighborhood of the fort, to butcher them at last, and 
 carry in their scalps to the governor, who welcomed 
 their return and success by a discharge of cannon ; and 
 the {ew American prisoners spared by his blood-hounds, 
 were doomed by him to a captivity of lingering and 
 complicated tortures, terminating in death. Concern- 
 ing Dejean and Lamothe, it was well ascertained that 
 they had, on all occasions, been the ready instruments 
 of Hamilton. The former, acting in the double capa- 
 city of judge and jailor, had instigated him by malicious 
 insinuations, to increase rather than relax his severities, 
 and had aggravated the cruelty of his orders, by his 
 manner of executing them ; the latter, as commander of 
 volunteer scalping parties, Indians and whites, had deso- 
 lated the frontier settlements by his marauding excur- 
 sions, devoting to indiscriminate destruction, men, wo- 
 men and children, and stimulating by his example, the 
 fury of his execrable banditti.* 
 
 Possessed by the force of American arms of such fit 
 subjects as these on which to make the first demonstra- 
 tions of retributive justice, and coerce the enemy into 
 the usages of civilized warfare, Jefferson issued an 
 order in conformity to the advice of his council, direct- 
 ing the above named prisoners to be put in irons, con- 
 fined in the dungeon of the public gaol, debarred the 
 use of pen, ink and paper, and excluded from all con- 
 versation, except with their keeper. 
 
 * Jefferson's Works, Vol. 1, Appendix, Note A. 
 
160 LIFE OP 
 
 Major general Phillips, who continued near Char- 
 lottesville in captivity, having read in the Virginia 
 Gazette the order of the governor, immediately ad- 
 dressed him a remonstrance on the subject. In his 
 communication, he endeavored to invalidate the testi- 
 mony against Hamilton, and to extenuate his conduct; 
 expressed doubts respecting the authority of any par- 
 ticular State to enter upon retaliation, vrhich he sup- 
 posed belonged exclusively to Congress ; expatiated 
 largely on the sacred nature of a capitulation, which in 
 the present case, he contended, exempted the prisoner 
 from the severe punishment inflicted on him, whatever 
 his previous conduct might have been ; and in conclu- 
 sion, entreated the governor to reconsider the subject. 
 ' From my residence in Virginia,' he adds, ' I have con- 
 ceived the most favorable idea of the gentlemen of this 
 country ; and from my personal acquaintance with you, 
 Sir, I am led to imagine it must have been very disso- 
 nant to the feelings of your mind, to inflict such a 
 weight of misery and stigma of disgrace upon the un- 
 fortunate gentleman in question.' 
 
 W^hatever may have been the feelings of Mr Jefferson, 
 when no superior obligation stood in the way, (and none 
 had better reason to honor them than general Philips 
 and his fellow captives,) his present situation, as chief 
 magistrate, required the stern subordination of those 
 feelings to the service of his country, ^nd the general 
 good of mankind. His o.wn opinion was, that all per- 
 sons taken in war, as well those who surrendered on 
 capitulation, as those who surrendered at discretion, 
 were to be deemed prisoners of war and liable to the 
 same treatment ; except only so far as they were pro- 
 tected by the express terms of their capitulation. In 
 the surrender of governor Hamilton, no stipulation was 
 made as to the treatment of himself or his fellow pri- 
 soners. The governor indeed, upon signing, had ad- 
 ded a flourish of reasons, which induced him to capitu- 
 
TIIOIMAS JKri'KUSON. 101 
 
 lato, ono of wliicli was llio otnuM'oyity of liis victorious 
 enoiuy. (Jcnrrosity, on a lai"«»u aiul C(>iu|»i'(>lioiisivo 
 scale, thought Mr JolVorsou, tlictatod llio makiii«»- u sig- 
 nal oxauiplo of tho o'cntliMnan ; hul vvuvino" that, these 
 were only the private niotives iii(hicin<;' him to surrender, 
 antl (lid not enter int(t the eontract t)f the antagonist 
 party. He continued in the helitd', therefore, that the 
 bare existence of a c!i|>itidati(Mi did nttt exempt llmniU 
 ton from confin(Mn<M»t, there Ixung in tlu^ eontract no 
 positive sti[>ulation to that elVeet. The importanctj of 
 tlie point, however, in a national view, ami his great 
 anxiety for the honor of the govtMiiment under a charge 
 of violated faith by oiw. of its supreme functionaries, in- 
 duced him to submit tlu; (piestiim to tlu; commamler in 
 chief. 
 
 General Washington sjnw w iih [jjeasnre rhe executive 
 of bis ujitive v^tate, entering up(Mt a I'ourse of measures 
 which the conduct of the (snemy had rendered necessary. 
 But, entertaining- doubts as to the real bearing ami extent 
 of the capitulation in question, ntul (-oMcnrring with Mr 
 JelVerson, in a sacred respect for the laws and usages 
 of civili/.ed nations, be recommcuuled a relaxation t)f 
 severities, after a fair trial of the practical elVcct <d' tlui 
 present proceeding. Out! soi«'mn inculcation would 
 have been administ(M(!(l ; Virginia would have it in her 
 power to repeat it. This alone might produce the in- 
 tended rcd'ornnition, and renu>v(! the uec(!ssity of indi- 
 vidual chastisement for national barbarities. 
 
 Inllnenced by the advice of the connnander in chief, 
 which harmoni/.e<l with tin; better dictates of his heart, 
 governor JelVerson reconsideretl the case (d" the captives, 
 and issued a secoml ordiu* in council, mitigating the se- 
 verity of the lirst, though not compronusing the right in 
 any one ])oint. 
 
 Agreeably to this order, a [)aroh! was drawn up and 
 tendered to the prisoners. It required them to be inolfen- 
 sive in word as well as deed ; to which they objected, in- 
 
162 LIFE OF 
 
 sisting on entire freedom of speech. They were conse- 
 quently remanded to their confinement, which was now 
 to be considered voluntary. Their irons, however, were 
 knocked off. The subaltern prisoners soon after sub- 
 scribed the parole, and were enlarged ; but Hamilton 
 long refused the proffer. Upon being informed by gen- 
 eral Phillips, who had been exchanged, that his suffer- 
 ings would be perfectly gratuitous, he at last complied. 
 These measures of governor Jefferson produced the 
 effects anticipated. In the first moments of passion, the 
 British resorted to what they termed, retaliation ; being 
 a revival in more hideous forms, of their establijfhed prac- 
 tices — therefore, to be deemed original and unprovoked 
 in every new instance. A declaration was also issued, 
 that no officers of the Virginia line should be exchanged 
 till Hamilton's affair should be satisfactorily settled. 
 When this information was received, the governor im- 
 mediately ordered all exchange of British prisoners to be 
 stopped, with the determination to use them as pledges 
 for the safety of Americans in like circumstances. ' It 
 is impossible,' he writes to General Washington, ' they 
 can be serious in attempting to bully us in this manner. 
 We have too many of their subjects in our power, and 
 too much iron to clothe them with, and I will add, too 
 much resolution to avail ourselves of both, to fear their 
 pretended retaliation.' Effectual measures were taken 
 for ascertaining, from time to time, the situation and 
 treatment of American captives, with a view to retaliate 
 on the enemy corresponding treatment in all cases ; 
 and the prison ship fitted up on the recommendation of 
 Congress, was ordered to a proper station, for the recep- 
 tion and confinement of such as should be sent to it. 
 ' I am afraid,' he again writes to the commander in 
 chief, ' I shall hereafter, perhaps, be obliged to give 
 ydur excellency some trouble in aiding me to obtain in- 
 formation of the future usage of our prisoners. I shall 
 give immediate orders for having in readiness every en- 
 
THOMAS JEFFERSON. 163 
 
 gine, which the enemy have contrived for the destruction 
 of our unhappy citizens captivated by them. The pre- 
 sentiment of these operations is shocking beyond ex- 
 pression. I pray heaven to avert them ; but nothing in 
 this world will do it, but a proper conduct in the enemy. 
 In every event, I shall resign myself to the hard necessity 
 under which I shall act.' 
 
 The governor was not insensible to the aggravation of 
 misery, which the first exercises of his policy brought on 
 those unfortunate citizens of the United States, who 
 were in the power of the enemy. On the contrary, he 
 entered feelingly into their situation, and encouraged 
 them, by appeals to their fortitude, to bear up against a 
 temporary increase of personal suffering, for the lasting 
 and general benefit of their country. 
 
 These sentiments of the executive, lifted the hearts 
 of the American prisoners. They acquiesced in the 
 stern necessity which dictated the disregard of their 
 private distresses, in the prospect of the general ameli- 
 oration of captivated man. Nor was this anticipa- 
 tion wholly disappointed. The practical inculcation of 
 such a lesson, produced a sensible effect upon the con- 
 duct of the enemy, through the subsequent stages of the 
 war. British magnanimity was compelled to yield to 
 the cries of their own countrymen, and the admonitions 
 of experience. 
 
 In the same spirit which guided his military opera- 
 tions, the governor engaged in a civil transaction of ex- 
 tensive and solid utility to the commonwealth. Upon 
 the mediation of Spain, offered about this time, sanguine 
 hopes were entertained of an approaching pacification ; 
 and Congress in settling their ultimatum, had intimated 
 that the principle of uti possidetis should be recognized 
 in adjusting the boundaries of the several States. 
 Whereupon, Mr Jefferson instituted active measures for 
 extending the western establishments of Virginia, with a 
 view to secure by actual possession, the right of that 
 
164 LIFE OF 
 
 State in its whole extent, to the Mississippi. He engag- 
 ed a company of scientific gentlemen to proceed under 
 an escort to the Mississippi, and ascertain by celestial 
 observation, the point on that river intersected by the 
 latitude of thirty-six and a half degrees, the southern 
 limit of the State ; and to measure its distance from the 
 mouth of the Ohio. 
 
 The brave and enterprising Colonel Clarke, who by a se- 
 ries of unparalleled successes over the Indians, had already 
 secured extensive acquisitions to Virginia, was selected by 
 the governor to conduct the military operations. He 
 was directed, so soon as the southern limit on the Mis- 
 sissippi should be ascertained, to select a strong position, 
 near that point, and to establish there a fort and garrison ; 
 thence to extend his conquests northward to the, lakes, 
 erecting forts at different points, which might serve as 
 monuments of actual possession, besides affording pro- 
 tection to that portion of the country. Under these or- 
 ders. Fort Jefferson, in compliment to the founder of the 
 enterprize, was erected and garrisoned on the Mississip- 
 pi, a few miles above the southern limit. The final re- 
 sult of this expedition, was the addition to the chartered 
 limits of Virginia, of that immense tract of country north 
 west of the Ohio river, which includes the present States 
 of Indiana, Illinois, Ohio in part, and the Michigan 
 Territory. 
 
 The following year, 1780, on the urgent recommenda- 
 tion of Mr Jefferson, and in compliance with the wishes 
 of Congress, a resolution passed the legislature, ceding 
 to the United States the whole of this vast extent of ter- 
 ritory. This important event removed the great obsta- 
 cle to the ratification of the confederacy between the 
 States. Upon transmitting the resolution to the Presi- 
 dent of Congress, the governor wrote : ' I shall be ren- 
 dered very happy if the other States of the union, 
 equally impressed with the necessity of the important 
 convention in prospect, shall be willing to sacrifice equal- 
 
THOMAS JEFFERSON. 165 
 
 ly to its completion. This single event, could it take 
 place shortly, would outweigh every success which the 
 enemy have hitherto obtained, and render desperate the 
 hopes to which those successes have given birth.' 
 
 To this resolution, were appended the well known sen- 
 timents of Mr Jefferson with respect to the navigation of 
 the Mississippi, and the necessity of securing a free port 
 at the mouth of that river. 
 
 In the course of one month after the adoption of this 
 measure, the confederation was completed. 
 
 On the first of June, 1780, Mr Jefferson was re-elected 
 governor by the unanimous vote of the legislature. 
 During his second gubernatorial term, Virginia, which 
 had hitherto been distant from the seat of war, was des- 
 tined to be made the theatre of a campaign more ardu- 
 ous, perilous and distressing, than that of any other pe- 
 riod of the revolution. Three systematic invasions by 
 numerous and veteran armies, inundated the State, in 
 quick and terrible succession ; nor could there have been 
 a more unfavorable concurrence of circumstances, for 
 offering an adequate resistance, than existed during the 
 whole time these operations were carried on. Virginia 
 was completely defenceless ; her physical resources were 
 exhausted ; her troops had been drawn off to the South 
 and to the North, to meet the incessant demands in those 
 quarters, and the continental army was too much re- 
 duced to afford her any important succors. The militia 
 constituted the only force on which any reliance could 
 be placed ; and the resort to this force was limited by 
 the deficiency of arms, which was aggravated by the 
 pressing destitution of the finances. Indeed, the gene- 
 ral condition of the country at the South, exhibited a de- 
 plorable aspect. The city of Charleston, with the main 
 body of the continental army, had fallen into the hands 
 of Lord Cornwallis ; and the victor, inflated with suc- 
 cess, had proclaimed his intention of pushing his advan- 
 ces northward, on a magnificent scale of conquest, sub- 
 15 
 
166 LIFE OF 
 
 jugating in his course the entire States of North Caro- 
 lina and Virginia, and devoting the inhabitants to uncon- 
 ditional submission or the sword. 
 
 Intelligence of these menacing calculations had no 
 sooner reached Virginia, than the governor commenced 
 the most vigorous measures for recruiting the army, and 
 putting the country in a firm posture of defence. For 
 this purpose, he was invested by the legislature with 
 new and extraordinary powers. Should the State be in- 
 vaded, 20,000 militia were placed at his disposal ; he 
 was empowered to impress provisions and other articles 
 for the public service, and likewise to lay an embargo in 
 the ports of the commonwealth, whenever expedient. 
 He was authorized to confine or remove all persons sus- 
 pected of disaffection ; and to subject to martial law in- 
 dividuals acting as spies or guides to the enemy, or in 
 any manner aiding, abetting, and comforting them, or 
 disseminating among the militia the seeds of discontent, 
 mutiny and revolt. He was directed to perfect the labo- 
 ratory for the manufacture of arms, which had of late 
 been languishing ; and at the same time, to provide mag- 
 azines for warlike stores. To meet the pecuniary exi- 
 gencies of the times, paper emissions were necessarily 
 multiplied ; and new taxes were devised. 
 
 These defensive arrangements were scarcely made, 
 when their txecution was suddenly suspended by the 
 appearance in the Chesapeake, of a strong British 
 armament, under the command of General Leslie. Re- 
 sistance by maritime means being unavailable at this 
 juncture, the governor immediately collected as large a 
 body of militia as he could equip, to prevent the de- 
 barkation of the enemy ; but the alarm of the inhabit- 
 ants, whose first care was to secure their wives, children, 
 and moveable property, together with the insufiiciency 
 of arms, rendered his exertions ineffectual. It was to 
 him a source of anguish and mortification, to think that 
 a people, able and zealous to repel the invader, should 
 
THOMAS JEFFERSON. 167 
 
 be reduced to impotence by the want of defensive weap- 
 ons. The enemy landed at different points, but soon 
 concentrated their forces in Portsmouth, fortified them- 
 selves, and remained in close quarters until they re- 
 treated on board their ships. It appears this force had 
 been detached by Cornwallis to invade Virginia by 
 water, occupy Portsmouth for the purposes of support 
 and safe rendezvous, and join the main army under his 
 command, on its entrance by land into the southern 
 borders of the State. But the precipitate retreat of 
 Cornwallis into South Carolina, in consequence of seri- 
 ous reverses in that quarter, defeated Leslie's anticipat- 
 ed junction with the main army, and compelled his sud- 
 den departure from the State, leaving his works unfinish- 
 ed and undestroyed. The principal injury resulting 
 from this invasion, was the loss of a quantity of cattle 
 intended for the southern army, which were seized by 
 the enemy immediately after disembarking. Indeed, 
 the conduct of this detachment whilst in Virginia, was 
 an honorable exception, in all respects, to the predatory 
 system which had hitherto marked the footsteps of 
 British conquest. ' I must,' writes the governor to 
 General VTashington, ' do their general and commander 
 the justice to observe, that in every case, which their 
 attention and influence could reach, as far as I have 
 been informed, their conduct was such as does them the 
 greatest honor. In the few instances of wanton and un- 
 necessary devastation, they punished the aggressors.' 
 To the firmness of Mr Jefferson in ifhe case of Hamilton, 
 history ascribes in great part, this reputable deviation 
 from a mode of warfare which all mankind must abhor.* 
 This hostile armament had scarcely left the coast, 
 when Virginia was surprised by another invasion, of a 
 more formidable character, from an unexpected quarter. 
 The parricide Arnold, apprised of the vulnerable condi- 
 
 * History of Virginia, vol. 4, p. 421, 
 
168 LIFE OF 
 
 tion of Virginia on the sea-board, undertook a second 
 attack by a naval force. He embarked from New York, 
 at the instance of Sir Henry Clinton, and on the 30th of 
 December, 1780, was seen entering the Capes of Vir- 
 ginia with twenty-seven sail of vessels. He ascended 
 James river and landed about fifteen miles below Rich- 
 mond. On the approach of a hostile force into the heart 
 of the State, the inhabitants were thrown into consterna- 
 tion. The governor made every effort for calling in a 
 sufficient body of militia to resist the incursion ; but, be- 
 ing dispersed over a large tract of country, they could 
 be collected but slowly. Richmond being evidently the 
 object of their attack, every effort was necessary for im- 
 mediately securing the arms, military stores, records, 
 &c, from the ravages of the profligate invader. He 
 hastily embodied about two hundred half armed militia, 
 for the purpose of protecting the removal of the records, 
 military stores, &c, to the opposite side of James river. 
 He superintended their movements in person ; and was 
 seen urging by his presence, the business of transporta- 
 tion, and issuing his orders, until the enemy had actually 
 entered the lower part of the town, preceded by a body 
 of light horse. Soon after the whole regiment poured 
 into Richmond, and commenced the work of pillage 
 and conflagration. They burnt the foundry, the boring- 
 mill, the magazine, a number of dwelling-houses, the 
 books and papers of the auditor's and council office, and 
 retired the next day. Within less than forty-eight hours, 
 they had penetrated thirty-three miles into the country, 
 committed the whole injury, and retreated down the 
 river. The governor himself narrowly escaped being 
 taken, owing to the suddenness of the attack, and his 
 continuance on the scene of danger at an unreasonable 
 hour, for the purpose of securing the public property. 
 He had previously sent his family to Tuckahoe, eight 
 miles above Richmond, on the same side of the river ; 
 but did not join them himself until 1 o'clock in the night. 
 
THOMAS JEFFERSON. 169 
 
 He returned the next morning, and continued his per- 
 sonal attendance in the vicinity of the metropoHs during 
 the whole invasion, to the imminent exposure of his 
 life. 
 
 Arnold shortly after encamped at Portsmouth, where 
 he remained for a long time, in close quarters. The 
 capture of this execrable traitor had, from the moment 
 of his perfidy, been an object of eager pursuit with all 
 the patriots. Mr Jefferson was induced to consider it 
 practicable while in his present extremity, and secretly 
 offering a reward of 5000 guineas for his apprehension, 
 incited some venturous spirits to undertake it, by strata- 
 gem. But Arnold had become cautious and circum- 
 spect, bey.ond the reach of artifice. He lay buried in 
 close confinement at Portsmouth, suffered no stranger to 
 approach him, and never afterwards unguardedly ex- 
 posed his person. The enterprise was thus rendered 
 abortive. 
 
 The real situation of Virginia, at this period, is de- 
 picted in the letters and dispatches of the governor. 
 ' The fatal want of arms,' he wrote on the 8th of Feb- 
 ruary, ' puts it out of our power to bring a greater force 
 into the field than will barely suffice to restrain the 
 adventures of the pitiful body of men the enemy have at 
 Portsmouth. Should they be reinforced, the country 
 will be perfectly open to them by land as well as by 
 water.' * I have been knocking at the door of Con- 
 gress,' he again wrote on the 17th, ' for aids of all 
 kinds, but especially of arms, ever since the middle of 
 summer. The speaker, Harrison, is gone to be heard 
 on that subject. Justice, indeed, requires that we should 
 be aided powerfully. Yet, if they would only repay us 
 the arms we have lent them, we should give the enemy 
 trouble, though abandoned to ourselves.' On the same 
 day, he addressed the commander-in-chief, as follows : 
 ' Arms and a naval force, are the only means of salva- 
 tion for Virginia, Two days ago, I received inform a- 
 15* 
 
170 LIFE OP 
 
 tion of the arrival of a sixty-four gun ship and two frig- 
 ates, in our bay, being part of the fleet of our good ally, 
 at Rhode-Island. Could they get at the British ships, 
 they are sufficient to destroy them, but these are drawn 
 up into Elizabeth river, into which the sixty-four cannot 
 enter. I apprehend they could do nothing more than 
 block up the river. This, indeed, would reduce the 
 enemy, as we could cut off their supplies by land ; but 
 the operation requiring much time, would probably be 
 too dangerous for the auxiliary force. Not having yet 
 had any particular information of the designs of the 
 French commander, I cannot pretend to say what mea- 
 sures this will lead to.' 
 
 This desperate situation of affairs was aggravated by 
 the arrival in the bay, of two thousand additional British 
 troops, under the command of Major General Phillips. 
 This reinforcement shortly after formed a junction with 
 Arnold, and the combined forces, under Phillips, imme- 
 diately renewed on a more extensive scale than hereto- 
 fore, their system of predatory and incendiary incursions 
 into all parts of the unprotected country. They cap- 
 tured and laid waste Williamsburg, Petersburg, and 
 several minor settlements ; and pursued their destroying- 
 advances from village to village, until they were arrested 
 by the gallant defender of universal liberty — the im- 
 mortal La Fayette. 
 
 During the ferocious and discursive operations of Phil- 
 lips and Arnold, the governor remained constantly in 
 and about Richmond, exerting all his powers to collect 
 the militia, and provide such means for the defence of 
 the State, as its exhausted resources allowed. Never 
 assuming a guard, and with only the river between him 
 and the enemy, his lodgings were frequently within four 
 or five miles of them, and his personal exposure was 
 consequently very great. 
 
 But the final movement against Virginia, compared to 
 which the previous invasions were feeble and desultory 
 
THOMAS JEFFERSON. 
 
 171 
 
 eiForts, remains to be noticed. On the 20th of May, 
 1781, Lord CornwalUs entered the State, on the south- 
 ern frontier, with an army of four thousand men. His . 
 entry was almost triumphal. Proceeding directly to 
 Petersburg, where he formed a junction with the forces 
 under Phillips and Arnold, he established his head quar- 
 ters, and commenced his plan of subduing the whole 
 
 State. 
 
 This alarming event happened but a few days previous 
 to the close of Mr Jefferson's administration ; and, in 
 view of the impending crisis, he felt it his duty, before 
 resigning the government into other hands, to make one 
 last, solemn appeal to the commander in chief, for those 
 important succors, on which now evidently depended the 
 salvation of the commonwealth. 
 
 * * * * « Your excellency will 
 
 judge from this state of things, and from what you know 
 of our country, what it may probably suffer during the 
 present campaign. Should the enemy be able to pro- 
 duce no opportunity of annihilating the Marquis's army, 
 a small proportion of their force may yet restram his 
 movements effectually, while the greater part are em- 
 ployed, in detachment, to waste an unarmed country, 
 and lead the minds of the people to acquiescence under 
 those events, which they see no human power prepared 
 to ward off. We are too far removed from the other 
 scenes of war to say, whether the main force of the en- 
 emy be within this State. But I suppose they cannot 
 any where spare so great an army for the operations of 
 the field. Were it possible for this circumstance to jus- 
 tify in your excellency, a determination to lend us your 
 personal aid, it is evident from the universal voice, that 
 the presence of their beloved countryman, whose talents 
 have so long been successfully employed in establishing 
 the freedom of kindred States, to whose person, they 
 have still flattered themselves they retained some right, 
 and have ever looked up, as their dernier resort in dis- 
 tress, would restore full confidence of salvation to our 
 citizens, and would render them equal to whatever is not 
 
172 LIFE OP 
 
 impossible. I cannot undertake to foresee and obviate 
 the difficulties which lie in the way of such a resolution. 
 The whole subject is before you, of which I see only de- 
 tached parts : and your judgment will be formed on a 
 view of the whole. Should the danger of this State, 
 and its consequence to the union, be such, as to render 
 it best for the whole that you should repair to its assist- 
 ance, the difficulty would then be, how to keep men out 
 of the field. I have undertaken to hint this matter to 
 your excellency, not only on my own sense of its im- 
 portance to us, but at the solicitations of many members 
 of weight in our legislature, which has not yet assembled 
 to speak their own desires.' 
 
 ' A few days will bring to me that relief which the 
 constitution has prepared for those oppressed with the 
 labors of my office ; and a long declared resolution of re- 
 linquishing it to abler hands, has prepared my way for re- 
 tirement to a private station : still, as an individual, I 
 should feel the comfortable effects of your presence, and 
 have (what I thought could not have been) an additional 
 motive for that gratitude, esteem, and respect, with 
 which I have the honor to be,' &c. 
 
 This letter was written three days previous to the ex- 
 piration of his second gubernatorial year ; at which 
 time, he had long cherished the determination of relin- 
 quishing the administration in favor of a successor, whose 
 habits, dispositions and pursuits would render him better 
 fitted for the supreme direction of affairs at such a crisis. 
 ' From the belief,' said he, ' that, under the pressure of 
 the invasion, under which we were then laboring, the 
 public would have more confidence in a military chief, 
 and that the military commander being invested with 
 the civil power also, both might be wielded with more 
 energy, promptitude and effect for the defence of the 
 State, I resigned the administration at the end of my 
 second year, and General Nelson was appointed to suc- 
 ceed me.' His successor was elected, on the 12th of 
 June, 1781. 
 
 The closing events of Mr Jefferson's administration 
 
THOMAS JEFFERSON. 173 
 
 having excited much attention, and occasioned some 
 misrepresentation, a few additional observations, found- 
 ed on authentic documents, seem due to that portion of 
 his public history. 
 
 Ever since the invasion of the metropolis, under Ar- 
 nold, in January, '81, and the sudden dispersion by that 
 event, of the general assembly, the legislative functions 
 of the government had been almost totally suspended. 
 The members had re-assembled on the first of March, 
 but after a few days' session, were compelled to adjourn ; 
 they met again on the 7th of May, but the movements 
 of the enemy, again compelled them, on the 10th, to ad- 
 journ to Charlottesville, to meet on the 24th. During 
 this long and critical interval, therefore, the main bur- 
 den of public affairs had devolved on the governor. 
 
 In addition to the multiplied irruptions from the East 
 and the South, Virginia had had a powerful army to op- 
 pose on her western frontier. The English and Indians 
 were incessantly harassing her in that quarter, by their 
 savage incursions. At length, the powerM army under 
 CornwaUis poured into the State, and filled up the meas- 
 ure of public danger and distress. The legislature, 
 which had hastily adjourned from Richmond to Char- 
 lottesville, had scarcely assembled at the latter place, 
 when they were driven thence by the enemy, over the 
 mountains to Staunton. This was on the last days of 
 May. Pursued and hunted in this manner, from county 
 . to county, with the armies of the enemy in the heart of 
 the State, destitute of internal resources, and aided only 
 by the small regular force under La Fayette, many mem- 
 bers of that assembly became dissatisfied, discouraged, 
 desperate ; and in the frenzy of the moment, began 
 to resuscitate the deceased project of a dictator. Some, 
 indeed, were so infatuated as to deem the measure not 
 only salutary, but as presenting the only hope of deUv- 
 
174 LIFE OP 
 
 erance at this juncture. An individual,* who had borne 
 a distinguished part in the anterior transactions of the 
 revolution, was already designated for the office. But 
 it was foreseen with dismay by those who desired a dic- 
 tator, that no headway could be made with such a prop- 
 osition, against the popularity and influence of the pres- 
 ent executive ; it was necessary, as a first measure, that 
 he should be rendered powerless. For this purpose, his 
 official character was attacked ; the misfortunes of the 
 period were imputed to the imbecility of his administra- 
 tion ; he was impeached in a loose, informal way, and 
 a day for some species of hearing, at the succeeding 
 session of the assembly, was appointed. But no evi- 
 dence was ever offered to sustain the impeachment ; no 
 question was ever taken upon it, disclosing in any man- 
 ner, the approbation of the legislature ; and the hearing 
 was appointed by general consent, for the purpose, as 
 many members expressed themselves, of giving Mr Jef- 
 ferson an opportunity of demonstrating the absurdity of 
 the censure. Indeed, the whole effort at impeachment 
 was a mere feint, designed to remove Mr Jefferson out 
 of the way for the present, and to make manifest, if 
 possible, the necessity of a dictator. It failed, however, 
 in both objects ; the effect on Mr Jefferson was entirely 
 the reverse of what had been intended ; and as to the 
 proposed dictatorship, the pulse of the assembly was in- 
 cidentally felt in the debates on the state of the com- 
 monwealth, and in out-door conversations, the general 
 tone of which foretold such a violent opposition to the 
 measure, that the original movers were induced to aban- 
 don it with precipitation. This was the second instance 
 of a similar attempt in that State, and of a similar re- 
 sult, caused chiefly by the ascendancy of the same in- 
 dividuals. 
 
 While these things were going on at Staunton, Mr 
 
 * Mr Henry. 
 
THOMAS JEFFERSON. 
 
 175 
 
 Jefferson was distant from the scene of action, at Bed- 
 ford, neither interfering himself, nor applied to by the 
 legislature for any information touching the charges pre- 
 ferred against him ; but so soon as the project for a dic- 
 tator was dropped, 7izs resignation of the government ap- 
 peared. This produced a new scene ; the dictator men 
 insisted upon re-electing him ; but his friends strenuous- 
 ly opposed it, on the ground, that as he had divested 
 himself of the government to heal the divisions of the 
 legislature, at that critical season, for the public good, 
 and to meet the accusation upon equal terms, for his own 
 honor, his motives were too strong to be relinquished. 
 Still, on the nomination of General Nelson, the most 
 popular man in the State, and without an enemy in the 
 legislature, a considerable portion of the assembly voted 
 for Mr Jefferson. 
 
 On the day appointed for the hearing before men- 
 tioned, Mr Jefferson appeared in the house of dele- 
 gates, having been intermediately elected a member. 
 No one offered himself as his accuser. Mr George 
 Nicholas, who had been seduced to institute th« pro- 
 ceeding, and who afterwards paid him deference equally 
 honorable to both,* had satisfied himself, in the interim, 
 of the utter groundlessness of the charges, and declined 
 the farther prosecution of the affair. Mr Jefferson 
 nevertheless rose in his seat, addressed the house in 
 general terms upon the subject, and expressed his readi- 
 ness to answer any accusations which might be prefer- 
 red against him. Silence ensued. Not a word of cen- 
 sure was whispered. After a short pause, the following 
 resolution was proposed, and adopted unanimously by 
 both houses.t 
 
 * G. Nicholas' letter to his constituents— Kentucky. 
 
 t Most of this relation is copied with verbal precision from the 
 statement of an eye witness of the whole transaction, inserted in 
 the Appendix to the Continuation of Burk's History of Virginia. 
 
176 LIFE OP 
 
 « Resolved, That the sincere thanks of the general 
 assembly be given to our former governor, Thomas Jef- 
 ferson, Esq. for his impartial, upright and attentive ad- 
 ministration, whilst in office. The assembly wish in the 
 strongest manner to declare the high opinion which they 
 entertain of Mr Jefferson's ability, rectitude, and in- 
 tegrity, as chief magistrate of this commonwealth, and 
 mean, by thus publicly avowing their opinion, to obviate 
 and to remove all unmerited censure.' 
 
 A few days after the expiration of Mr Jefferson's con- 
 stitutional term of office, and before the appointment of 
 his successor, an incident occurred which has been so 
 strangely misrepresented in later times, as to justify a 
 relation of the details. 
 
 Learning that the general assembly was in session at 
 Charlottesville, Cornwallis detached the ' ferocious Tarl- 
 ton,' to proceed to that place, take the members by sur- 
 prise, seize on the person of Mr Jefferson, whom they 
 supposed still in office, and spread devastation and terror 
 on his route. 
 
 Elated with the idea of an enterprise so congenial to 
 his disposition, and confident of an easy prey, Tarlton 
 selected a competent body of men, and proceeded with 
 ardor on his expedition. Early in the morning of June 
 4th, when within about ten miles of his destination, he 
 detached a troop of horse under captain M'CIeod, to 
 Monticello, the well known seat of Mr Jefferson ; and 
 proceeded himself with the main body, to Charlottes- 
 ville, were he expected to find the legislature unapprised 
 of his movement. The alarm, however, had been con- 
 veyed to Charlottesville, about sunrise the same morn- 
 ing, and thence quickly to Monticello, only three miles 
 distant. The speakers of the two houses were lodging 
 with Mr Jefferson at his house. His guests had barely 
 time to hurry to Charlottesville, adjourn the legislature 
 to Staunton, and, with most of the other members, to 
 effect their escape. He immediately ordered his car- 
 
THOMAS JEFFERSON. 177 
 
 riasfe, in which Mrs Jefferson and her children were 
 conveyed to the house of colonel Carter, on the neigh- 
 boring mountain, while himself tarried behind, break- 
 fasted as usual, and completed some necessary arrange- 
 ments preparatory to his departure. Suddenly, a mes- 
 senger, lieutenant Hudson, who had descried the rapid 
 advance of the enemy, drove up at half speed, and gave 
 him a second and last alarm ; stating that the enemy 
 were already ascending the winding road which leads 
 to the summit of Monticello, and urging his immediate 
 flight. He then calmly ordered his riding horse, which 
 was shoeing at a neighboring blacksmith's, directing him 
 to be led to a gate opening on the road to colonel Car- 
 ter's, whither he walked by a cross path, mounted his 
 horse, and instead of taking the high road, plunged into 
 the Avoods of the adjoining mountain and soon rejoined 
 his family. 
 
 In less than ten minutes after Mr Jefferson's depar- 
 ture, his house was surrounded by the impetuous light 
 horscj thirsting for their prey. They entered the man- 
 sion with a flush of expectation proportioned to the 
 value of their supposed victim ; and, notwithstanding 
 the chagrin and irritation which their disappointment ex- 
 cited, an honorable regard was manifested for the usages 
 of enlightened nations at war. Mr Jefferson's property 
 was respected, especially his books and papers, by the 
 particular injunctions of M'Cleod. 
 
 This is the famous adventure of Carter's mountain. 
 Had the facts been accidentally stated, it would have 
 appeared that this favorite fabrication amounted to no- 
 thing more, than that Mr Jefferson did not remain in his 
 house, and there fight, single handed, a whole troop of 
 horse, — w^hose main body, too, was within supporting 
 distance, — or suffer himself to be taken prisoner. It is 
 somewhat singular, that this egregious offence was never 
 heard of until many years after, when most of that 
 generation had disappeared, and a new one risen up. 
 16 
 
178 LIFE OF 
 
 Although the whole affair happened some days before 
 the abortive attempt at impeachment, neither his con- 
 duct on this occasion, nor his pretended flight from 
 Richmond, in January previous, were included among 
 the charges. 
 
 Having accompanied his family one day's journey, 
 Mr Jefferson returned to Monticello. Finding the ene- 
 my gone, with few traces of depredation, he again re- 
 joined his family, and proceeded with them to an estate 
 he owned in Bedford ; where, galloping over his farm 
 one day, he was thrown from his horse and disabled 
 from riding on horse-back for a considerable time. But 
 the partizan version of the story found it more con- 
 venient to give him this fall in his retreat before Tarlton, 
 some weeks before, as a proof that he withdrew from a 
 troop of horse, with a precipitancy which Don Quixote 
 would not have practised. 
 
 M'Cleod tarried about eighteen hours at Monticello, 
 and Tarlton about the same time at Charlottesville, 
 when the detachments reunited and retired to Elkhill, 
 a plantation of Mr Jefferson's. At this place, Corn- 
 wallis had now encamped wdth the main army, and 
 established his head quarters. Some idea may be form- 
 ed of the Vandalism practised by the British, during 
 their continuance at Elkhill and the whole succeeding 
 part of that campaign, from the fact that their devasta- 
 tions in those six months are estimated by Mr Jefferson 
 at about three millions sterling. Under Cornwallis's 
 hands, Virginia lost about thirty thousand slaves that 
 year. Wherever he went, the country was plundered of 
 every thing which could be carried off; but over Mr 
 Jefferson's possessions he seemed to range with a spirit 
 of total extermination. He destroyed all his growing 
 crops of corn and tobacco ; burned all his barns, con- 
 taining the last year's crops ; used, as was to be- ex- 
 pected, all his stock of cattle, sheep, and hogs, for the 
 sustenance of his army ; carried off all his horses capa- 
 
THOMAS JEFFERSON. 
 
 179 
 
 ble of service, cutting the throats of the rest ; and 
 burned all the fences on the plantation, so as to leave it 
 an absolute vraste. 
 
 We are now hurried from the scenes of war and con- 
 fusion, to a delightful interval in Mr Jefferson's life 
 in which he recurred with eagerness to the pursuits of 
 
 science. 
 
 During the early part of the turbulent year of '81, 
 while disabled from active employment by the fall from 
 his horse, he found sufficient leisure to compose his cele- 
 brated 'Notes on Virginia.' This was the only original 
 publication in which he ever embarked ; nor was the 
 work prepared with the most distant intention of com- 
 mitting it to the press. Its history is a little curious. 
 
 M. de Marbois, of the French legation, in Philadel- 
 phia, having been instructed by his government to obtain 
 such statistical accounts of the different States of the 
 Union, as might be useful for their information, address- 
 ed a letter to Mr Jefferson, containing a number of que- 
 ries relative to the State of Virginia. These queries 
 embraced an extensive range of objects, and were de- 
 signed to elicit a general view of the geography, natural 
 productions, government, history, and laws of the com- 
 monwealth. Mr Jefferson had always made it a practice, 
 when travelling, to commit his observations to writing ; 
 and to improve every opportunity, by conversations with 
 the inhabitants and by personal examination, to enlarge 
 his stock of information on the physical and moral con- 
 dition of the country. 
 
 These memoranda were on loose pieces of paper, pro- 
 miscuously intermixed, and difficult of arrangement, 
 when occasion required the use of any particular one. 
 He improved the present opportunity, therefore, to di- 
 gest and embody the substance of them, in the order of 
 M. de Marbois' queries, so as to gratify the wishes of the 
 French government, and arrange them for his own con- 
 
180 LIFE OF 
 
 venience. Some friends, to whom they were occasional- 
 ly communicated in manuscript, requested copies ; but 
 their volume rendering the business of transcribing too 
 laborious, he proposed to get a few printed, for their pri- 
 vate gratification. He was asked such a price, however, 
 as exceeded in his opinion, the importance of the object, 
 and abandoned the idea. Subsequently, on his arrival 
 in Paris in '84, he found the printing could be obtained 
 for one fourth part of what had been required in America. 
 He thereupon revised and corrected the work, and had two 
 hundred copies printed, under the modest title which it 
 bears. He gave out a very few copies to his particular 
 friends in Europe, writing in each one a restraint against 
 its publication ; and the remainder he transmitted to his 
 friends in America. An European copy on the death of 
 the owner, having fallen into the hands of a Paris book- 
 seller, he engaged a hireling translation, and sent it into 
 the world in the worst form possible. ' I never had 
 seen,' says the author, 'so wretched an attempt at trans- 
 lation. Interverted, abridged, mutilated, and often re- 
 versing the sense of the original, I found it a blotch of 
 errors from beginning to end.' Under these circumstan- 
 ces, he was urged in self defence to comply with the re- 
 quest of a London bookseller to publish the English 
 original ; which he accordingly did. By this means, it 
 soon became the property of the public, and advanced 
 to a high degree of popularity. The work has since 
 been translated into all the principal tongues of Europe, 
 and ran through a large number of editions in England, 
 France,* and America. 
 
 Under the query relative to the several charters of the 
 State, and its present form of government, Mr Jefferson 
 presents a compact statistical view of the colony, from 
 the first settlement under the grant of Queen Elizabeth, 
 
 * The celebrated Abbe Morellet published a translation of hia 
 Notes, in 1786. 
 
THOMAS JEFFERSON. 181 
 
 in 1584, down to the time at Avhich he writes ; gives the 
 outlines of the existiog constitution, and enumerates 
 what he considers its capital defects. 
 
 A brief notice of these defects, and the remedies 
 which he proposed, will explain more ftillj, as was prom- 
 ised, the opinions of Mr Jefferson on the constitution of 
 Virginia, being the first republican charter evfer known. 
 In the appendix to the volume under notice, is inserted a 
 new constitution, prepared by himself in 1783, when it 
 was expected the Assembly of Virginia would call a con^- 
 vention for remodelling the old one — an event which he 
 long and vainly desired to see. This draught corrcr 
 sponds, in all its main features, with the one prepared by 
 him while in Congress, in 1776, and transmitted to the 
 convention in Virginia then sitting for that purposCj 
 though received too late to be adopted. 
 
 Among the palpable defects of the existing estabhsh- 
 ment, he enumerates : 1. The want of universal suffrage, 
 — or rather such an extension of the elective franchise, 
 as would give a voice in the government to all those who 
 pay and fight for its support. This is the vital principle 
 of a pure democracy ; and Mr Jefferson appears to have 
 been the first politician of whom we have any informa- 
 tion, who ventured forth publicly as its advocate. Pos- 
 sessed of a large estate himself, and gratified with the 
 enjoyment of eyery honor, no personal ambition could 
 be supposed to enter into his motives, and his opinion 
 was received with great deference. The principle has 
 since been incorporated, with greater or less modifica- 
 tions, into the constitutions of almost all the States. 
 The predominance of the landed influence, family aris- 
 tocracy, and a general repugnance to risking innova- 
 tions, have hitherto retained the freehold qualification in 
 Virginia ; though its rigor has been modified by recent 
 amendments. The success of the experiment, wher^er 
 it has been tried, has abundantly tested the soundness of 
 the principle. 
 
 16* 
 
182 LIFE OF 
 
 2. Inequality of representation. This deformity per- 
 vaded the first republican charter of Virginia, to an as- 
 tonishing degree. Mr Jefferson detects and exposes the 
 evil in a strong light, by a tabular statement of the rela- 
 tive number of electors and representatives in each coun- 
 ty ; and calls the attention of his countrymen to the sub- 
 ject, in an impressive manner. According to his state- 
 ment, the county of Warwick, with only one hundred 
 electors, had an equal representation with the county of 
 Loudon, having 1700 electors ; and taking the State at 
 large, 19,000 men in one part, were enabled to give law 
 to upwards of 30,000 in the remaining part. This de- 
 fect was remedied by the late revision of the constitution. 
 
 3. The senate is necessarily too homogeneous with the 
 house of delegates. Being chosen by the same elec- 
 tors, at the same time, and out of the same subjects, the 
 choice falls of course on the same description of men ; 
 defeating thereby the great purpose of establishing dif- 
 ferent houses of legislation, which is to introduce the 
 influence of different interests or different principles. 
 
 4. The want of a sufficient barrier between the legis- 
 lative, judiciary, and executive powers of the govern- 
 ment. The concentration of these in the same hands 
 constituted, in his opinion, the precise definition of des- 
 potism. By the constitution of Virginia, they all result- 
 ed to the same body, the legislature, though they were 
 exercised by different bodies. He proclaims a solemn 
 warning against this heresy, and invokes an immediate 
 application of the remedy ; urging, that the time to 
 guard against corruption and tyranny, is before they 
 shall have seized the heads of the government, and been 
 spread by them through the body of the people. 
 
 5 and 6. Finally, as objections of the greatest magni- 
 tude, Mr Jefferson argued that the constitution itself was 
 a mere legislative ordinance, enacted at a critical time 
 for a temporary purpose, not superior to the ordinary 
 legislature, but alterable by it ; and that the assembly. 
 
THOMAS JEFFERSON. 
 
 183 
 
 possessing the right, as they did, of determining a quo- 
 rum of their own body, might convert the government 
 into an absolute despotism at any moment, by consolida- 
 ting its powers, and placing them in the hands of a sin- 
 gle individual. To the joint operation of these two de- 
 fects, aided by the inauspicious temper of the times, he 
 ascribed the infatuated attempt of the legislature, in 
 1776, repeated in '81, to surrender the Uberties of the 
 people into the hands of a dictator. He concludes his 
 remarks upon the constitution by a solemn appeal to the 
 people, for their speedy interposition. 
 
 ' Our situation is indeed perilous, and I hope my 
 countrymen will be sensible of it, and will apply, at a 
 proper season, the proper remedy; which is a conven- 
 tion to fix the constitution, to amend its defects, to bind 
 up the several branches of government by certain laws, 
 which, when they transgress, their acts shall become 
 nullities ; to render unnecessary an appeal to the peo- 
 ple, or in other words, a rebellion, on every infraction 
 of their rights, on the peril that their acquiescence shall 
 be construed into an intention to surrender those rights.' 
 
 Under the enquiry concerning the administration of 
 justice, &c, the author presents a view of the judiciary 
 system of Virginia, framed, indeed, by himself, in '76 — 
 with a general description of the laws. He alludes to 
 the revised code, as a work which had been ' executed 
 by three gentlemen' — glances at the most important 
 reformations which it introduced, but carefully conceals 
 every circumstance which might indicate his participa- 
 tion in that structure of republican jurisprudence. In 
 commenting upon the provisions recommended in this 
 code, for the future disposition of the blacks, the* genius 
 of the author appears again in its favorite element. He 
 insists upon colonization to a distant country, as the 
 only safe and practicable mode of ultimate redemption ; 
 and urges strong reasons of policy as well as necessity 
 against their being retained in the State, and incorpo- 
 
184 . LIFE OP 
 
 rated among the race of whites. ' Deep-rooted preju- 
 dices entertained by the whites ; ten thousand recollec- 
 tions by the blacks, of the injuries they have sustained ; 
 new provocations ; the real distinctions which nature 
 has made ; and many other circumstances, will divide 
 us into parties, and produce convulsions, which will pro- 
 bably never end, but in the extermination of the one or 
 the other race.' To these distinctions, which are politi- 
 cal, he adds many others, which are physical and moral. 
 But space is not allowed us to pursue the subject, or to 
 follow the author through his investigation of the ques- 
 tion, whether the blacks and the Indians are inferior 
 races of beings to the whites. Making all due allow- 
 ances for the difference of condition, education, &dc, be- 
 tween the hIacJcs and whites, still the evidences were too 
 strong, in his opinion, not to admit doubts of the intel- 
 lectual equality of the two species. Of the former, 
 many have been so situated that they might have availed 
 themselves of the conversation of their masters ; many 
 have been brought up to the handicraft arts, and from 
 that circumstance, have always been associated with the 
 whites. Some have been liberally educated, have lived 
 iii countries where the arts and sciences are cultivated 
 to a high degree, and have had before their eyes, sam- 
 ples of the best workmanship, and of the noblest intelli- 
 gence. ' But never yet,' he adds, ' could I find a black 
 that had uttered a thought above the level of plain nar- 
 ration ; nor seen even an elementary trait of painting 
 or sculpture.' Still, it was not against experience to 
 suppose, that different species of the same genus, or 
 varieties of. the same species, might possess different 
 qualifications. The Indians, on the other hand, with 
 none of the advantages above named, will often carve 
 figures on their pipes, not destitute of design and merit. 
 They will crayon out an animal, a plant, or a country, 
 so as to prove the existence of a germ in their minds, 
 which only wants cultivation. They will astonish you 
 
THOMAS JEFFERSON. 185 
 
 with Strokes of the most subhme oratory, siicli as prove 
 their reason and sentiment strong, their imagination 
 glowing and elevated. 
 
 On the whole, therefore, he advanced it as his opin- 
 ion, that the Indians are equal to the whites, in body 
 and mind ; and as a prohlcm only, that the hlacks, whe- 
 ther originally a distinct race, or made so by time and 
 circumstances, are inferior to them. To justify a con- 
 clusion, in the latter case, required observations which 
 eluded the research of all the senses ; it should, there- 
 fore, be hazarded with extreme caution, especially when 
 such conclusion would degrade a whole race of men 
 from the rank in the scale of Ijcings, which their Crea- 
 tor may, perliaps, have assigJicd them. The difference 
 of color, feature, inclination, &:.c, is sufficient to warrant 
 the presumption, that they were designed for a separate 
 existence ; but it furnishes no evidence of the riglit to 
 enslave and torment them as mere brutes. ' Will not a 
 lover of natural history then,' he concludes, ' one who 
 views the gradations in- all the races of animals, with the 
 eye of philosopliy, excuse an effort to keep these in the 
 department of man as distinct as nature has formed 
 them V 
 
 The unhappy influence of slavery upon the manners 
 and morals of the people, is forcibly pourtrayed in a 
 succeeding chapter. 
 
 ' The whole commerce between master and slave is a 
 perpetual exercise of the most boisterous passions, the 
 most unremitting despotism on the one part, and degrad- 
 ing submission on the other. Our children see this, and 
 learn to imitate it ; for man is an imitative animal. 
 This quality is the germ of all education in him. From 
 his cradle to his grave he is learning to do what he sees 
 others do. If a parent could find no motive either in his 
 philanthropy or his self-love, for restraining the intem- 
 perance of passion towards his slave, it should always 
 be a sufficient one that his child is present. But gener- 
 ally it is not sufficient. The parent storms, the child 
 
186 JilFE OF 
 
 looks on, catches the lineaments of wrath, puts on the 
 same airs in the circle of smaller slaves, gives a loose to 
 his worst passions, and thus nursed, educated, and daily 
 exercised in tyranny, cannot but be stamped by it with 
 odious peculiarities. The man must be a prodigy who 
 can retain his manners and morals undepraved by such 
 circumstances. And with what execration should the 
 statesman be loaded, who, permitting one half the 
 citizens thus to trample on the rights of the other, trans- 
 forms those into despots, and these into enemies ; de- 
 stroys the morals of the one part, and the love of country 
 of the other. For if a slave can have a country in this 
 world, it must be any other in preference to that in 
 which he is born to live and labor for another : in which 
 he must lock up the faculties of his nature, contribute as 
 far as depends on his individual endeavors to the evan- 
 ishment of the human race, or entail his own miserable 
 condition on the endless generations proceeding from 
 him.' 
 
 The freedom of Mr Jefferson's strictures on slavery 
 and the constitution of Virginia, was the reason, it ap- 
 pears, for his confining the work originally to his confi- 
 dential friends. In his letters to them, accompanying 
 the gift of a copy, he uniformly explains the motives by 
 which he was actuated in restraining its circulation. In 
 presenting a copy of the work to General Chastellux, 
 he thus writes : , 
 
 ' I have been honored with the receipt of your letter 
 of the 2d instant, and am to thank you, as I do sincere- 
 ly, for the partiality with which you receive the copy of 
 the Notes on my country. As I can answer for the 
 facts therein reported on my own observation, and have 
 admitted none on the report of others, which were not 
 supported by evidence sufiicient to command my own 
 assent, I am not afraid that you should make any ex- 
 tracts you please for the Journal de Physique, which 
 come within their -plan of publication. The strictures 
 on slavery and on the constitution of Virginia, are not of 
 that kind, and they are the parts which I do not wish to 
 have made public, at least, till I know whether their 
 
THOMAS JEFFERSON. 187 
 
 publication would do most harm or good. It is possibkt 
 that in my own country^ thcac strictures mi^ht yroduca, an 
 irritation, which vumld indispose the people towards the two 
 great objects I have in view; that is, the emancipation of 
 their slaves, and the settlement of their constitution on a 
 firmer and more permanent basis. If I Icarii from tlioncc, 
 that they will not produce that cflcct, 1 have printed and 
 reserved just copies cnouj^h to be able to give one to 
 QYGYy young man at the college. It is to them 1 look, 
 to the rising generation, and not to the one now in 
 power, for these great reformations.' 
 
 In transmitting copies to his friends in America, he 
 expresses the same lofty reasons ; of which the follow- 
 ing, in a letter to Mr Monroe, is a sample. 
 
 ' I send you by Mr Otto, a copy of my book. Be so 
 good as to apologize to Mr Thompson for my not send- 
 ing him one hy this conveyance. I could not burden 
 Mr Otto with more, on so long a road as that from 
 here to L'Orient. I will send him one by a Mr Wil- 
 liams, who will go ere long. I have taken measures to 
 prevent its publication. My reason is, tbat 1 fear the 
 terms in which I speak of slavery, and of our constitu- 
 tion, may produce an irritation, which will revolt the 
 minds of our countrymen against reformation in these 
 two articles, and thus do more harm than good. I have 
 asked of Mr Madison to sound this matter as far as he 
 can, and if he thinks it will not produce that effect, I 
 have then copies enough printed to give one to each of 
 the young men at the college, and to my friends in the 
 country.' 
 
 The remainder of this justly celebrated treatise, is 
 occupied with useful details and learned dissertations, 
 under the following heads of enquiry: — The colleges, 
 public establishments, and mode of architecture in Vir- 
 ginia — The measures taken with regard to the estates 
 and possessions of tories during the war — The different 
 religions received into the State — The particular man- 
 ners and customs of the people — The present state of 
 manufactures, commerce, and agriculture — The usual 
 
188 HfE OP 
 
 commodities of export and import — Tiie weights, mea- 
 sures, and currency in hard money, with the rates of 
 exchange with Europe — The pubUc income and ex- 
 penses — The histories of the State, the memorials pub- 
 lished under its name while a colony, and a chronologi- 
 cal catalogue of its State papers since the commence- 
 ment of the revolution. 
 
 Perhaps the most celebrated portion of the whole 
 work, is that which contains the opinions of the author 
 on the subject of free enquiry in matters of religion. 
 The interest which all mankind feel on a point so vitally 
 connected with the policy of our government, and the 
 freedom and happiness of its subjects, will justify a 
 liberal quotation here, in concluding our remarks upon 
 these invaluable * Notes.' The sentiments of the writer, 
 although generally esteemed heretical and well nigh 
 impious at the time, are now as generally reputed ortho- 
 dox and unquestionable. 
 
 ' Reason and free inquiry are the only effectual agents 
 against error. Give a loose to them, they will support 
 the true religion, by bringing every false one to their 
 tribunal, and to the test of their investigation. They 
 are the natural enemies of error, and of error only. 
 Had not the Koman government permitted free inquiry, 
 Christianity could never have been introduced. Had 
 not free inquiry been indulged, at the era of the refor- 
 mation, the corruptions of Christianity could not have 
 been purged away. If it be restrained now, the present 
 corruptions will be protected, and new ones encouraged. 
 Was the government to prescribe to us our medicine and 
 diet, our bodies would be in such keeping as our souls 
 are now. Thus in France, the emetic was once forbid- 
 den as a medicine, and the potatoe as an article of food. 
 Government is just as infallible too when it fixes systems 
 in physics. Galileo was sent to the inquisition for af- 
 firming that the earth was a sphere : the government 
 had declared it to be as flat as a trencher, and Galileo 
 was obliged to abjure his error. This error, however, at 
 length prevailed, the earth became a globe, and Des- 
 
THOMAS JEFFERSON. 189 
 
 cartes declared it was whirled round its axis by a vortex. 
 The government in which he lived was wise enough to 
 see, that this was no question of civil jurisdiction, or we 
 should all have been involved by authority in vortices. 
 In fact, the vortices have been exploded, and the New- 
 tonian principle of gravitation is now more firmly es- 
 tablished, on the basis of reason, than it would be were 
 the government to step in, and make it an article of ne- 
 cessary faith. Reason and experiment have been indulg- 
 ed, and error has fled before them- It is error alone 
 which needs the support of government. Truth can 
 stand by itself. Subject opinion to coercion : whom will 
 you make your inquisitors 7 Fallible men ; men govern- 
 ed by bad passions, by private as well as public reasons. 
 And why subject it to coercion ? To produce uniformity. 
 But is uniformity of opinion desirable ? No more than 
 of face and stature. Introduce the bed of Procrustes 
 then, and as there is danger that the great men may beat 
 the small, make us all of a size, by lopping the former 
 and stretching the latter. Difference of opinion is ad- 
 vantageous in religion. The several sects perform the 
 office of a censor morum over each other. Is uniformity 
 attainable ? Millions of innocent men, women and chil- 
 dren, since the introduction of Christianity, have been 
 burnt, tortured, fined and imprisoned; yet we have not 
 advanced one inch towards uniformity. What has been 
 the effect of coercion 1 To make one half the world fools, 
 and the other half hypocrites. To support roguery and 
 error all over the earth. Let us reflect that it is inhabited 
 by a thousand millions of people. That these profess, 
 probably, a thousand different systems of religion. That 
 ours is but one of that thousand. That if there be but 
 one right, and ours that one, we should wish to see the 
 nine hundred and ninety-nine wandering sects gathered 
 into the fold of truth. But against such a majority we 
 cannot effect this by force. Reason and persuasion are 
 the only practicable instruments. To make way for 
 these, free inquiry must be indulged ; how can we wish 
 others to indulge it while we refuse it ourselves.' 
 
 On the 15th of June, 1781, Mr Jefferson was appoint- 
 ed, with Mr Adams, Dr Franklin, Mr Jay, and Mr Lau- 
 
 17 
 
190 LIFE OP 
 
 rens, a minister plenipotentiary for negotiating peace, 
 then expected to be effected through the mediation of 
 the empress of Russia. The same reasons, however, 
 which induced him to decline a foreign station in '76, 
 constrained him on the present occasion, to plead his 
 excuse with Congress and entreat permission to remain 
 at home. ' Such was the state of my family,' says he, 
 ' that I could not leave it, nor could I expose it to the 
 dangers of the sea, and of capture by the British ships, 
 then covering the ocean.' This restraint released him 
 from the meditated embassy ; and the negotiation in fact 
 was never entered on. 
 
 So imperfect is the light thrown on the private history 
 of Mr Jefferson, that it was not thought proper to inter- 
 rupt the narrative of his public career, for those general 
 facts only of a domestic character, which are incorpo- 
 rated in his recent auto-biography. He was married on 
 the first of January, 1772, to Mrs Martha Skelton, widow 
 of Bathurst Skelton, then twenty-three years of age. 
 She was the daughter of John Wayles, a lawyer of ex- 
 tensive practice, to which he had been introduced, more 
 by his great industry, punctuality, and practical readi- 
 ness, than by any eminence in the science of his pro- 
 fession. He is represented to have been a most agreea- 
 ble companion, full of pleasantry and good humor, 
 which gave him a happy vrelcome into every society. 
 He acquired an immense fortune by his practice at the 
 bar, and died in May, 1773, leaving three daughters. 
 The portion which fell, on that event, to Mrs Jefferson, 
 was about equal to his own patrimony, and consequently 
 doubled the affluence of their circumstances. 
 
 At the period of which we have been speaking, he had 
 three daughters ; in the education of whom, according to 
 his own ideas, he carried into practical exercise all that 
 enthusiasm, which had distinguished his public labors. 
 With a mind attuned to all those endearments which 
 make up the measure of domestic felicity, with a wife 
 
THOMAS JEFFERSON. 191 
 
 no less adapted to multiply and augment those endear- 
 ments to the full extent of which they are susceptible, 
 with an uncommon passion for philosophy and the pur- 
 suits of agriculture, it is not surprising he should have 
 preferred, as he afterwards declared, ' the woods, the 
 wilds, and the independence of Monticello, to all the 
 brilliant pleasures of the most brilliant court in Europe.' 
 It was to him, therefore, a luxury, and one which he had 
 not been permitted to enjoy sinoe the commencement of 
 the revolution, to pass, as he did, the remainder of the 
 year '81, and a^considerable part of the succeeding, in 
 the pleasures and pursuits of domestic retirement. With 
 the cares of his family, his books, and his farm, he min- 
 gled the gratification of his devotion to the fine arts, par- 
 ticularly architecture. He superintended minutely the 
 construction of his elegant mansion, which had been 
 commenced some years before, and was already in a 
 habitable condition. The plan of the building was en- 
 tirely original in this country. He had drawn it himself 
 from books, with a view to improve the architecture of 
 his countrymen by introducing an example of the taste 
 and the arts of Europe. The original structure, which 
 was executed before his travels in Europe had supplied 
 him with any models, is allowed by European travellers 
 to have been infinitely superior in taste and convenience, 
 to that of any other house at this time in America. * The 
 fame of the Monticellian philosopher having already 
 spread over Europe, his hospitable seat was made the 
 resort of scientific adventurers and of travellers, from 
 many parts of that continent. 
 
 It may not be unsatisfactory to the reader, to have a 
 picture of the patriot in his hermitage, as he appeared 
 to the celebrated French traveller. General Chastellux : 
 'Let me describe to you a man, not yet forty; tall, and 
 
 * See Travels of Duke de La Rochefoucault Liancourt, in Ame- 
 rica ; also, the Travels of Marquis de Chastellux 
 
192 LIFE OF 
 
 1* 
 
 with a mild and pleasing countenance, but whose mind 
 and understanding are ample substitutes for every exte- 
 rior grace — An American, who, without ever having 
 quitted his own country, is at once a musician, skilled in 
 drawing, a geometrician, an astronomer, a natural philo- 
 sopher, legislator, and statesman- — A senator of Amer- 
 ica^ who sat for two years in that famous Congress, which 
 >i brought about the revolution ; and which is never men- 
 tioned without respect, though unhappily not without 
 regret — A governor of Virginia, who filled this difiicult 
 station during the invasions of Arnold, of Phillips, and 
 of Cornwallis — A philosopher, in voluntary retirement 
 from the world and pubHc business, because he loves the 
 world inasmuch only, as he can flatter himself with being 
 useful to mankind ; and the minds of his countrymen are 
 not yet in a condition either to bear the light, or to suf- 
 fer contradiction — A mild and amiable wife, charming 
 children, of whose education he himself takes charge, a 
 house to embellish, great provisions, and the arts and 
 sciences to cultivate; — these are what remain to Mr 
 Jefferson, after having played a principal character on 
 the theatre of the new world, and which he preferred to 
 the honorable commission of minister plenipotentiary in 
 Europe.' 
 
 In the autumn of ^82, assurances having been received 
 from the British government that a general peace would 
 be concluded in the ensuing winter or spring, Congress 
 renewed the appointment of their plenipotentiaries for 
 that purpose. A great and afllicting change had, at this 
 time, taken place in the domestic relations of Mr Jef- 
 ferson ; and the reasons which before operated impera- 
 tively against his accepta^ice of the mission, were sud- 
 denly superseded by others as imperatively urging his 
 absence from the seat of his dearest and most hallowed 
 ties. The appointment was made on the 13th of No- 
 vember. ' I had, two months before that,' says he, 'lost 
 
THOMAS JEFFERSON. 193 
 
 the cherished companion of my Hfe, in whose affections, 
 unabated on both sides, I had lived the last ten years, in 
 uncheqiiered happiness.' With the public interests, there- 
 fore, the state of his mind concurred in recommending 
 the change of scene proposed ; and he accepted the ap- 
 pointment. 
 
 He left Monticello on the 19th of December, '82, for 
 Philadelphia, where he arrived on the 27th. The min- 
 ister of France, Luzerne, offered him a passage in the 
 frigate Romulus, which he accepted ; but she was then 
 lying a few miles below Baltimore, blockaded by ice. 
 No other conveyance being available, he remained in 
 Philadelphia a month. On his arrival. Congress had 
 passed an order offering him free access to the archives 
 of the government ; and he improved his leisure by a 
 constant and daily attendance at the office of State, ex- 
 amining the public papers, to possess himself thoroughly 
 of the state of our foreign affairs. He then proceeded 
 to Baltimore, to await the liberation of the French fri- 
 gate from the ice. After being detained there nearly a 
 month longer, information was received that a provision- 
 al' treaty of peace had been signed by those of the com- 
 missioners* who were on the spot, on the 3d of September, 
 '82 ; which treaty was to become absolute on the conclu- 
 sion of peace between France and Great Britain. Con- 
 sidering the object of his mission to Europe as now ac- 
 complished, he repaired immediately to Philadelphia to 
 take the orders of Congress ; and was excused by them 
 from farther proceeding. He therefore returned home, 
 where he arrived on the 15th of May, '83. 
 
 The appointment and re-appointment of Mr Jefferson 
 to the embassy which resulted in the negotiation of the 
 definitive treaty of peace with Great Britain, though but 
 a fair tribute to his revolutionary services, have never 
 been associated in history with that important event. 
 
 * John Adams, Dr Franklin, John Jay, and Henry Laurens. 
 17* 
 
194 LIFE OF 
 
 The circumstances above detailed, alone prevented the 
 addition of his signature to the treaty, which would ne- 
 cessarily have given the same honorable notoriety to his 
 connection with the transaction, as is attached to his 
 associate commissioners. 
 
THOMAS JEFFERSON. 
 
 195 
 
 CIIArTER VIII. 
 
 On the 6th of June, 1783, Mr JefFcrson, whose capa- 
 bilities were never overlooked, was re-elected by the le- 
 gislature to his ancient station of delegate to Congress. 
 His appointment was to take eftect on the 1 st of Novem- 
 ber ensuing, when the term of the existing delegation 
 would have expired. He left home on the 16th of Oc- 
 tober, arrived at Trenton where Congress was sitting, 
 on the 3d of November, and took his seat on the 4th ; 
 on which day Congress adjourned, to meet at Annapolis 
 on the 26th. 
 
 Congress convened at Annapolis on the 26th of No- 
 vember, agreeably to adjournment ; but the pressure of 
 public afl'airs having relaxed, the members had become 
 proportionally remiss in their attendance, insomuch that 
 a majority of the States necessary by the confederation 
 to constitute a quorum, even for minor business, did not 
 assemble until the 13th of December. 
 
 On the 19th of the same month, the great conflict be- 
 ing over, and our national indej)endence acknowledged 
 by Great Britain, the illustrious general in chief of the 
 American army requested permission of Congress to re- 
 sign his commission ; and with the deference ever paid 
 by him to the civil authority, desired to know their pleas- 
 ure in what manner the grateful duty should be per- 
 formed. 
 
 Congress decreed that the commission should be de- 
 livered up at a Public Audience, on the 23d of Decern- 
 
196 LIFE OF 
 
 ber, at twelve o'clock ; and suitable arrangements were 
 ordered for the occasion. The character sustained by 
 Mr Jefferson in this affecting scene, will justify a general 
 description of the circumstances. 
 
 When the hour arrived for the performance of the 
 ceremony, the galleries were overloaded with spectators ; 
 and many distinguished individuals, among whom were 
 the executive and legislative characters of the States, 
 several general officers, and the consul general of France, 
 were admitted on the floor of Congress. From the first 
 moment of peace, the public mind had been fixed intent- 
 ly upon General Washington. He stood on the pinnacle 
 of military fame and power ; but his ambition was satis- 
 fied, for the liberties of his country had been gained ; 
 and his admiring fellow citizens were now assembled to 
 witness the execution of a purpose, deliberately and 
 warmly embraced, of leaving to the world a great and 
 solemn example of moderation. 
 
 The representatives of the people of the union re- 
 mained seated and covered ; the spectators standing and 
 uncovered. The general was introduced by the secreta- 
 ry, and conducted to a chair near the president of Con- 
 gress. After a proper interval, silence was commanded, 
 and a short pause ensued. The president, general Mif- 
 flin, then rose and informed him that the United States in 
 Congress assembled, were prepared to receive his com- 
 munications. Washington rose, and with a native dig- 
 nity, delivered his affectionate address and valedictory. 
 
 Having then advanced to the chair and delivered his 
 commission to the president, he returned to his place, 
 and received standing the following answer of the presi- 
 dent in the name of Congress. This paper was prepar- 
 ed by Mr Jeff*erson. 
 
 <Sir, — The United States in Congress assembled, re- 
 ceive with emotions too affecting for utterance, the sol- 
 emn resignation of the authorities under which you have 
 led their troops with success through a perilous and 
 
THOMAS JEFFERSON. 197 
 
 doubtful war. Called upon by your country to defend 
 its invaded rights, you accepted the sacred charge, be- 
 fore it had forncied alliances, and whilst it was without 
 funds, or a government to support you. You have con- 
 ducted the great military contest with wisdom and forti- 
 tude, invariably regarding the rights of the civil power 
 through all disasters and changes. You have, by the 
 love and confidence of your fellow-citizens, enabled them 
 to display their martial genius, and transmit their fame 
 to posterity. You have persevered, till these United 
 States, aided by a magnanimous king and nation, have 
 been enabled, under a just providence, to close the war 
 in freedom, safety and independence ; on which happy 
 event, we sincerely join you in congratulations. 
 
 ' Having defended the standard of liberty in this new 
 world : having taught a lesson useful to those who in- 
 flict, and to those who feel oppression, you retire from 
 the great theatre of action, with the blessings of your 
 fellow citizens — but the glory of your virtues will not 
 terminate with your military command, it will continue 
 to animate remotest ages. 
 
 'We feel with you our obligations to the army in gen- 
 eral, and will particularly charge ourselves with the in- 
 terests of those confidential officers, who have attended 
 your person to this aflfecting moment. 
 
 ' We join you in commending the interests of our dear- 
 est country to the protection of Almighty God, beseech- 
 ing Him to dispose the hearts and minds of its citizens, 
 to improve the opportunity afforded them, of becoming 
 a happy and respectable nation. And for you we ad- 
 dress to Him our earnest prayers, that a life so beloved, 
 may be fostered with all His^care ; that your days may 
 be happy as they have been illustrious ; and that He will 
 finally give you that reward which this world cannot 
 give.' 
 
 On the same day, December 23d, measures were ta- 
 ken for ratifying the definitive treaty of peace, which 
 had been signed at Paris on the 3d of September, 1783, 
 and received here in November following. The treaty, 
 with the joint letter of the American plenipotentiaries, 
 was referred to a committee, of which Mr Jeflferson was 
 
198 LIFE OF 
 
 chairman, to consider and report thereon. The necessa- 
 ry house not being present, the committee were directed 
 to address letters to the governors of the absent States 
 stating the receipt of the definitive treaty ; that seven 
 States only were in attendance, while nine were essen- 
 tial to its ratification ; and urging them to press on their 
 delegates the necessity of an immediate attendance. 
 
 Meanwhile, the house being restless under the delay, 
 the opinion was advanced by several members that 
 seven States were competent to confirm treaties ; and 
 a motion was accordingly made for an immediate rati- 
 fication. Mr Jefferson adhered to the strict letter of the 
 confederation, against the constructive opinion, and op- 
 posed the motion. It was debated with considerable 
 warmth, on the 26th and 27th. No traces of the pro- 
 ceedings, however, appear in the journals of Congress. 
 It being made palpable, in the course of the debates, 
 that the proposition could not be si^stained, it was de- 
 cided to make no entry at all. Massachusetts alone 
 would have voted for it ; Rhode-Island, Pennsylvania 
 and Virginia against it ; Delaware, Maryland and North 
 Carolina would have been divided. 
 
 In embodying his recollections of these transactions, 
 in 1821, Mr Jefibrson improved the occasion to record a 
 severe but merited censure on the general character and 
 conduct of our congressional bodies. 
 
 ' Our body was little numerous, but very contentious. 
 Day after day was wasted on the most unimportant 
 questions. A member, one of those afilicted with the 
 morbid rage of debate, of an ardent mind, prompt ima- 
 gination, and copious flow of words, who heard with 
 impatience any logic which was not his own, sitting 
 near me on some occasion of a trifling but wordy de- 
 bate, asked me how I could sit in silence, hearing so 
 much false reasoning, which a word should refute] I 
 observed to him, that to refute indeed was easy, but to 
 silence impossible ; that in measures brought forward by 
 myself, I took the laboring oar, as was incumbent on 
 
THOMAS JEFFERSON. 199 
 
 me ; but that in general, I was willing to listen ; that if 
 every sound argument or objection was used by some 
 one or other of the numerous debaters, it was enough ; 
 if not, I thought it sufficient to suggest the omission, 
 without ^oing into a repetition of what had been al- 
 ready said by otliers : that this was a waste and abuse 
 of the time and patience of the house, which could not 
 be justified. And I believe, that if the members of de- 
 liberate bodies were to observe this course generally, 
 they would do in a day, what takes them a week ; and 
 it is really more questionable, than may at first be 
 thought, whether Bonaparte's dumb legislature, which 
 said nothing, and did much, may not be preferable to 
 one which talks much, and does nothing. I served 
 with general Washington in the legislature of Virginia, 
 before the revolution, and, during it, with Dr Franklin 
 in Congress. I never heard either of them speak ten 
 minutes at a time, nor to any but the main point, which 
 was to decide the question. They laid their shoulders 
 to the great points, knowing that the little ones would 
 follow of themselves. If tlie present Congress errs in 
 too much talking, how can it be otherwise, in a body to 
 which the people send one hundred and fifty lawyers, 
 whose trade it is, to question every thing, yield nothing, 
 and talk by the hour ? That one hundred and fifty 
 lawyers should do business together, ought not to be ex- 
 pected.' 
 
 Those who thought seven States competent to the 
 ratification, being very uneasy under the loss of their 
 motion, Mr Jefferson proposed, on the 3d of January, 
 to meet them on the middle ground ; and accordingly 
 moved a resolution, premising that there were but seven 
 States present, who were unanimous for the ratification, 
 but differed in opinion on the question of competency, 
 that those however in the negative were unwilling that 
 any powers which it might be supposed they possessed, 
 should remain unexercised for the restoration of peace, 
 provided it could be done saving their good faith, and 
 without any opinion of Congress that seven States were 
 competent ; and resolving, that the treaty be ratified so 
 
200 LIFE OP 
 
 far as they had power ; that it should be transmitted to 
 our ministers, with instructions to keep it uncommuni- 
 cated ; that they should endeavor to obtain three months 
 longer for exchange of ratifications ; that so soon as nine 
 States shall be present, a ratification by nine shall be 
 sent them ; if this should get to them before the ultimate 
 point of time for exchange, they were to use it, and not 
 the other ; if not, they were to ofier the act of the seven 
 States in exchange, stating that the treaty had come to 
 hand while Congress was not in session, that but seven 
 States were as yet assembled, and these had unanimously 
 concurred in the ratification. This resolution was de- 
 bated on the 3d and 4th of January ; and on the 5th, 
 the question being carried, the house directed the pres- 
 ident to write to our ministers accordingly. 
 
 On the 14th of January, delegates from Connecticut 
 and South Carolina having arrived, the necessary com- 
 plement of States was in attendance ; and on report of 
 Mr Jefferson in behalf of the committee, the definitive 
 treaty of peace between the United States and Great 
 Britain, was solemnly ratified and confirmed, without a 
 dissenting voice. 
 
 The act by which Mr Jefferson chiefly distinguished 
 himself, in his second congressional course, was the es- 
 tabhshment of a money unit, and a uniform system of 
 currency, for the United States. The interesting fact is 
 not generally known in this country, that Mr Jefferson 
 was the father of the present admirable system of coin- 
 age and currency. In the volumes which have been 
 written on this great man, no allusion to the circum- 
 stance has ever appeared ; and yet, it is one of the no- 
 blest commentaries on the versatiUty of his powers. 
 The historical circumstances attending the preparation 
 and final adoption of his scheme are of some curiosity, 
 as showing the disparity of views which prevailed on the 
 subject. 
 
 Early in January, 1782, Congress had turned their at- 
 
THOMAS JEFFERSON. 204 
 
 tention to the variety and discordancy of moneys current 
 in the several States ; and had directed their financier, 
 Robert Morris, to report to them a table of the different 
 currencies, and of the rates at which foreign coins should 
 be received at the treasury. That officer, or rather his 
 assistant, Governeur Morris, answered them the same 
 month, in an able and elaborate statement of the denom- 
 inations of money current in the several States, and of 
 the comparative value of the foreign coins chiefly in cir- 
 culation among us. He went also into the consideration 
 of the necessity of establishing a fixed standard of value 
 with us, and of adopting a money unit. He proposed 
 for that unit, such a fraction of pure silver as would be 
 a common measure of the penny of every State, without 
 leaving a fraction. This common divisor he found to be 
 ■j^L^ of a dollar, or ygVa of ^ crown sterling. The 
 value of a dollar, therefore, was to be expressed by 1440 
 units, and of a crown by 1600 ; each unit containing a 
 quarter of a grain of fine silver. The following year, 
 1783, Congress again turned their attention to the sub- 
 ject, and the financier, by a letter of April 30, farther 
 explained his idea, and urged the unit he had proposed ; 
 but nothing more was done on it until the early part of 
 the ensuing year, '84, when, Mr Jefferson having become 
 a member, the subject was referred to a committee, of 
 which he was made chairman. 
 
 * The general views of the financier, were sound,' says 
 he, ' and the principle was ingenious, on which he pro- 
 posed to found his unit ; but it was too minute for ordi- 
 nary use, too laborious for computation, either by head 
 or in figures. The price of a loaf of bread, ^ir of a 
 dollar, would be 72 units. A pound of butter, i of a 
 dollar, 288 units. A horse or bullock, of eighty dollars' 
 value, would require a notation of six figures, to wit, 
 115,200, and the pubhc debt, suppose of eighty milHons, 
 would require twelve figures, to wit, 115,200,000,000 
 units. Such a system of money arithmetic would be 
 entirely unmanagable for the common purposes of so- 
 18, 
 
202 LIFE OF 
 
 ciety. I proposed, therefore, instead of this, to adopt 
 the dollar as our unit of account and payment, and that 
 its divisions and suhdivisions should be in the decimal 
 ratio. I wrote some notes on the subject, which I sub- 
 mitted to the consideration of the financier. I received 
 his answer and adherence to his general system, only 
 agreeing to take for his unit one hundred of those he 
 first proposed, so that a dollar should be 14^oV ^^^ ^ 
 crown 16 units. 1 replied to this, and printed my notes 
 and reply on a flying sheet, which I put into the hands 
 of the members of Congress for consideration, and the 
 committee agreed to report on my principle. This was 
 adopted the ensuing year, and is the system which now 
 prevails.' 
 
 The money system recommended by Mr Jefferson, 
 and adopted by Congress in 1785, has almost entirely 
 superseded the various and perplexing currencies which 
 formerly prevailed in the different States, and establish- 
 ed a uniformity of computation among them. For 
 soundness and simplicity, easy computation, and facility 
 of introduction among the people, it is probably unequal- 
 led by any system now in use in any other nation. A 
 tolerable estimate of its advantages over the currencies 
 of other States, may be formed on an examination of 
 the views of the author, as drafted by himself at the 
 time, and submitted to the consideration of the com- 
 mittee. 
 
 As might be expected, the return to the national coun- 
 cils, of so distinguished a man as Mr Jeffers-on, drew 
 upon him an unusual proportion of public business. 
 The journals of the house place him continually in the 
 foreground of the concentrated wisdom of the nation. 
 He was on all the committees, to whom concerns of the 
 highest moment were entrusted ; and was twice in one 
 month elected chairman of Congress, during the absence, 
 from indisposition, of the president. 
 
THOMAS JEFFERSON. 203 
 
 He was appointed chairman of a grand committee to 
 revise the institution of the treasury department, and 
 report such alterations as they should deem proper. 
 The business of this committee was emphatically, to re- 
 duce order out of chaos. The finances of the country 
 were in a most deplorable condition. No adequate sys- 
 tem had been devised for meetinsr the constant and in- 
 creasing requisitions upon the treasury. And no com- 
 pulsory power existed in Congress, over the States ; many 
 of whom being dissatisfied with their quotas, refused to 
 contribute altogether, and none appeared to have the 
 means at command for satisfying the demands made 
 upon them. The peace and harmony of the union were 
 manifestly in danger. Mr Jefferson entered upon the 
 arduous trust with great zeal and fidelity, and draughted 
 an able report on the subject, in the form of a circular 
 letter to the supreme executive of the several States ; 
 which report was unanimously adopted. He likewise 
 reported from the same committee, the draught of an 
 ordinance for erecting the department of finance into 
 commission, under the title of ' The Board of Treasury,' 
 which was adopted. 
 
 He was appointed chairman of a committee to pre- 
 pare and report to Congress, the arrears of interest on 
 the national debt, with the interest and expenses of the 
 current year ; and to adjust an equitable apportionment 
 of the whole demand among the several States. He 
 drew the report of the committee. It was an elaborate 
 performance, embracing a full and comprehensive re- 
 view of the various debts of the union, the interest due 
 thereon, with the expenses of the current year, and ex- 
 hibiting by a table annexed, an apportionment of the 
 necessary requisitions upon the several States, for de- 
 fraying the amount. The report was accepted, and 
 passed. 
 
 He was appointed chairman of a committee t^ devise 
 and report a plan of government for the western terri- 
 
204 LIFE OF 
 
 tories. He drew the ordinance, on a principle analo- 
 gous to the State governments, and reported it to the 
 house, where, after going through the ordinary course, 
 it was adopted with few alterations. He improved the 
 occasion to testify, once more, his abhorrence of slavery, 
 by introducing into his plan the following provision : 
 ' That after the year 1800 of the christian era, there 
 shall be neither slavery nor involuntary servitude in any 
 of the States, otherwise than in punishment of crimes, 
 whereof the party shall have been duly convicted to have 
 been personally guilty.' But the clause was stricken out 
 by Congress, as well as another, which provided that no 
 person should be admitted a citizen, who held any hered- 
 itary title. 
 
 He was appointed on a committee of retrenchment, to 
 consider and report what reductions might be made in 
 the civil list. On the report of this committee, such a 
 reduction was ordered, by suppressing unnecessary offi- 
 ces and diminishing the salaries of others, as produced 
 an annual saving to the United States of 24,000 dollars. 
 
 He was made chairman of a committee to settle the 
 mode of locating and disposing lands in the western ter- 
 ritory. He prepared the report of the committee, which 
 was adopted. It established the mode of proceeding on 
 this subject, which has hitherto been pursued with little 
 variation. 
 
 By the confederation, exclusive power over the regu- 
 lation of commerce, even by treaty, was not given to 
 Congress ; but the right was reserved to the State legis- 
 latures, of imposing such duties on foreigners, as their 
 own people were subjected to, and of prohibiting the 
 exportation and importation of any species of goods, 
 within their respective ports. The inconveniences of 
 fliis arrangement were speedily felt, to an alarming de- 
 gree. Great Britain had already adopted regulations 
 destructive of our commerce with her West India islands ; 
 and unless the United States, in their federative capacity. 
 
THOMAS JEFFERSON. 205 
 
 were invested with powers competent to the protection 
 of their commerce, by countervailing regulations, it was 
 obvious they could never command reciprocal advantages 
 in trade ; without which their foreign commerce must 
 decline, and eventually be annihilated. A committee 
 was therefore appointed, of which Mr Jefferson was a 
 member, to institute measures for transferring the prin- 
 cipal jurisdiction of commerce, from the States to the 
 national tribunal. They reported resolutions recom- 
 mending the legislatures of the several States to invest 
 the federal government, for the term of fifteen years, 
 with the power to interdict from our ports the commerce 
 of any nation, with whom the United States shall not 
 have established treaties. The report was accepted, and 
 the resolutions passed. 
 
 All these important transactions, with many others, in 
 which Mr Jefferson had a leading agency, were accom- 
 plished during the winter and spring of 1784, the whole 
 term of his second congressional service. 
 
 During the same term, he submitted a proposition, 
 which embraced a double object — to invigorate the gov- 
 ernment and reduce its expense. The permanent ses- 
 sion of Congress, and the remissness of the members, 
 had begun to be subjects of uneasiness through the coun- 
 try ; and even some of the legislatures had recommended 
 to them intermissions and periodical sessions. But the 
 government was not yet organized into separate depart- 
 ments ; there was no distinct executive, nor had the eon- 
 federation made provision for a visible head of affairs 
 during vacations of Congress. Such a head was neces- 
 sary, however, to superintend the executive business, to 
 receive and communicate with foreign ministers and na- 
 tions, and to assemble Congress on sudden and extraor- 
 dinary emergencies. Mr Jefferson, therefore, proposed 
 the appointment of an executive board, to consist of one 
 member from each State, who should remain in session 
 during the recess of Congress, under the title of ' Com- 
 18* 
 
206 
 
 LIFE OF 
 
 mittee of the States.' The powers of this plural execu- 
 tive, were to embrace all the executive functions of Con- 
 gress, which should not be specially reserved, but none 
 of the legislative ; the concurrence of nine members 
 should be required to determine all questions, except 
 that of adjournment from day to day ; they should keep 
 a journal of their proceedings to be laid before Congress, 
 whom they should also be empowered to assemble, on 
 any occurrence during the recess in which the peace or 
 happiness of the United States might be involved. 
 
 The proposition was adopted, and a committee of the 
 States appointed. On the adjournment of Congress, in 
 June following, they entered upon their duties, but in 
 the course of two months, quarrelled among themselves, 
 divided into two parties, abandoned their post, and left 
 the government without any visible head until the next 
 meeting of Congress. The scheme was found to be an 
 impracticable one, though it was the best within the au- 
 thority of Congress at that time to adopt. And on the 
 whole, it was a happy circumstance for our republic, 
 that the theory proved as impracticable as it did ; for it 
 developed, in a clear light, the palpable defect of the 
 confederation, in not having provided for a separation of 
 the legislative, executive, and judiciary functions ; and 
 this defect, together with the want of adequate powers 
 in the general government to collect their contributions 
 and to regulate commerce, was the great cause which 
 led to the formation and adoption of our present consti- 
 tution. 
 
 Mr Jefferson has left a brief reminiscence of his sen- 
 timents, and of sin amusing interview with Dr Franklin, 
 on learning the sudden rupture and dispersion of the 
 new executive chiefs. 
 
 * We have since seen the same thing take place, in the 
 directory of France ; and I believe it will forever take 
 place in any executive consisting of a plurality. Our plan, 
 I believe, best, combines wisdom and practicability, by 
 
THOMAS JEFFERSON. 207 
 
 providing a plurality of councillors, but a single arbiter 
 for ultimate decision. I was in France when we heard 
 of this schism and separation of our committee, and, 
 speaking with Dr Franklin of this singular disposition 
 of men to quarrel, and divide into parties, he gave his 
 sentiments, as usual, by way of apologue. He mentioned 
 the Eddystone light-house, in the British channel, as 
 being built on a rock, in the mid-channel, totally inac- 
 cessible in winter, from the boisterous character of that 
 sea, in that season ; that, therefore, for the two keepers 
 employed to keep up the lights, all provisions for the 
 winter w^ere necessarily carried to them in autumn, as 
 they could never be visited again till the return of the 
 milder season ; that, on the first practicable day in the 
 spring, a boat put off to them with fresh supplies. The 
 boatmen met at the door one of the keepers, and accost- 
 ed him with a " How goes it, friend ?" "Very well." 
 " How is your companion 1" " I do not know." " Don't 
 know 1" "Is not he here 1" " I can't tell." " Have 
 not you seen him to-day ?" " No." " When did you 
 see him?" "Not since last fall." "You have killed 
 him ?" " Not I, indeed." They were about to lay hold 
 of him, as having certainly murdered his companion; 
 but he desired them to go up stairs and examine for them- 
 selves. They went up, and there found the other keep- 
 er. They had quarrelled, it seems, soon after being left 
 there, had divided into two parties, assigned the cares 
 below to one, and those above to the other, and had never 
 spoken to, or seen, one another since.' 
 
 While in Congress, at Annapolis, Mr Jefferson receiv- 
 ed an urgent letter from General Washington, requesting 
 his opinions on the institution of the Cincinnati, and on 
 the conduct most proper for him to pursue in relation to 
 it. The origin of this institution was perfectly inno- 
 cent ; but its anti-republican organization and tendency 
 soon excited a heavy solicitude in the breasts of the more 
 sensitive guardians of liberty, which at length broke 
 forth in accents of loud and extensive disapprobation. 
 The idea of this society was suggested by General Knox, 
 and finally matured into a regular association of all the 
 
208 
 
 LIFE OP 
 
 officers of the American army, to contimie during their 
 lives, and those of their eldest male posterity, or in fail- 
 ure thereof, any collateral branches who might be judged 
 worthy admission, with power to incorporate, as honor- 
 ary members for life, individuals of the respective States, 
 distinguished for their patriotism and abilities. The 
 laws of the association farther provided for periodical 
 meetings, general and particular, fixed contributions for 
 such of the members as might be in distress, and a badge 
 to be worn by them, and presented by a special envoy, 
 to the French officers who had served in the United 
 States, who were to be invited to consider themselves as 
 belonging to the society ; at the head of which the com- 
 mander in chief was unanimously designated to take 
 his place. 
 
 General Washington saw with pain the uneasiness of 
 the public mind under this institution, and appealed to 
 Mr Jefferson for his advice on the most eligible measures 
 to be pursued at the next meeting. The answer of Mr 
 Jefferson, as it probably decided the future destinies of 
 this famous institution, is worthy of being preserved. It 
 is dated Annapolis, April 16, 1784. 
 
 ' I received your favor of April the 8th, by Colonel 
 Harrison. The subject of it is interesting, and, so far 
 as you have stood connected with it, has been matter of 
 anxiety to me ; because, whatever may be the ultimate 
 fate of the institution of the Cincinnati, as, in its course, 
 it draws to it some degree of disapprobation, I have 
 wished to see you standing on ground separated from it, 
 that the character which will be handed to future ages, 
 of the head of our revolution, may, in no instance, be 
 compromitted in subordinate altercations. The subject 
 has been at the point of my pen in every letter I have 
 written to you, but has been still restrained by the reflec- 
 tion that you had among your friends more able coun- 
 sellors, and, in yourself, one abler than them all. Your 
 letter has now rendered a duty what was before a desire, 
 and I cannot better merit your confidence than by a full 
 
THOMAS JEFFERSON. 209 
 
 and free communication of facts and sentiments, as far 
 as they have come within my observation. .When the 
 army was about to be disbanded, and the officers to take 
 final leave, perhaps never again to meet, it was natural 
 for men who had accompanied each other through so 
 many scenes of hardship, of difficulty and danger, who, 
 in a variety of instances, must have been rendered mu- 
 tually dear by those aids and good offices, to which their 
 situations had given occasion, it was natural, I say, for 
 these to seize with fondness any proposition which pro- 
 mised to bring them together again, at certain and regu- 
 lar periods. And this, I take for granted, was the ori- 
 gin and object of this institution : and I have no sus- 
 picion that they foresaw, much less intended, those mis- 
 chiefs which exist perhaps in the forebodings of poli- 
 ticians only. I doubt, however, whether in its execu- 
 tion, it would be found to answer the wishes of those 
 who framed it, and to foster those friendships it was 
 intended to preserve. The members would be brought 
 together at their annual assemblies no longer to encoun- 
 ter a common enemy, but. to encounter one another in 
 debate and sentiment. For something, I suppose, is to 
 be done at these meetings, and, however unimportant, it 
 will suffice to produce difference of opinion, contradic- 
 tion, and irritation. The way to make friends quarrel 
 is to put them in disputation under the public eye. An 
 experience of near twenty years has taught me, that few 
 friendships stand this^test, and that public assemblies 
 where every one is free to act and speak, are the most 
 powerful looseners of the bands of private friendship. I 
 think, therefore, that this institution would fail in its 
 principal object, the perpetuation of the personal friend- 
 ships contracted through the war. 
 
 ' The objections of those who are opposed to the 
 institution shall be briefly sketched. You will readily 
 fill them up. They urge that it is against the confeder- 
 ation — ■ against the letter of some of our constitutions — 
 against the spirit of all of them; — that the foundation 
 on which all these are built, is the natural equality of 
 man, the denial of every pre-eminence but that annexed 
 to legal office, and, particularly, the denial of a pre- 
 eminence by birth ; that however, in their present dis- 
 
210 LIFE OP 
 
 positions, citizens might decline accepting honorary 
 instahnents into the order ; but a time may come, when 
 a change of dispositions would render these flattering, 
 when a well directed distribution of them might draw 
 into the order all the men of talents, of office, and 
 wealth ; and in this case, would probably procure an 
 ingraftment into the government ; that in this, they will 
 be supported by their foreign members, and the wishes 
 and influence of foreign courts ; that experience has 
 shown that the hereditary branches of modern govern- 
 ments are the patrons of privilege and prerogative, and 
 not of the natural rights of the people, whose oppressors 
 they generally are: that besides these evils, which are 
 remote, others may take place more immediately ; that 
 a distinction is kept up between the civil and military, 
 which it is for the happiness of both to obliterate ; that 
 when the members assemble they will be proposing to do 
 something, and what that something may be, will depend 
 on actual circumstances ; that being an organized body, 
 under habits of subordination, the first obstruction to 
 enterprise will be already surmounted ; that the modera- 
 tion and virtue of a single character have probably pre- 
 vented this revolution from being closed as most others 
 have been, by a subversion of that liberty it was intended 
 to establish ; that he is not immortal, and his successor, 
 or some of his successors, may be led by false calcula- 
 tions into a less certain road to glory. 
 
 ' This, Sir, is as faithful an account of sentiments and 
 facts as I am able to give you. You know the extent of 
 the circle within which my observations are at present 
 circumscribed, and can estimate how far, as forming a 
 part of the general opinion, it may merit notice, or 
 ought to influence your particular conduct. 
 
 ' It now remains to pay obedience to that part of your 
 letter which requests sentiments on the most eligible 
 measures to be pursued by the society, at their next 
 meeting. I must be far from pretending to be a judge 
 of what would, in fact, be the most eligible measures for 
 the society. I can only give you the opinions of those 
 with whom I have conversed, and vi^ho, as I have before 
 observed, are unfriendly to it. They lead to these con- 
 clusions. 1. If the society proceed according to its 
 
THOMAS JEFFERSON. 211 
 
 institution, it will be better to make no application to 
 Congress on that subject, or any other, in their associated 
 character. 2. If they should propose to modify it, so as 
 to render it unobjectionable, I think it would not be 
 effected without such a modification as would amount 
 almost to annihilation : for such would it be to part with 
 its inheritability, its organization, and its assemblies. 3. 
 If they shall be disposed to discontinue the whole, it 
 would remain with them to determine whether they 
 would choose it to be done by their own act only, or by 
 a reference of the matter to Congress, which would infal- 
 libly produce a recommendation of total discontinuance. 
 ' You will be sensible. Sir, that these communications 
 are without reserve. I supposed such to be your wish, 
 and mean them but as materials, with such others as you 
 may collect, for your better judgment to work on. I 
 consider the whole matter as between ourselves alone, 
 having determined to take no active part in this or any 
 thing else, which may lead to altercation, or disturb that 
 quiet and tranquillity of mind, to which I consign the 
 remaining portion of my life. I have been thrown back 
 by events, on a stage where I had never more thought 
 to appear. It is but for a time, however, and as a day- 
 laborer, free to withdraw, or be withdrawn at will. 
 While I remain, I shall pursue in silence the path of 
 right, but in every situation, public or private, I shall be 
 gratified by all occasions of rendering you service, and 
 of convincing you there is no one, to whom your reputa- 
 tion and happiness are dearer than to, Sir, your most 
 obedient and most humble servant.' 
 
 The sentiments of Mr Jefferson on the subject of the 
 Cincinnati^ were the sentiments of a majority of the 
 members of Congress ; and they soon animated the 
 mass of the people. General Washington was oppressed 
 with solicitude ; he weighed the considerations submitted 
 to him, with intense deliberation; and although con- 
 scious of the purity of the motives in which the institu- 
 tion originated, he became sensible that it might produce 
 political evils, which the warmth of those motives had 
 disguised. But whether so or not, the fact that a ma- 
 
212 litFE or^ 
 
 jority of the people were opposed to it, was a sufficient 
 motive with him for desiring its immediate suppression. 
 The first annual meeting was to be held in May ensuing, 
 at Philadelphia ; it was now at hand ; and he went to 
 it with the determination to exert all his influence for its 
 annihilation. He proposed the matter to his fellow- 
 officers, and urged it with all his powers. 'It met with 
 an opposition,' says Mr Jefferson, 'which was observed 
 to cloud his face with an anxiety, that the most distress- 
 ful scenes of the war had scarcely ever produced. The 
 question of dissolution was canvassed for several days, 
 and, at length, the order was on the point of receiving 
 its annihilation, by the vote of a great majority of its 
 members. At this moment, their envoy arrived from 
 France, charged with letters from the French officers, 
 accepting cordially the proposed badges of fellowship, 
 with solicitations from others to be received into the 
 order, and the recognition of their magnanimous sove- 
 reign. The prospect was now changed. The question 
 assumed a new form. After an offer made by them- 
 selves, and accepted by their friends, in what words 
 could they clothe a proposition to retract it, which would 
 not cover themselves with the reproaches of levity and 
 ingratitude ? which would not appear an insult to those 
 whom they loved ? They found it necessary, therefore, 
 to preserve so much of the institution, as would support 
 the foreign branch ; but they obliterated every feature 
 which was calculated to give off^ence to their own citi- 
 zens ; thus sacrificing, on either hand, to their brave 
 allies, and to their country.' 
 
 The society was to retain its existence, its name, and its 
 charitable funds ; these last, however, were to be deposit- 
 ed with their respective legislatures. The order was to 
 be communicated to no new members. The general meet- 
 ings, instead of annual, were to be triennial only. The 
 eagle and ribbon, indeed, were retained ; because they 
 
THOMAS JEFFERSON. 213 
 
 were willing they should be worn by their friends in 
 France, where they would not be objects of offence ; but 
 they were never worn here. ' They laid them up in 
 their bureaus, with the medals of American Independ- 
 ence, with those of the trophies they had taken, and the 
 battles they had won.' 
 
 On the 7th of May, Congress resolved that a minister 
 plenipotentiary should be appointed, in addition to Dr 
 Franklin and Mr Adams, already in Europe, for nego- 
 tiating treaties of commerce with foreign nations ; and 
 Mr Jefferson was unanimously elected. 
 
 The charge confided to this legation, comprehended 
 all our foreign relations ; the adjustment of which, upon 
 a firm and equitable basis, was evidently an undertaking 
 of uncommon magnitude, difficulty and delicacy. It was 
 the great object of Congress in the appointment of these 
 ambassadors, to get our commerce established with every 
 nation, on a footing as favorable as that of any other 
 government ; and, for this purpose, they were directed 
 to propose to each nation a distinct treaty of commerce. 
 The acceptance too, of such treaties, would amount to 
 an acknowledgment, by each, of our independence, and 
 of our reception into the fraternity of nations ; ' which,' 
 says Mr Jefferson, ' although as possessing our station 
 of right, and in fact, we would not condescend to ask, 
 we were not unwilling to furnish opportunities for re- 
 ceiving their friendly salutations and welcome.' With ^ 
 France, the United Netherlands and Sweden, the United 
 States already had commercial treaties ; but commissions 
 were given for those countries also, should any amend- 
 ments be thought necessary. The other powers, to which 
 treaties were to be proposed, were England, Hamburg, 
 Saxony, Prussia, Denmark, Russia, Austria, Venice, 
 Rome, Naples, Tuscany, Sardinia, Genoa, Spain, Por- 
 tugal, the Porte, Algiers, TripoH, Tunis, and Morocco. 
 19 
 
314 
 
 LIFE OF 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 Mr Jefferson accepted the honorable commission of 
 ambassador, and bid a final adieu to Congress, on the 
 lltli of Maj, '84, Instead of returning" to Monticello, 
 the scene of his recent and distressing bereavement, he 
 vent directly to Philadelphia, took with him his eldest 
 daughter, then in that city, and proceeded to Boston in 
 quest of a passage. This was the only occasion on which 
 Mr Jefferson ever visited New England ; and while pur- 
 suing his journey, he made a point of stopping at the 
 principal towns on the seaboard, to inform himself of 
 the state of commerce in each State. With the same 
 view he extended his route into New Hampshire. He 
 returned to Boston, and sailed thence, on the 5th of 
 July, in the merchant ship Ceres, bound to Cowes, where 
 he arrived, after a pleasant voyage, on the 26th. He 
 was detained here a few days, by the indisposition of 
 his daughter, when he embarked for Havre, and arrived 
 at Paris on the 6th of August. He called immediately 
 on Dr Franklin, at Passy, communicated to him their 
 charge and instructions : and they wrote to Mr Adams, 
 then at the Hague, to join them at Paris. 
 
 The instructions given by Congress to the first pleni- 
 potentiaries of independent America, were a novelty in 
 the history of international transactions; and much curi- 
 osity was manifested by the diplomatic corps of Europe, 
 resident at the court of Versailles, to know the author 
 of them. These instructions contemplated the introduc- 
 tion of numerous and fundamental reformations in the 
 
THOMAS JEFFERSON. 215 
 
 established relations of neutrals and belligerents ; which, 
 had the propositions of our ministers been embraced by 
 the principal powers of Europe, would have effected a 
 series of the most substantial and desirable improvements 
 in the international code of mankind. The principal 
 reformations intended, were, a provision exempting from 
 capture, by the public or private armed ships of either 
 belligerent, when at war, all merchant vessels and their 
 cargoes, employed merely in carrying on the commerce 
 between nations ; a provision against the molestation of 
 fishermen, husbandmen, citizens unarmed, and following 
 their occupations in unfortified places ; for the humane 
 treatment of prisoners of war ; for the abolition of con- 
 traband of Avar, which exposes merchant vessels to such 
 ruinous detentions and abuses ; and for the recognition 
 of the principle of ' free bottoms, free goods.' 
 
 Such were the distinguishing features of these unique 
 instructions ; and the interesting question of their author- 
 ship has never been settled until since the publication of 
 Mr Jefferson's Private Correspondence. In a letter of 
 his, written but a short time before his death, to John Q. 
 Adams, then President of the United States, the whole 
 history of the transaction is concisely stated, in answer 
 to a special and friendly enquiry on the subject. He 
 ascribes to Dr Franklin the merit of having suggested 
 the principal innovations meditated by these instructions. 
 
 'I am thankful for the very interesting message and 
 documents of which you have been so kind as to send 
 me a copy, and will state my recollections as to the par- 
 ticular passage of the message to which you ask my at- 
 tention. On the conclusion of peace. Congress, sensible 
 of their right to assume independence, would not conde- 
 scend to ask its acknowledgment from other nations, yet 
 were willing, by some of the ordinary international trans- 
 actions, to receive what would imply that acknowledge- 
 ment. They appointed commissioners, therefore, to 
 propose treaties of commerce to the principal nations of 
 
216 -LIFE OF 
 
 Europe. I was then a member of Congress, was of the 
 committee appointed to prepare instructions for the com- 
 missioners, was, as you suppose, the draughtsman of those 
 actually agreed to, and was joined with your father and 
 Doctor Franklin, to carry them into execution. But the 
 stipulations making part of these instructions, which re- 
 spected privateering, blockades, contraband, and free- 
 dom of the fisheries, were not original conceptions of 
 mine. They had before been suggested by Doctor 
 Franklin, in some of his papers in possession of the 
 public, and had, I think, been recommended in some 
 letter of his to Congress. I happen only to have been 
 the inserter of them in the first public act, which gave 
 the formal sanction of a public authority.' * * 
 
 Agreeably to their request, Mr Adams soon joined his 
 colleagues of the legation, at Paris ; and their first em- 
 ployment was to prepare a general form of treaty, based 
 upon the broad principles of their instructions, to be 
 proposed to each nation without discrimination, but 
 without urging it upon any. In the conference with the 
 Count de Vergennes, the United States having already con- 
 cluded a treaty with France, it was mutually agreed to 
 leave to legislative regulation, on both sides, such modifi- 
 cations of our commercial intercourse as vi^ould voluntarily 
 flow from amicable dispositions. They next sounded the 
 ministers of the several European nations, assembled at 
 the court of Versailles, on the disposition of their re- 
 spective governments towards mutual commerce, and 
 the expediency of encouraging it by the protection of a 
 treaty. The final success of their propositions to the 
 various powers, during a twelve months term of joint 
 diplomatic attendance in Europe, is very pleasantly and 
 comprehensively stated by Mr Jefferson himself. 
 
 * Old Frederick, of Prussia, met us cordially, and 
 without hesitation; and, appointing the Baron de Thule- 
 meyer, his minister at the Hague, to negotiate with us, 
 we communicated to him our f*rojet, which, with little 
 alteration by the king, was soon concluded. Denmark 
 and Tuscany entered also into negotiations with us. 
 
THOMAS JEFFERSON. 217 
 
 Other powers appearing indifferent, we did not think it 
 proper to press them. They seemed, in fact, to know 
 little about us, but as rebels, who had been successful in 
 throwing off the yoke of the mother country. They 
 were ignorant of our commerce, which had been always 
 monopolized by England, and of the exchange of ar- 
 ticles it might offer advantageously to both parties. 
 They were inclined, therefore, to stand aloof, until they 
 could see better what relations might be usefully insti- 
 tuted with us. The negotiations, therefore, begun with 
 Denmark and Tuscany, we protracted designedly, until 
 our powers had expired; and abstained from making 
 new propositions to others having no colonies ; because 
 our commerce being an exchange of raw for wrought 
 materials, is a competent price for admission into the 
 colonies of those possessing them ; but were we to give 
 it without price to others, all would claim it without price, 
 on the ground of gentis amicissimce,^ 
 
 As might have been foreseen, such was the reserve and 
 hauteur, w4th which the ambassadors of independent 
 America were treated by the representatives of the 
 governments of the ancient world. It is true, the United 
 States had just emerged from a subordinate condition ; 
 yet a little knowledge of the situation and resources of 
 the people and institutions of America, would have ap- 
 prised them of the rank she was destined to hold in the 
 scale of empire, and of the nature of those relations 
 which it was their interest to have estabhshed with her. 
 By assuming an air of coyness and indifference, they 
 probably imagined they could inveigle our ministers into 
 terms more advantageous to themselves, than they were 
 in the habit of instituting with older countries and more 
 experienced agents. But they were met by the untutored 
 negotiators of republican America, with an equal indif- 
 ference, as just and honorable as theirs was fallacious, 
 springing as it did, from a sense of the real value of our 
 commerce, and a determination not to exchange it, in 
 any case, without an adequate equivalent. As soon as 
 19* 
 
218 LIFE OF 
 
 they became sensible, therefore, that they could do no- 
 thing with the greater powers, who alone might offer a 
 competent exchange for our commerce, they prudently 
 resolved not to hamper our country with engagements 
 to those of less significance ; and accordingly suffered 
 their commission to expire without closing any other 
 negotiation than that with the king of Prussia. 
 
 Thus through the short-sighted cupidity of European 
 governments, was lost to the world a precioCig opportu- 
 nity of commencing a reform in its international code, 
 by the introduction of wise and beneficent principles. 
 'Had these governments,' says Mr Jefferson, 'been then 
 apprised of tlie station we should so soon occupy among 
 nations, all I believe, would have met us promptly and 
 with frankness. These principles would then have been 
 established with all, and from being the conventional law 
 with us alone, would have slid into their engagements 
 with one another, and become general. They have not 
 yet found their way into written history ; but their adop- 
 tion by our southern brethren, will bring them into ob- 
 servance, and make them what they should be, a part of 
 the law of the world, and of the reformation of princi- 
 ples for which they will be indebted to us.' 
 
 On the 10th of March, 1785, Mr Jefferson received the 
 unanimous appointment of minister plenipotentiary at 
 the court of France, as successor to Dr Franklin, who 
 had obtained leave to return to America. He was re- 
 elected to the same station in October, '87, on the expi- 
 ration of his first term, and continued to represent the 
 United States at that court until October, 1789, when he 
 was permitted to return to his native country. 
 
 Mr Adams was about the same time appointed minis- 
 ter plenipotentiary to England, and left Paris for Lon- 
 don, in June, '85. 
 
 Mr Jefferson accepted the appointment, with a native 
 diffidence, heightened by a sense of the extraordinary 
 
THOMAS JEFFERSON. 219 
 
 merits of his predecessor, and of the exalted estimation 
 in which they had estabhshed him. with the French 
 nation. 
 
 His reception at the court of Versailles, as resident 
 ambassador of America, and his introduction into the 
 brilliant circles of Paris, were of the most flattering 
 character. At first, he was universally pointed to, and 
 appreciated only, as the successor of the admired, the 
 beloved, tlte venerated Franklin ; but in a short time, his 
 own estimable qualities became known, and established 
 him in the affections of the nation, with a firmness and 
 fervor which rivalled the reputation of his predecessor. 
 He was every where, and on all occasions, greeted with 
 a welcome, which evinced their cordial attachment to 
 the freemen and freedom of the United States. With a 
 mind constituted, as Mr Jefi*erson's was, it is not wonder- 
 ful that the attentions which were showered upon him, 
 the science of their literary men, the warmth of their 
 general philanthropy, and the devotedness of their select 
 friendships, made an impression upon him, which he 
 carried in all its freshness to his grave. 
 
 On the retirement of Dr Franklin from the diplomatic 
 field, the duties of the joint commission for forming com- 
 mercial treaties in Europe, devolved on Mr Jefferson and 
 Mr Adams ; and their separate stations added to their 
 insuperable repugnance to pressing the subject upon the 
 European governments, had almost extinguished the idea 
 of farther operations. But in February, 1786, Mr .lef- 
 ferson received, by express, a letter from his colleague in 
 London, urging his immediate attendance at that court, 
 stating as a reason, that he thought he discovered there 
 some symptoms of a more favorable disposition towards 
 the United States. Col. Smith, his secretary of legation, 
 was the bearer of Mr Adams' letters. Accordingly, Mr 
 Jefferson left Paris on the 1st of March, for the purpose 
 of co-operating with Mr Adams in a second attempt to 
 negotiate a treaty of commerce with Great Britain 
 
220 LIFE OP 
 
 On his arrival in London, the two ministers met, and 
 agreed on a very summary and Uberal form of treaty to 
 be offered, proposing in direct terms a mutual exchange 
 of citizenship, of ships, and of productions generally. 
 
 The reader will be amused with Mr Jefferson's ac- 
 count of the magnanimous reception of their proposition, 
 and of the final result of his trip to the dignified court 
 of St James. 
 
 * On my presentation, as usual, to the king and queen, 
 at their levees, it was impossible for any thing to be more 
 ungracious, than their notice of Mr Adams and myself. 
 I saw at once, that the ulcerations of mind in that quar- 
 ter, left nothing to be expected on the subject of my at- 
 tendance ; and, on the first conference with the Marquis 
 of Csermarthen, the minister for foreign affairs, the dis- 
 tance and disinclination which he betrayed in his con- 
 versation, the vagueness and evasions of his answers to 
 us, confirmed me in the belief of their aversion to have 
 any thing to do with us. We delivered him, however, 
 our projet, Mr Adams not despairing as much as I did, of 
 its effect. We afterwards, by one or more notes, re- 
 quested his appointment of an interview and conference, 
 which, without directly declining, he evaded, by pretence 
 of other pressing occupations for the moment. After 
 staying there seven weeks, till within a few days of the 
 expiration of our commission, I informed the minister, 
 by note, that my duties at Paris required my return to 
 that place, and that I should, with pleasure, be the bear- 
 er of any commands to his ambassador there. He 
 answered, that he had none, and wishing me a pleasant 
 journey, I left London the 26th, and arrived at Paris the 
 30th of April.' 
 
 Mr Jefferson's duties, while minister plenipotentiary 
 at Paris, were principally confined to the subject of our 
 commercial relations with that country ; in which he ef- 
 fected many important modifications, highly advanta- 
 geous to the United States. He succeeded in procuring 
 the receipt of our whale oils, salted fish, and salted meats, 
 on favorable terms ; the admission of our rice on equal 
 
THOMAS JEFFERSON. 221 
 
 terms with that of Piedmont, Egypt, and the Levant ; a 
 suppression of the duties on our Avheat, flour, furs, &c ; 
 the suppression of the monopoly for making and selUng 
 spermaceti candles ; the naturalization of our ships ; a 
 mitigation of the monopoly of our tobacco trade by the 
 farmers-general of France ; a reduction of the duties on 
 our tar, pitch, and turpentine ; and the free admission of 
 our productions generally, into their West India islands. 
 In exchange, the United States received, by direct trade, 
 the wines, brandies, oils, and productions and manufac- 
 tures generally, of France. These objects were not ac- 
 complished, however, without a series of difiicult and la- 
 borious negotiations, aided by the mutual good temper 
 and dispositions of both parties, and by the mediation of 
 a powerful auxiUary and friend at that court, whose ar- 
 duous and disinterested services in the cause of America 
 can never be forgotten. 
 
 'On these occasions,' says he, 'I was powerfully aided 
 by all the influence and the energies of the Marquis de 
 la Fayette, who proved himself equally zealous for the 
 friendship and welfare of both nations ; and, in justice, 
 I must also say, that I found the government entirely dis- 
 posed to befriend us on all occasions, and to yield us 
 every indulgence, not absolutely injurious to themselves. 
 The Count de Vergennes had the reputation with the di- 
 plomatic corps, of being wary and shppery in his diplo- 
 matic intercourse ; and so he might be, with those whom 
 he knew to be slippery, and double faced themselves. 
 As he saw that I had no indirect views, practised no sub- 
 tilties, meddled in no intrigues, pursued no concealed ob- 
 ject, I found him as frank, as honorable, as easy of ac- 
 cess to reason, as any man with whom 1 had ever done 
 business ; and I must say the same for his successor, 
 Montmorin, one of the most honest and worthy of hu- 
 man beings.' 
 
 Our commerce in the Mediterranean having, at this 
 time, been suddenly placed under alarm, by the capture 
 of two of our vessels and crews by the Barbary cruisers, 
 
222 LIFE OF 
 
 Mr Jefferson projected a coalition of the principal Euro- 
 pean powers subject to their habitual depredations, to 
 compel the piratical States to perpetual peace, and to 
 guaranty that peace to each other. He was earlj and 
 resolutely determined, so far as his opinions could have 
 weight, that the United States should never acquiesce in 
 the 'European humiliation,' as he termed it, of purchas- 
 ing their peace of those lawless pirates. 'Millions for 
 defence, but not a cent for tribute,' was his celebrated 
 motto. The following is a statement of his reasons for 
 tliis policy, addressed to Mr Adams, soon after returning 
 to Paris, with a view to obtain his poncurrence in the 
 proposition. 
 
 • ' 1. Justice is in favor of this opinion. 2. Honor fa- 
 vors it. 3. It will procure us respect in Europe; and 
 respect is a safeguard to interest. 4. It will arm the 
 federal head, with the safest of all the instruments of 
 coercion over its delinquent members, and prevent it 
 from using what would be less safe. I think, that so 
 far you go with me. But in the next steps we shall dif- 
 fer. 5. I think it least expensive. 6. Equally effec- 
 tual. I ask a fleet of one hundred and fifty guns, the 
 one half of which shall be in constant cruise. This 
 fleet, built, manned, and victualled for six months, will 
 cost four hundred and fifty thousand pounds sterling. 
 Its annual expense will be three hundred pounds sterling 
 a gun, inckiding every thing : this will be forty-five 
 thousand pounds sterling a year. I take British ex- 
 perience for the basis of my calculation : though we 
 know, from our own experience, that we can do in this 
 way for pounds lawful, what costs them pounds sterling. 
 Were we to charge all this to the Algerine war, it would 
 amount to little more than we must pay if we buy peace. 
 But as it is proper and necessary, that we should estab- 
 lish a small marine force, (even were we to buy a peace 
 from the Algerines) and as that force, laid up in our 
 dock-yard, would cost half as much annually as if kept 
 in order for service, we have a right to say, that only 
 twenty-two thousand and five hundred pounds sterling, 
 per annum, should be charged to the Algerine war. 7. 
 
THOMAS JEFFERSON. 223 
 
 It will be as effectual. To all the mismanagements of 
 Spain and Portugal, urged to show that war against 
 those people is ineffectual, I urge a single fact to prove 
 the contrary, where there is any management. About 
 forty years ago, the Algerines having broke their treaty 
 with France, this court sent Monsieur de Massiac, with 
 one large and two small frigates : he blockaded the 
 harbor of Algiers three months, and they subscribed to 
 the terms he proposed. If it be admitted, however, that 
 war, on tlie fairest prospects, is still exposed to uncer- 
 tainties, I weigh against this the greater uncertainty of 
 the duration of a peace bought with money, from such 
 a people, from a Dey eighty years old, and by a nation 
 who, on the hypothesis of buying peace, is to have no 
 power on the sea to enforce an observance of it. 
 
 ' So far I have gone on the supposition, that the 
 whole weight of this war w^ould rest on us. But 1. 
 Naples will join us. The character of their naval mini- 
 ster (Acton,) his known sentiments with respect to the 
 peace Spain is officially trying to make for them, and 
 his dispositions against the Algerines, give the best 
 grounds to believe it. 2. Every principle of reason as- 
 sures us, that Portugal will join us. I state this as 
 taking for granted, what all seem to believe, that they 
 will not be at peace with Algiers. I suppose, tl»3n, that 
 a convention might be formed between Portugal, Naples, 
 and the United States, by which the burden of the war 
 might be shared with tliern, according to their respective 
 wealth ; and the term of it should be, when Algiers 
 should, subscribe to a peace with all three on equal 
 terms. This might be left open for other nations to 
 accede to ; and many, if not most of the powers of 
 Europe (except France, England, Holland, and Spain, 
 if her peace be made) would sooner or later enter into 
 the confederacy, for the sake of having their peace with 
 the piratical States guarantied by the whole. I suppose, 
 that, in this case, our proportion of force would not be 
 the half of what I first calculated on.' 
 
 Presuming on Mr Adams' concurrence, and without 
 waiting his answer, Mr Jefferson immediately draughted 
 and proposed to the diplomatic corps at Paris, for con- 
 
224 LIFE OF 
 
 sultation with their respective governments, articles of 
 special confederation and alliance against the Barbary 
 powers; the substance of which was that the parties 
 should become mutually bound to compel these powers 
 to perpetuate peace, without price, and to guaranty 
 that peace to each other, the burden of the war to be 
 equitably apportioned among them. 
 
 The proposition was received with applause by Por- 
 tugal, Naples, the two Sicilies, Venice, Malta, Den- 
 mark, and Sweden. Spain had just concluded a treaty 
 with Algiers, at the expense of three millions of dollars, 
 and was indisposed to relinquish the benefit of her en- 
 gagement, until a first infraction by the other party, 
 when she was ready to join. Mr Jefferson had pre- 
 viously sounded the dispositions of the Count de Vergen- 
 nes ; and although France was at peace, by a mercenary 
 tenure, with the Barbary States, and fears were enter- 
 tained that she would secretly give them her aid, he did 
 not think it proper, in his conference with that minister, 
 to insinuate a doubt of the fair conduct of his govern- 
 ment ; but on stating to him the proposition, he men- 
 tioned that apprehensions were felt .that England would 
 interfere in behalf of the piratical powers. ' She dares 
 not do it,' was his reply. Mr Jefferson pressed the 
 point no farther. The other ministers were satisfied 
 with this indication of the sentiments of France, and 
 nothing was now wanting to bring the measure into di- 
 rect consideration, but the assent of the United States, 
 and their authority to make the formal stipulation. 
 
 Mr Jefferson communicated to Congress the favorable 
 prospect of protecting their commerce from the Bar- 
 bary depredations, and for such a term of time, as by 
 an exclusion of them from the sea, would change their 
 characters from a predatory to an agricultural people ; 
 towards which, however, should the measure be ap- 
 proved, it was expected they would contribute a frigate, 
 and its expenses, for constant cruise. But the United 
 
THOMAS JEFFERSON. 225 
 
 States were in no condition to unite in such an under- 
 taking. The powers of Congress over the people for 
 obtaining contributions, being merely recommendatory, 
 and openly disregarded by the States, they declined en- 
 tering into an engagement, which they were conscious 
 they could not fulfil with punctuality. The association 
 consequ-ently fell through ; but the principle has ever 
 since governed in the American councils. 
 
 The remaining public objects of importance, which 
 engaged his attention, were : 1st, The settlement of the 
 financial concerns with our bankers in France and Hol- 
 land, which were in a most critical and embarrassing 
 state. Owing to the partial suspension in the action of 
 our government, while passing from the confederation 
 to the constitutional form, the credit of the nation stood, 
 at one time, on the verge of bankruptcy. Seeing there 
 was not a moment to lose, Mr Jefferson went directly 
 to Holland, joined Mr Adams at the Hague, where, 
 without instructions and at their own risk, they executed 
 bonds for a million of florins and pledged the credit of 
 the United States in security for three years to come ; 
 by which time they thought the new government would 
 get fairly under way. 2d, The conclusion of a consular 
 convention with France, based upon republican princi- 
 ples. 3d, The restoration of certain prizes taken from 
 the British during the war, recaptured by Denmark, and 
 delivered up to the British. He instituted measures to 
 Recover indemnification from Denmark; but the nego- 
 tiation, by unavoidable circumstances, was spun out be- 
 yond the term of his ministry. 4th, The redemption of 
 American citizens taken captive by the Algerines ; and 
 the formation of treaties with the Barbary States. The 
 inability of the United States to supply him with the ne- 
 cessary funds, prevented the redemption of the Algerine 
 captives, until after his return from France ; and the 
 only treaty which he succeeded in concluding with the 
 20 
 
226 
 
 LIFE OF 
 
 Barbarv States, was that with the government of Mo- 
 rocco. 
 
 It will be interesting to the American reader, to know 
 how the general appearance of things in Europe struck 
 the republican mind of Mr Jefferson. His private let- 
 ters, while in Paris, addressed to his friends in America, 
 comprise the most nervous, and in some respects, the 
 most valuable portions of his voluminous correspondence. 
 His views of the state of society and manners in Eu- 
 rope, his comparison of its governments, laws, and in- •• 
 stitutions, with those of republican America, and his 
 unremitting exhortations to his countrymen to preserve 
 themselves and the blessings they enjoy free from con- 
 tamination with the people and principles of the old 
 world, are among the most valuable and interesting lega- 
 cies which he has bequeathed to his country. 
 
 Soon after the restoration of peace, the incompetency 
 of the confederation to sustain the republican structure, 
 was so alarmingly felt, that even those who had been 
 most ardent in its establishment apostatized in great 
 numbers, to the principles of monarchical government, 
 as the only refuge of political safety. 
 
 The causes of this deflection in political opinion are 
 inherent in the constitution of man ; but powerful ex- 
 ternal reasons co-operated, at this period, to stimulate 
 and force it on. The people had come out of the war 
 of the revolution, oppressed with the debts of the union, 
 with the debts of the individual States, and with their 
 own private debts ; and they were utterly unable to dis- 
 charge any, from the best of all causes, the want of 
 pecuniary means. The inability of Congress, from the 
 want of coercive powers, to cancel the public obliga- 
 tions, destroyed the public credit ; and the application 
 of judgment and execution, in the case of private debts, 
 served only to increase the general distress. The in- 
 terruption of their commerce with Great Britain, and 
 the deficiency, as yet, of other markets for their produc- 
 
THOMAS JEFFERSON. 227 
 
 tions, operated with peculiar severity upon the eastern 
 States ; and the neglect of a suitable relaxation of the 
 judiciary arm in those governments, brought on disas- 
 trous consequences. Under the pressure of this general 
 distress, the popular discontent broke out into acts of 
 violence, and flagrant insubordination. Tumultuary 
 meetings were held in New-Hampshire and Connecti- 
 cut ; and in Massachusetts a formidable insurrection 
 arose, which menaced the very foundations of the gov- 
 ernment. 
 
 These disturbances and commotions occasioned a 
 general alarm throughout the union. They excited a 
 sensible distrust of the principles of our government 
 among its most sanguine votaries; while, with its ene- 
 mies, the intelligence of such events was greeted 
 with exultation, as affording a happy augury of the 
 downfall of the republic. Now it was that those theo- 
 retic ideas of public virtue, on which the beautiful 
 edifice of liberty was erected, began to be scouted as 
 chimerical. The people were distrusted, and terror was 
 considered the only competent motive of restraint, and 
 engine of subordination. 
 
 Mr Jefferson was distant from his country, at this 
 disheartening juncture ; but his eye watched over her, 
 and the voice of his counsels was heard and felt. His 
 confidence in the soundness of the republican theory, 
 underwent no change from those occasional eccentrici- 
 ties in practice which are inseparable from all human 
 institutions, and which were chargeable, in the present 
 case, to the pressure of the times, and the weakness of 
 the confederation, rather than to any inherent principle 
 of disorganization. His reliance upon the good sense 
 of the people to rectify abuses in a proper manner, was 
 so strong, that he deemed an occasional rebellion a de- 
 sirable event, inasmuch as it afforded the best evidence 
 that this sense was active and vigorous ; to enlighten it, 
 then, was the only thing necessary to ensure a favorable 
 
228 LIFE OP 
 
 result. Indeed, his conviction of the capacity of man- 
 kind to govern themselves, was confirmed by the intel- 
 ligence of these irregular proofs of their dissatisfaction 
 under the present circumstances ; and he took care to 
 impress this opinion upon his numerous correspondents 
 in America, on every occasion, and in the most emphatic 
 terms. An acquaintance with his private correspondence 
 at this period, would afford satisfaction to the lovers of 
 human nature and of human rights.^ 
 
 To Col. E. Carrington. — ' I am persuaded myself, 
 that the good sense of the people will always be found 
 to be the best army. They may be led astray for a 
 moment, but will soon correct themselves. The people 
 are the only censors of their governors ; and even their 
 errors will tend to keep these to the true principles of 
 their institutions. To punish such errors too severely, 
 would be to suppress the only safeguard of the public 
 liberty. The way to prevent these irregular interposi- 
 tions of the people, is to give them full information of 
 their aifairs, through the channel of the public papers, 
 and to contrive that those papers should penetrate the 
 whole mass of the people. The basis of our govern- 
 ment being the opinion of the people, the very first 
 object should be to keep that right ; and were it left to 
 me to decide, whether we should have a government 
 without newspapers, or newspapers without a govern- 
 ment, I should not hesitate a moment to prefer the lat- 
 ter. But I would insist, that every man should receive 
 those papers, and be capable of reading them. I am 
 convinced that those societies, (as the Indians) which 
 live without government, enjoy in their general mass an 
 infinitely greater degree of happiness, than those who 
 live under the European governments. Among the for- 
 mer, public opinion is in the place of law, and restrains 
 morals as powerfully as laws ever did any where. 
 Among the latter, under pretence of governing, they 
 have divided their nation into two classes, wolves and 
 sheep. I do not exaggerate. This is the true picture 
 of Europe. Cherish, therefore, the spirit of our peo- 
 ple, and keep alive their attention. Do not be too se- 
 
THOMAS JEFFERSON. 229 
 
 vere upon their errors, but reclaim them by enlightening 
 them. If once they become inattentive to the pub- 
 lic affairs, you, and I, and Congress, and assemblies, 
 judges and governors, shall all become wolves. It 
 seems to be the law of our general nature, in spite of 
 individual exceptions: and experience declares, that man 
 is the only *animal which devours his own kind ; fori 
 can apply no milder term to the governments of Europe, 
 and to the general prey of the rich on the poor.' 
 
 To James Madison. — 'I am impatient to learn your 
 sentiments on the late troubles in the eastern States. So 
 far as I have yet seen, they do not appear to threaten 
 serious consequences. Those States have suffered by 
 the stoppage of the channels of their commerce, which 
 have not yet found other issues. This must render mo- 
 ney scarce, and make the people uneasy. This uneasi- 
 ness has produced acts absolutely unjustifiable : but I 
 hope they will provoke no severities from their govern- 
 ments. A consciousness of those in power, that their 
 administration of the public affairs has been honest, mayj 
 perhaps, produce too great a degree of indignation : and 
 those characters wherein fear predominates over hope, 
 may apprehend too much from these instances of irreg- 
 ularity. They may conclude too hastily, that nature has 
 formed man insusceptible of any other government than 
 that of force, a conclusion not founded in truth nor ex- 
 perience. Societies exist under three forms, sufficiently 
 distinguishable. 1. Without government, as among our 
 Indians. 2 Under governments, wherein the will of ev- 
 ery one has a just influence ; as is the case in England, 
 in a slight degree, and in our States, in a great one. 3. 
 Under governments of force ; as is the case in all other 
 monarchies, and in most of the other republics. To 
 have an idea of the curse of existence under these last, 
 they must be seen. It is a government of wolves over 
 sheep. It is a problem, not clear in my mind, that the 
 first condition is not the best. But I believe it to be in- 
 consistent with any great degree of population. The 
 second state has a great deal of good in it. The mass 
 of mankind under that, enjoys a precious degree of lib- 
 erty and happiness. It has its evils too ; the principal 
 of which is the turbulence to which it is subject. But 
 
 20^ 
 
230 LIFE OF 
 
 weigh this against the oppressions of monarchy, and it 
 becomes nothing. Malo periculosam libertatem quam 
 quietam servitutem. Even this evil is productive of good. 
 It prevents the degeneracy of government, and nourish- 
 es a general attention to the public affairs. I hold it, 
 that a little rebellion now and then is a good thing, and 
 as necessary in the political world, as storms in the phy- 
 sical. Unsuccessful rebellions, indeed, generally estab- 
 lish the encroachments on the rights of the people, which 
 have produced them. An observation of this truth should 
 render honest republican governors so mild in their pun- 
 ishment of rebellions, as not to discourage them too 
 much. It is a medicine necessary for the sound health 
 of government.' 
 
 To David Hartley, of England. — ' The most inter- 
 esting intelligence from America, is that respecting the 
 late insurrection in Massachusetts. The cause of this 
 has not been developed to me to my perfect satisfaction. 
 The most probable is, that those individuals were of the 
 imprudent number of those who have involved them- 
 selves in debt beyond their abilities to pay, and that a 
 vigorous effort in that government to compel the pay- 
 ment of private debts, and raise money for public ones, 
 produced the resistance. I believe you may be assured, 
 that an idea or desire of returning to any thing like their 
 ancient government, never entered into their heads. I 
 am not discouraged by this. For thus I calculate. An 
 insurrection in one of thirteen States, in the course of 
 eleven years that they have subsisted, amounts to one 
 in any particular State, in one hundred and forty-three 
 years, say a century and a half. This would not be 
 near as many as have happened in every other govern- 
 ment that has ever existed. So that we shall have the 
 difference between a light and a heavy government as 
 clear gain. I have no fear, but that the result of our 
 experiment will be, that men may be trusted to govern 
 themselves without a master.' 
 
 To Col. Smith. — ' Wonderful is the effect of impu- 
 dent and persevering lying. The British ministry have 
 so long hired their gazetteers to repeat, and model into 
 every form, lies about our being in anarchy, that the 
 
THOMAS JEFFERSON. 231 
 
 world has at length believed them, the English nation 
 has believed them, the ministers themselves have come 
 to believe them, and what is more wonderful, we have 
 believed them ourselves. Yet where does this anarchy- 
 exist ? Where did it ever exist, except in the single in- 
 stance of Massachusetts ? And can history produce 
 an instance of rebellion so honorably conducted ? I say 
 nothing of its motives. They were founded in ignor- 
 ance, not wickedness. God forbid, we should ever be 
 twenty years without such a rebellion. The people 
 cannot be all, and always, well informed. The part 
 which is wrong will be discontented, in proportion to the 
 importance of the facts they misconceive. If they re- 
 main quiet under such misconceptions, it is a lethargy, 
 the forerunner of death to the public liberty. We have 
 had thirteen States independent for eleven years. There 
 has been one rebellion. That comes to one rebellion in 
 a century and a half for each State. What country be- 
 fore ever existed a century and a half without a rebel- 
 lion ? And what country can preserve its liberties, if 
 its rulers are not warjied from time to time, that the 
 people preserve the spirit of resistance ? Let them take 
 arms. The remedy is to set them right as to facts, par- 
 don, and pacify them. What signify a few lives lost in 
 a century or two 1 The tree of liberty must be refresh- 
 ed from time to time with the blood of patriots and ty- 
 rants. It is its natural manure.' 
 
 Such is a specimen of the philosophy which Mr Jef- 
 ferson poured into the breasts of the public characters 
 of America, at this important juncture. His opinions 
 were received with respect by all those with whom he 
 had acted on the theatre of the revolution ; and his ear- 
 nest and unremitting counsels had a powerful influence 
 in checking the anti-republican tendencies which had 
 already risen up. In a short time, the deluge of evils 
 which overflowed the country, was traced to its original 
 source ; and no sooner was the happy discovery made, 
 than the virtue and good sense of the people, in verifi- 
 cation of his repeated auguries, nobly interposed, and 
 instead of seeking relief in rebellion and civil war, as- 
 
232 LIFE OP 
 
 sembled their wise men together to apply a rational and 
 peaceable remedy. 
 
 The first grand movement towards re-organizing the 
 government of the United States, upon the basis of the 
 present constitution, was made in the general assembly 
 of Virginia, on motion of Mr Madison. The proposi- 
 tion merely contemplated an amendment of the con- 
 federation, which should confer on Congress the abso- 
 lute and exclusive power over the regulation of com- 
 merce ; and resulted in the convocation of a conven- 
 tion for that purpose, to meet at Annapolis, in Sep- 
 tember, 1786. The commercial convention failed in 
 point of representation ; but it laid the foundation for 
 the call of a grand national convention, with powers to 
 revise the entire system of government, to meet at 
 Philadelphia the ensuing year. 
 
 The opinions of Mr JeiFerson had an undoubted in- 
 fluence in these important proceedings in America. In 
 all his dispatches to the government, and in his private 
 letters to the leading political men, he had reiterated 
 the necessity^of fundamental reformations in the federal 
 compact. The defect which he most deplored was the 
 absence of a uniform power to regulate our commercial 
 intercour3e with foreign nations. This disability was 
 the incessant theme of his complaints. It was the pri- 
 mary source he declared, of those irregularities and em- 
 barrassments which continually obstructed his negotia- 
 tions with the European nations. Those powers who 
 were disposed to treat, would never do it, so long as the 
 government had no authority to protect them, by treaty, 
 from the navigation acts of the particular States ; and 
 those who were indisposed to treat, would forever remain 
 so for the same reason; whilst all would exercise the 
 right to retaliate on the union, the restrictions imposed 
 on their commerce by the laws of any one individual 
 State. He maintained a constant correspondence on 
 these points with Washington, Wythe, Monroe, Lang- 
 
THOMAS JEFFERSON. 233 
 
 don, Gerry, and particularly his friend Madison. The 
 intelligence of the first movements in America, towards 
 a reformation of the national compact, filled him with 
 the liveliest gratification, as is evinced by his letters of 
 that date. A single specimen will sufiSce to show the 
 general tenor of his correspondence on this subject. 
 
 To James Madison. — ' I have heard, with great 
 pleasure, that our assembly have come to the resolution, 
 of giving the regulation of their commerce to the federal 
 head. I will venture to assert, that there is not one of 
 its opposers, who, placed on this ground, would not see 
 the wisdom of the measure. The politics of Europe 
 render it indispensably necessary, that, with respect to 
 every thing external, we be one nation only, firmly 
 hooped together. Interior government is what each 
 State should keep to itself. If it were seen in Europe, 
 that all our States could be brought to concur in what 
 the Virginia assembly has done, it would produce a total 
 revolution in their opinion of us, and they would respect 
 us. And it should ever be held in mind, that insult and 
 war are the consequences of a want of respectability in 
 the national character. As long as the States exercise,, 
 separately, those acts of power Avhich respect foreign 
 nations, so long will there continue to be irregularities 
 committed by some one or other of them, which will 
 constantly keep us on an ill footing with foreign na.-' 
 tions.' 
 
 The national convention, appointed to digest a new 
 constitution of government, assembled at Philadelphia 
 on the 25th of May, 1787. Delegates attended from 
 all the States, except Rhode-Island, who refused to 
 appoint any. George Washington was unanimously 
 chosen to preside over their deliberations. They sat 
 with closed doors, and passed an injunction of entire 
 secrecy on their proceedings. This was an erroneous 
 beginning, in the opinion of Mr Jefterson, who viewed 
 every encroachment upon the freedom of speech with 
 extreme jealousy. ' I am sorry,' he writes to Mr Adams, 
 * they began their deliberations b^ so abominable a pre- 
 
^34 LIFE OP 
 
 cedent, as that of tyins;' "P the tongnies of their members. 
 INothing can justity tliis evanipU', but the innocence of 
 their intentions, and ignorance of the vahie of public 
 discussions. 1 have no doubt that all their otlier mea- 
 sures wdl he o-ood and wise. It is really an assembly of 
 denii-oods.' 
 
 During the deliberations and discussions of this assem- 
 bly, those fearful anti-republican heresies which had 
 spruni!: "P dnrinji: the short interval of peace, deveK>ped 
 themselves in a nunc taut^ibie ami ilecided form. A' ari- 
 OUs propositions were submitted to the convention, some 
 of which were dangerous approximations to monarchy. 
 One of these, proposed by Alexander Hamilton, was in 
 fact a com]>iomise between the two principles of royal- 
 ism anil republicanism. According to this plan, the ex- 
 ecutive, and one branch of the legislature were to continue 
 in otfice during gotnl behavior; and the governors of 
 the States were to be named by tliese two permanent 
 organs. The proposition, however, was rejected. 
 
 Altlunigh a stranger to these transactions, Mr Jeffer- 
 son could not contemplate the idea of such a conven- 
 tion without great anxiety. His counsels were eagerly 
 solicited by Madison, M ythe and others, from time to 
 time, during the progress of the convention, and he com- 
 municated to them his opinions, with modesty and frank- 
 ness. It is very evident from the tenor of some of his 
 answers, that he had received hints of the monarchical 
 dispositions which characterized a portion of the as- 
 sembly. His fears were so strong from this direc- 
 tion, that he loaned heavily the other way, in stating his 
 opinions of the necessary reformations. 
 
 To Mr Madison. — * The idea of separating the ex- 
 ecutive business of the confederacy froni Congress, as 
 the jmliciary is already, in some degree, is just and ne- 
 cessary. 1 had freiptently pressed oii the members in- 
 dividually, while in Congress, the doing this by a reso- 
 lution of Congress for appointing an executive com- 
 
THOMAS JEFFERSON. 235 
 
 mittee, to act during the sessions of Congress, as the 
 committee of the States was to act during their vaca- 
 tions. But the referring to this committee all executive 
 business, as it should present itself, would require a 
 more persevering self-denial than I suppose Congress to 
 possess. It would be much better to make that separa- 
 tion by a federal act. The negative proposed to be 
 given them on all the acts of the several legislatures, is 
 now, for the first time, suggested to my mind. Prima 
 facie, I do not like it. It fails in an essential charac- 
 ter ; that the hole and the patch should be commen- 
 surate. But this proposes to mend a small hole, by 
 covering the whole garment. Not more than one out of 
 one hundred State acts, concern the confederacy. This 
 proposition, then, in order to give them one degree of 
 power, which they ought to have, gives them ninety-nine 
 more, which they ought not to have, upon a presump- 
 tion that they will not exercise the ninety-nine.' 
 
 To E. Carrington. — ' I confess, I do not go as far 
 in the reforms thought necessary, as some of my cor- 
 respondents in America ; but if the convention should 
 adopt such propositions, I shall suppose them necessary. 
 My general plan would be, to make the States one, as 
 to every thing connected with foreign nations, and seve- 
 ral as to every thing purely domestic. But with all the 
 imperfections of our present government, it is, without 
 comparison, the best existing, or that ever did exist. 
 Its greatest defect is the imperfect manner in which 
 matters of commerce have been provided for.' 
 
 To Mr Hawkins. — ' I look up with you to the federal 
 convention, for an amendment of our federal affairs. 
 Yet I do not view them in so disadvantageous a light at 
 present, as some do. And above all things, I am aston- 
 ished at some people's considering a kingly government 
 as a refuge. Advise such to read the fable of the frogs, 
 who solicited Jupiter for a king. If that does not put 
 them to rights, send them to Europe, to see something 
 of the trappings of monarchy, and I will undertake, 
 that every man shall go back thoroughly cured. If all 
 the evils which can arise among us, from the republican 
 
236 LIFE OF 
 
 form of government, from tbis day to the day of judg- 
 ment, could be put into a scale against what this coun- 
 try suffers from its monarchical form, in a week, or 
 England in a month, the latter would preponderate. 
 Consider the contents of the Red book in England, or 
 the Almanac Royale of France, and say what a people 
 gain by monarchy. No race of kings has ever pre- 
 sented above one man of common sense, in twenty gene- 
 rations. The best they can do is, to leave things to 
 their ministers ; and what are their ministers, but a 
 committee badly chosen 1 If the king ever meddles, it 
 is to do harm.' 
 
 To J. Jones. — ' I am anxious to hear what our fede- 
 ral convention recommends, and what the States will 
 do in consequence of their recommendation. * * * 
 With all the defects of our constitution, whether general 
 or particular, the comparison of our governments with 
 those of Europe, is like a comparison of heaven and 
 hell. England, like the earth, may be allowed to take 
 the intermediate station. And yet I hear there are 
 people among you, who think the experience of our 
 governments has already proved, that republican govern- 
 ments will not answer. Send those gentry here, to 
 count the blessings of monarchy. A king's sister, for 
 instance, stopped in the road, and on a hostile journey, 
 is sufficient cause for him to march immediately twenty 
 thousand men to revenge the insult.' 
 
 To G. Wythe. — ' You ask me in your letter what, 
 ameliorations I think necessary in our federal constitu- 
 tion. It is now too late to answer the question, and it 
 would have always been presumption in me to' have done 
 it. Your own ideas, and those of the great characters 
 who were to be concerned with you in these discussions, 
 will give the law, as they ought to do, to us all. My 
 own general idea was, that the States should severally 
 preserve their sovereignty in whatever concerns them- 
 selves alone ; and that whatever may concern another 
 State, or any foreign nation, should be made a part of 
 the federal sovereignty ; that the exercise of the federal 
 sovereignty should be divided among three several 
 
THOMAS JEFFERSON. 
 
 237 
 
 bodies, legislative, executive, and judiciary, as the State 
 sovereignties are ; and that some peaceable means should 
 be contrived, for the federal head to force compliance 
 on the part of the States.' 
 
 To General Washington — ' I remain in hopes of 
 great and good effects from the decision of the assembly 
 over which you are presiding. To make our States 
 one, as to all foreign concerns, preserve them several as 
 to all merely domestic, to give to the federal head some 
 peaceable mode of enforcing its just authority, to or- 
 ganize that head into legislative, executive, and judi- 
 ciary departments, are great desiderata in our federal 
 constitution. Yet with all its defects, and with all those 
 of our particular governments, the inconveniences re- 
 sulting from them are so light, in comparison with those 
 existing in every other government on earth, that our 
 citizens may certainly be considered as in the happiest 
 political situation which exists.' 
 
 On the 17th of September, '87, the national conven- 
 tion dissolved, and submitted the result of their labors 
 to the world. The instrument was not without its de- 
 fects ; and as these were all on the side of power, and 
 too palpable not to be detected by an intelligent peo- 
 ple, it excited among the more jealous partisans of li- 
 berty, such a tempest of opposition as •rendered its ac- 
 ceptance by the nation extremely problematical. It was 
 taken up by special conventions in the several States, in 
 the years '87 and '88. The contest raged most severely 
 in Virginia, New York, Massachusetts, and New Hamp- 
 shire. In these States, the public discussions were vehe- 
 ment and agitating; but the question was finally carried 
 in favor of ratification, by small majorities, in all of them. 
 In Georgia, New Jersey, and Delaware, the constitution 
 was ratified without opposition; and by considerable 
 majorities, in Pennsylvania, Connecticut, Maryland, 
 and South Carolina. North Carolina would only ac- 
 cept it upon the condition of previous amendments. 
 Rhode Island declined calling a convention, and did not 
 
 21 
 
238 LIFE OF 
 
 accede to the union until May, 1790. Six States rati- 
 fied without quahfication, and seven with the recom- 
 mendation of certain specified amendments. 
 
 Mr Jefierson received a copy of the new constitution 
 early in November, '87. He read and contemplated its 
 provisions with great satisfaction, though not without 
 serious apprehensions from some of its features. His 
 principal objections were, to the omission of a declaration 
 of rights ensuring freedom of religion, freedom of the 
 press, freedom of the person under the uninterrupted pro- 
 tection of the habeas corpus^ and the trial by jury in civil as 
 well as criminal cases ; and to the perpetual re-eligibility 
 of the president. His opinions were immediately con- 
 sulted by his political friends in the United States, and 
 he communicated to them his approbations and objec- 
 tions, without reserve. They are found stated at length, 
 and in a most interesting manner, in a letter to Mr 
 Madison, dated Paris, December 20th, 1787. 
 
 ' I like much the general idea of framing a government^ 
 which should go on of itself peaceably, without needing 
 continual recurrence to the State legislatures. I like 
 the organization of the government into legislative, judi- 
 ciary, and executive. I like the power given the legis- 
 lature to levy faxes, and for that reason solely, I ap- 
 prove of the greater house being chosen by the people 
 directly. For though I think a house, so chosen, will 
 be very far inferior to the present Congress, will be 
 very illy qualified to legislate for the union, for foreign 
 nations, &c ; yet this evil does not weigh against the 
 good of preserving inviolate the fundamental principle, 
 that the people are not to be taxed but by representa- 
 tives chosen immediately by themselves. I am captiva- 
 ted by the compromise of the opposite claims of the 
 great and little States, of the latter to equal, and the 
 former to proportionail influence. I am much pleased, 
 too, with the substitution of the method of voting by 
 persons, instead of that of voting by States ; and I like 
 the negative given to the executive, conjointly with a 
 third of either house ; though I should have liked it 
 
TllOMAS JEFFERSON. . 239 
 
 better, had the judiciary been associated for that pur- 
 pose, or invested separately with a similar power. 
 There are other good things of less moment. 
 
 * I will now tell you what I do not like.' First, the 
 omission of a bill of rights, providing clearly, and with- 
 out the aid of sophism, for freedom of religion, freedom 
 of the press, protection against standing armies, restric- 
 tion of monopolies, the eternal and unremitting force 
 of the habeas corpus laws, and trials by jury in all mat- 
 ters of fact triable by the laws of the land, and not by 
 the laws of nations. To say, as Mr Wilson does, that 
 a bill of rights was not necessary, because all is re- 
 served in the case of the general government, which 
 is not given, while in the particular ones, all is given 
 which is not reserved, might do for the audience to 
 which it was addressed ; but it is surely a gratis dictum^ 
 the reverse of which might just as well be said; and it 
 is opposed by strong inferences from the body of the 
 instrument, as well as from the omission of the clause 
 of our present confederation, which had made the re- 
 servation in express terms. It was hard to conclude, 
 because there had been a want of uniformity among 
 the States as to the cases triable by jury, because some 
 have been so incautious as to dispense with this mode 
 of trial in certain cases, therefore the more prudent 
 States shall be reduced to the same level of calamity. 
 It w^ould have been much more just and wise to have 
 concluded the other way, that as most of the States had 
 preserved, with jealousy, this sacred palladium of liberty, 
 those who had wandered, should be brought back to 
 it : and to have established general right, rather than 
 general wrong. For I consider all the ill as establish- 
 ed, which may be established. I have aright to no- 
 thing, which another has a right to take away; and 
 Congress will have a right to take away trials by jury 
 in all civil cases. Let me add, that a bill of rights is 
 what the people are entitled to against every govern- 
 ment on earth, general' or particular ; and what no just 
 government should refuse, or rest on inference. 
 
 'The second feature I dislike, and strongly dislike, 
 is the abandonment, in every instance, of the principle 
 of rotation in office, and most particularly in the case of 
 
240 LIFE OF 
 
 the president. Reason and experience tell us, that the 
 first magistrate will always be re-elected if he may be 
 re-elected. He is then an officer for life. This once 
 observed, it becomes of so much consequence to cer- 
 tain nations, to have a friend or a foe at the head of 
 our affairs, that they will interfere with money and with 
 arms. A Galloman, or an Angloman, will be supported 
 by the nation he befriends. If once elected, and at a 
 second or third election outvoted by one or two votes, 
 he will pretend false votes, foul play, hold possession of 
 the reins of government, be supported by the States 
 voting for him, especially if they be the central ones, 
 lying in a compact body themselves, and separating 
 their opponents ; and they will be aided by one nation 
 in Europe, while the majority are aided by another. 
 The election of a president of America, some years 
 hence, will be much more interesting to certain nations 
 of Europe, than ever the election of a king of Poland 
 was. Reflect on all the instances in history, ancient 
 and modern, of elective monarchies, and say, if they do 
 not give foundation for my fears ; the Roman emperors, 
 the Popes while they were of any importance, the Ger- 
 man emperors till they became hereditary in practice, 
 the kings of Poland, the Deys of the Ottoman depen- 
 dencies. It may be said, that if elections are to be at- 
 tended with these disorders, the less frequently they are 
 repeated the better. But experience says, that to free 
 them from disorder, they must be rendered less interest- 
 ing by a necessity of change. No foreign power, nor 
 domestic party, will waste their blood and money to 
 elect a person, who must go out at the end of a short 
 period. The power of removing every fourth year by 
 the vote of the people, is a power which they will not 
 exercise, and if they were disposed to exercise it, they 
 would not be permitted. The king of Poland is re- 
 movable every day by the diet. But they never remove 
 him. Nor would Russia, the emperor, &c, permit them 
 to do it. Smaller objections are, the appeals on mat- 
 ters of fact as well as law ; and the binding all persons, 
 legislative, executive and judiciary, by oath, to main- 
 tain that constitution. I do not pretend to decide, what 
 would be the best method of procuring the establish- 
 
THOMAS JEFFERSON. 
 
 241 
 
 ment of the manifold good things in this constitution, 
 and of getting- rid of the bad. Wiiether by adopting it, 
 in hopes of future amendment; or, after it sliall have 
 been duly weighed and canvassed by the people, after 
 seeing tlie parts they generally dislike, and those they 
 generally approve, to say to tliem, ' We see now what 
 you wish. You are willing to give to your federal 
 government such and such powers : but you wish, at 
 the same time, to have such and such fundamental 
 rights secured to you, and certain sources of convul- 
 sion taken away. Be it so. Send together your dep- 
 uties again. Let them establish your fundamental rights 
 by sacrosanct declaration, and let them pass tlie parts 
 of the constitution you have approved. These will give 
 powers to your federal government sufficient for your 
 happiness.' 
 
 ' This is what might be said, and would probably pro- 
 duce a speedy, more perfect, and more permanent form 
 of government. At all events, I hope you will not be 
 discouraged from making other trials, if the present one 
 should fail. We are never permitted to despair of the 
 commonwealth. I have thus told you freely what I like, 
 and what I dislike, merely as a matter of curiosity ; for 
 I know it is not in my power to offer matter of informa- 
 tion to your judgment, which has been formed after hear- 
 ing and weighing every thing which the wisdom of man 
 could offer on these subjects. I own I am not a friend to 
 a very energetic government. It is always oppressive. 
 * * * After all, it is my principle that the will 
 
 of the majority should prevail. If they approve the 
 proposed constitution in all its parts, I shall concur in it 
 cheerfully, in hopes they will amend it, whenever they 
 shall find it works wrong. This reliance cannot deceive 
 us, as long as we remain virtuous ; and I think we shall 
 be so, as long as agriculture is our principal object, 
 which will be the case, while there remain vacant lands 
 in any part of America. When we get piled upon one 
 another in large cities, as in Europe, we shall become 
 corrupt as in Europe, and go to eating one another as 
 they do there.' 
 
 With the mass of good which it contained, Mr Jeffer- 
 son found, on a careful scrutiny, such a mixture of evil 
 21* 
 
2r^ Ml'K OF 
 
 ill thii now coiistilutioii, iIimI. Ik; was iii (lonbt what coiirso 
 to rocommond to his <'.(HmtryiiH'n. How tho *»()0(1 should 
 1x3 HOiMirtuI, and th<i ill avoiilt'd, was Ihc *;r(!at (lucstioii, 
 and |)ro.s<!iitcd <;rcat (hiru-idii(!S. 'I'o refer it hack to a 
 new convoutioii, mi<;lit Jeopardize ilir vvliol<', whicli was 
 utt<M'ly iiui(hiiissil)h^ Mis (irst advice, thcrciorc, was 
 that the iiiiu; Statis first actiiij;' upon it, shouhl accept 
 unc*>ndilioiially, and (Inis secure whalevt^- in it was AviHC 
 and heuefieial ; and ihat lint four Slates hist a(*tin<>', 
 whould aceept only on the previouH contUtion tluit ceitjun 
 ainendnnnls slionid he inad(5. Hut la; aflerwards rc- 
 ooinnn^nth'd (he more piiuhnt conrst; of unctnithlional 
 accept anc(! hy the whoh', willi a concomitant thieJara- 
 tion that it nhould Htand a» a perj)etnal instruction to 
 th<!ir r<'Sp<H*tive (leh^f^ates tocMuleavor to ohtain such and 
 such reformations. And this was the courst? (Inally 
 adopttui hy nearly all th<^ Stat«'s. 
 
 IMinh as has heen said and written of Mr Jellerson's 
 Iiostility to the federal constitulion, there was not a ])cr- 
 son in Anu'rica who set a niori^ solid vahn^ on it, even in 
 its original form ; nor one. \vho ^^ as impressed witii nioro 
 rational anxieties for its a<loption. To estinuite ,thc 
 force of his eonvicti»)ns np«)n this i)oinl, ami tlu^ cogency 
 of his (endeavors tt> inslU the same convictions into his 
 countrynnni, it isi only necessary to consult the pnji»'es of 
 iiis private correspondence. Adoring rcj)ublicanism, 
 liatinjj^ monarchy, he discrinnmite«l with the sagacity of a 
 prtdounti slatc^snnin, hetwiujii those features of the instru- 
 nnMit which were con«;tmial, and those which wore hos- 
 tile, to liu' principles of his political idolatry. While ho 
 gave all his soul to tlu^ pr(5servation of lla^ fornu'r, lu^ de- 
 precated with ecpud sincerity any admixture of the lat- 
 ter, lU'ither approvinjj,' nor condenuiing' in the nniss. lie 
 was, therefore, neither a federalist nor an anti-federalist, 
 as the atlvocates and oppoiuMits of the constitution w (vro 
 distini»uished. lie was an indi^pendent asserter of his 
 opinions on questions of natiojud concern, the most pro- 
 
THOMAS JEFFERSON. 243 
 
 found and iiitcrcstinj^' lliut liad ever been snlnnilled to 
 the deliberalion oi' the Ameiicaii ])eopIu ; and he Iiad 
 tlio liaj>[)iMcss to sec tlioso opinions, on almost every 
 point, adopted by the nation and ineorporated into its 
 frame of govcrjunent, by special emendatory acts. A 
 few passages from his corresp«)ndence will evince liis 
 anxiety lor the late of the constitution, and his i)ersever- 
 ance in the endeavor to obtain the amendments which he 
 deemed so essential. 
 
 To James Madison. — ' I sincerely rejoice at the ac- 
 ceptance of our new constitution l)y nine States. It is 
 a good canvass, on which some strokes only want re- 
 touching. What these are, 1 thiidt are sulliciisntly man- 
 ifested by the general voice from north to south, which 
 calls for a bill of rights. It seems ])retty generally un- 
 derstood, that this should go to juries, /uth('(fs rorims^ 
 stamling armies, printing, religioji, and monopolies. I 
 comreive there nuiy be dilliculty in finding general mod- 
 ifications of these, suited to the habits of all the States. 
 But if such cannot be found, then it is better to establish 
 trials by jury, the right of habeas corpuSi freedom of the 
 press, and freedom of KVIigion, in all cases, and to abol- 
 ish standing armies in time of pcsaee, and monopolies in 
 all cases, than not to do it in any. 'I'he few cases where- 
 in tli(;se tilings may do evil, <'annot \)0, w(Mgh(ul against 
 the nniltitude, wherein tlie want of tlusm will do evil.' 
 
 To G. WASiiiNiiTON. — '1 have seen, with inlinite 
 pleasure, our new constitution accepted by eleven States, 
 not rejected by the twelCth ; and that tin; thirte(!iith hap- 
 l>ens to be a State of the least importance. Jt is true, 
 that the minorities in most of the aci^e|)ting States have 
 been very respectable ; so much so, as to r(!nd«!r it pru- 
 dent, were it not otherwise reasonable, to make some 
 sacrifice to them. 1 am in hoj)es, that the annexation of 
 a bill of rights to the coMstitiilion will alone draw over 
 so great a jiroportion of the minorities, as to leave little 
 danger in the oi)i)osition of the residue; and tliat this 
 annexation may be made by Congress and the assem- 
 blies, without calling a convention, whi(di might (endan- 
 ger the most valuable parts of the system.' 
 
244 . LIFE OF 
 
 To Col. Humphreys. — ^'The operations which have 
 taken place in America lately, fill me with pleasure. In 
 the first place, they realize the confidence I had, that 
 whenever our affairs go obviously wrong, the good sense 
 of the people will interpose, and set them to rights. The 
 example of changing a constitution, by assembling the 
 wise men of the State, instead of assembling armies, 
 will be worth as much to the world as the former exam- 
 ples we had given them. The constitution, too, which 
 was the result of our deliberations, is unquestionably the 
 wisest ever yet presented to man, and some of the ac- 
 commodations of interest which it has adopted, are 
 greatly pleasing to me, who havebeforehad occasions of 
 
 f seeing how difficult those interests were to accommodate. 
 JTgeneral concurrence of opinion seems to authorize u s^ , __ 
 to say it has some defects. I am one of those who think 
 it a defect, that the important rights, not placed in secu- 
 rity by the frame of the constitution itself, were not ex- 
 plicitly secured by a supplementary declaration. There 
 are rights which it is useless to surrender to the govern- 
 ment, and which governments have yet always been fond 
 to invade. These are the rights of thinking, and pub- 
 lishing our thoughts by speaking or writing ; the right 
 of free commerce ; the right of personal freedom. 
 There are instruments for administering the government 
 so peculiarly trust-worthy, that we should never leave 
 the legislature at liberty to change them. The new con- 
 stitution has secured these in the executive and legisla- 
 tive departments; but not in the judiciary. It should 
 have established trials by the people themselves, that is 
 to say, by jury. There are instruments so dangerous to 
 the rights of the nation, and which place them so totally 
 at the mercy of their governors, that those governors, 
 whether legislative or executive, should be restrained 
 from keeping such instruments on foot, but in well de- 
 fined cases. Such an instrument is a standing army. 
 We are now allowed to say, such a declaration of rights, 
 as a supplement to the constitution, where that is silent, 
 is wanting, to secure us in these points/ The general 
 voice has legitimated this objection. It has not, however, 
 authorized me to consider as a real defect, what I thought, 
 and still think one, the perpetual re-eligibility of the 
 president. But three States out of eleven having de- 
 
THOMAS JEFFERSON. 245 
 
 clared against this, we must suppose we are wrong', ac- 
 cording to the fundamental law of every society, the lex 
 maj oris partis, to which we are bound to submit. And 
 should the majority change their opinion, and become 
 sensible that this trait in their constitution is wrong, I 
 would wish it to remain uncorrected, as long as we can 
 avail ourselves of the services of our great leader, whose 
 talents and whose weight of character, I consider as pe- 
 culiarly necessary to get the government so under way, 
 as that it may afterwards be carried on by subordinate 
 characters.' 
 
 The ardor and perseverance of Mr Jefferson in the ef- 
 fort to obtain a supplementary bill of rights to the con- 
 stitution, were soon crowned with success. At the ses- 
 sion of 1789, Mr Madison submitted to Congress a series 
 of amendments which, with various propositions on the 
 same subject from other States, were referred to a com- 
 mittee of one from each State in the Union. The result 
 was the annexation, in due form, of the ten original 
 amendments to our federal constitution. ^ So great was 
 the influence of Mr Jefferson in forwarding this measure, 
 though absent during the whole time, that he is generally 
 regarded as the father of these amendments. They 
 embraced the principal objections urged by him without 
 going far enough to satisfy him entirely. By them, the 
 freedom of religion, of speech, and of the press, the 
 right of the people to deliberate and petition for redress 
 of grievances, the right of keeping and bearing arms, of 
 the trial by jury in civil as well as criminal cases, the ex- 
 emption from general warrants and from the quartering 
 of soldiers in private dwellings, were pronounced irre- 
 vocable and intangible by the government ; and the pow- 
 ers not delegated by the constitution, nor prohibited by it 
 to the States, were declared to be reserved to the States or 
 to the people. But the right oi habeas corpus was still left 
 to the discretion of Congress ; monopolies were not posi- 
 tively guarded against ; and standing armies in time of 
 peace were not prohibited. His objections also against the 
 
246 LIFE OF 
 
 perpetual re-eligibility of the president, although backed 
 by the recommendation of three States, were not sanction- 
 ed by Congress. His fears of that feature were founded on 
 the importance of the office, on the fierce contentions it 
 might excite among ourselves, if continuabie for life, and 
 the dangers of interference, either with money or arms, 
 by foreign nations, to whom the choice of an American 
 president might become interesting. Examples of this 
 abounded in history ; in the case of the Roman emper- 
 ors, for instance ; of the popes, while of any signifi- 
 cance ; of the German emperors ; the kings of Poland, 
 and the deys of Barbary. But his apprehensions on this 
 head gradually subsided, and finally became extinct, on 
 witnessing the effect in practice. Alluding to his early 
 opinions on this subject, he said in 1821 : 
 
 ' My wish was, that the president should be elected for 
 seven years, and be ineligible afterwards. This term I 
 thought sufficient to enable him, with the concurrence of 
 the legislature, to carry through and establish any sys- 
 tem of improvement he should propose for the general 
 good. But the practice adopted, I think, is better, al- 
 lowing his continuance for eight years, with a liability to 
 be dropped at half way of the term, making that a pe- 
 riod of probation. * * * The example of four 
 presidents, voluntarily retiring at the end of their eighth 
 year, and the progress of public opinion, that the prin- 
 ciple is salutary, have given it in practice the force of 
 precedent and usage ; insomuch, that should a president 
 consent to be a candidate for a third election, 1 trust he 
 would be rejected, on this demonstration of ambitious 
 views.' 
 
 There was another question agitated in the councils of 
 the United States, during Mr Jefierson's residence in 
 France, which he viewed with as much concern as the 
 adoption of the constitution. This was the proposition 
 to abandon the navigation of the Mississippi to the king 
 of Spain, for the period of twenty-five or thirty years, as 
 an equivalent for a treaty of commerce with that nation, 
 
THOMAS JEFFERSON. 247 
 
 John Jay, secretary of foreign affairs, who had been au- 
 thorized to institute a negotiation with the Spanish gov- 
 ernment, laid the proposition before Congress, as a se- 
 cret. The whole affair was veiled in darkness, and so 
 continued until the year 1818, when a resolution was 
 passed authorizing the pubhcation of the secret journals 
 of the old Congress. 
 
 The proposition of Mr Jay created an angry excite- 
 ment in Congress. The scheme was resisted, with great 
 warmth, by the States of Virginia, North Carolina, South 
 
 Carolina, Maryland and Georgia,on the following grounds: 
 1. It would dismember the union. 2. It would violate the 
 compact of the national government with those States 
 who had surrendered to it their western lands. 3. It 
 would check the growth of the western country by de- 
 priving the inhabitants of a natural outlet for their pro- 
 ductions. 4. It would depreciate the value of the west- 
 ern lands, and sink proportionally a valuable fund for the 
 payment of the national debt. 5. It would be such a 
 sacrifice for particular purposes, as would be obvious to 
 the least discerning. 
 
 The proposition was sustained by all the New England 
 States, with New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania. 
 These States moved in solid phalanx,:;and in silence, 
 against every attempt to defeat, alter, or amend the pro- 
 posed terms of negotiation. The opposition were in de- 
 spair, when it occurred to them, that as the assent of 
 nine States was necessary by the confederation to form 
 treaties, the instructions given to Mr Jay were unconsti- 
 tutional, inasmuch as seven States only had voted them. 
 A resolution was, therefore, introduced, declaring the 
 original vote which had been taken, incompetent to con- 
 fer treaty making powers. But the res®lution was neg- 
 atived by the same States, in the same mysterious man- 
 ner. A resolution was then offered, to remove the in- 
 junction of secrecy, which shared the same fate. Finally, 
 after a heated and protracted altercation, the minority 
 
248 LIFE OB' 
 
 succeeded so far as to obtain the authority to treat for an 
 entrepot at New Orleans, and for the navigation of the 
 Mississippi in common with Spain, down to the Floridas. 
 A hint of these transactions having reached the ears 
 of Mr Jeiferson in Paris, he was exercised with the 
 greatest inquietude and alarm. He considered the aban- 
 donment of the navigation of the Mississippi, as, ipse 
 facto, a dismemberment of the union ; and he improved 
 every occasion, in his letters to America, to impress on 
 the leading members of the government, the ungrateful 
 character and suicidal tendency of the measure. A 
 single specimen, found in a letter to Mr Madison, da- 
 ted January 30, '87, will suffice to display the general 
 tenor of an active and extensive correspondence, for 
 several months, on this vitally interesting question. 
 
 'If these transactions [insurrections] give me no un- 
 easiness, I feel very differently at another piece of intel- 
 ligence, to wit, the possibility that the navigation of the 
 Mississippi may be abandoned to Spain. I never had 
 any interest westward of the Allegany ; and I never will 
 have any. But I have had great opportunities of know- 
 ing the character of the people who inhabit that country ; 
 and I will venture to say, that the act which abandons 
 the navigation of the Mississippi, is an act of separation 
 between the eastern and western country. It is a relin- 
 quishment of five parts out of eight of the territory of 
 the United States ; an abandonment of the fairest subject 
 for the payment of our public debts, and the chaining 
 those debts on our own necks, in perpetuum. I have the 
 utmost confidence in the honest intentions of those who 
 concur in this measure; but I lament their want of ac- 
 quaintance with the character and physical advantages 
 of the people, wMb, right or wrong, will suppose their in- 
 terests sacrificed on this occasion to the contrary inter- 
 ests of that part of the confederacy in possession of pres- 
 ent power. If they declare themselves a separate peo- 
 ple, we are incapable of a single effort to retain them. 
 Our citizens can never be induced, either as militia or as 
 soldiers, to go there to cut the throats of their own broth- 
 
THOMAS JEFFERSON. 249 
 
 ers and sons, or rather, to be themselves the subjects, in- 
 stead of the perpetrators, of the parricide. Nor would 
 that country quit the cost of being retained against the 
 will of its inhabitants, could it be done. But it cannot 
 be done. They are able already to rescue the naviga- 
 tion of the Mississippi out of the hands of Spain, and to 
 add New Orleans to their own territory. They will be 
 joined by the inhabitants of Louisiana. This will bring 
 on a war between them and Spain ; and that will pro- 
 duce the question with us, whether it will not be worth 
 our while to become parties with them in the war, in or- 
 der to re-unite them with us, and thus correct our error. 
 And were I to permit my forebodings to go one step far- 
 ther, I should predict, that the inhabitants of the United 
 States would force their rulers to take the affirmative of 
 that question, I wish I may be mistaken in all these 
 opinions.' 
 
 The right of the United States to the free navigation 
 of the Mississippi, in its whole extent, and the establish- 
 ment of that right upon an immovable basis, was a sub- 
 ject which early engrossed the attention of Mr Jefferson. 
 He persevered in the effort through a period of fifteen 
 years, in different public stations ; and his agency in 
 producing the final result was scarcely less distinguished, 
 though less direct and efficacious, than in procuring the 
 acquisition of Louisiana. The question was not defini- 
 tively settled until 1803, when, being at the head of the 
 nation, he appointed Mr Monroe minister to Madrid for 
 the express purpose of concluding a final arrangement 
 with that government, covering all the points at issue 
 growing out of the subject. The mission was as honor- 
 able as it was successful. 
 
 Mr Jefferson's watchfulness over the interests of Ame- 
 rica, while in Europe, was intense. Nothing escaped his 
 notice, which he thought could be made useful in his 
 own country. The southern States are indebted to him 
 for the introduction of the culture of upland rice. In 
 1790, he procured a cask of this species of rice, from 
 22 
 
250 LIFE OP 
 
 the river Denbigh in Africa, about latitude 9 deg. 30 min. 
 north, which he sent to Charleston, in the hope that it 
 would supersede the culture of the wet rice, which 
 renders South Carolina and Georgia so pestilential 
 through the summer. The quantity was divided at 
 Charleston, and a part sent to Georgia, by his directions. 
 The cultivation of this rice has now become general in 
 the upper parts of Georgia and South Carolina, and is 
 highly prized. It was supposed by Mr Jefferson, that 
 it might be raised successfully in Tennessee and Ken- 
 tucky. He likewise endeavored to obtain the seed of 
 the Cochin-China rice, for the purpose of introducing 
 its cultivation in the same States ; but it does not appear 
 whether he was successful or not. In the same spirit of 
 attention to the interests of his country, he transmitted 
 from Marseilles to Charleston, a great variety of olive 
 plants, to be planted, by way of experiment in South 
 Carolina and Georgia. ' The greatest service,' says he, 
 ' which can be rendered any country is, to add a useful 
 plant to its culture ; especially a bread grain ; next in 
 value to bread, is oil.' These plants were tried, and 
 are now flourishing at the South. Though not yet mul- 
 tiplied extensively, they have introduced that species of 
 cultivation in those States. 
 
 All the powers of Mr Jefferson seemed to kindle in 
 the pursuit of multiplying objects of profitable agricul- 
 ture in America, and of improving the husbandry of 
 those already established as staples. With this view, 
 he made a tour into the south of France, and the 
 northern parts of Italy, in which he passed three months. 
 His plan was to visit the ports along the western and 
 southern coast of France, particularly Marseilles, Bor- 
 deauXjNantes, and L'Orient, to obtain such information 
 as would enable him to judge of the practicability of 
 making farther improvements in our commerce with the 
 southern provinces of France ; to visit the canal of Lan- 
 guedoc, and possess himself of such information upon 
 
THOMAS JEFFERSON. 251 
 
 that kind of navigation, as might be useful to his coun- 
 trymen ; and thence to pass into the northern provinces 
 of Italy, to examine the different subjects of culture in 
 those munificent regions, and ascertain what improve- 
 ments might be made in America, in the culture and 
 husbandry of rice and other staples common to both 
 countries ; and what other, if any, productions of that 
 climate might be advantageously introduced into the 
 southern States. Another object with him was to try 
 the mineral waters of Aix, in Provence, for a dislocated 
 wrist, unsuccessfully set. 
 
 He left Paris, therefore, on the 28th of February, '87, 
 and proceeded up tlie Seine, through Champagne and 
 Burgundy, and down the Rhone through the Beaujolais, 
 by Lyons, Avignon, Nismes, to Aix. Receiving no 
 benefit from the mineral waters of that place, he bent 
 his course into the rice countries of Italy. On his 
 return, he extended his journey through the south of 
 France, and arrived at Paris. 
 
 The novelty and variety of the scenes through which 
 he passed, the multitude of curious and interesting 
 objects which he encountered, presented a perpetual 
 feast to his enquiring mind. From Nice, under date of 
 April 19th, he writes to the Marquis de La Fayette : 
 
 ' I am constantly roving about to see what I have 
 never seen before, and shall never see again. In the 
 great cities, I go to see what travellers think alone wor- 
 thy of being seen ; but I make a job of it, and generally 
 gulp it all down in a day. On the other hand, I am 
 never satiated with rambling through the fields and 
 farms, examining the culture, and cultivators with a de- 
 gree of curiosity, which makes some take me to be a 
 fool, and others to be much wiser than I am. * * * 
 From the first olive fields of Pierrelatte, to the orange- 
 ries of Hieres, it has been continued rapture to me. I 
 have often wished for you. I think you have not made 
 this journey. It is a pleasure you have to come, and an 
 improvement to be added to the many you have already 
 
252 LIFE OF 
 
 made. It will be a great comfort to you, to know, from 
 your own inspection, tiie condition of all the provinces 
 of your own country, and it will be interesting- to them 
 at some future day, to be known to you. This is, per- 
 haps, the only moment of your life, in which you can 
 acquire that knowledge. And to do it most effectually, 
 you must be absolutely incognito, you must ferret the 
 people out of their hovels, as I have done, look into their 
 kettles, eat their bread, loll on their beds under pretence 
 of resting yourself, but in fact to find if they are soft. 
 You will feel a sublime pleasure in the course of this 
 investigation, and a sublimer one hereafter, when you 
 shall be able to apply your knowledge to the softening 
 of their beds, or the throwing a morsel of meat into their 
 kettle of vegetables.' 
 
 From Lyons to Nismes Mr JefFe»rson was ' nourished 
 with the remains of Roman grandeur.' He was im- 
 mersed in antiquities from morning to night. He was 
 transported back to the times of the Caesars, the intrigues 
 of their courts, the oppressions of their praetors, and 
 prefects. To him the city of Rome, as he averred, 
 seemed actually existing in all the magnificence of its 
 meridian glory ; and he was filled with alarm in the 
 momentary anticipation of the irruptions of the Goths, 
 Visigoths, Ostrogoths, and Vandals. Under date of 
 Nismes, he writes to the Countess de Tesse, in a mood 
 which evinced the extravagance of his passion for an- 
 cient architecture : 
 
 ' Here I am, Madam, gazing whole hours at the Jfm- 
 son Quarree, like a lover at his mistress. The stocking- 
 weavers and silk-spinners around it, consider me as an 
 hypochondriac Englishman, about to write with a pistol 
 the last chapter of his history. This is the second time 
 I have been in love since I left Paris. The first was 
 with a Diana at the Chateau de Lay-Epinaye in Beau- 
 jolais, a delicious morsel of sculpture, by M. A. Slodtz. 
 This, you will say, was in rule, to fall in love with a 
 female beauty : but with a house ! It is out of all pre- 
 cedent. No, Madam, it is not without a precedent, in 
 
THOMAS JEFFERSON. 253 
 
 my own history. While in Paris, I was violently smitten 
 with the Hotel de Salm, and used to go to the Tuileries, 
 almost daily to look at it. The loueuse des chaises, inat- 
 tentive to my passion, never had the complaisance to 
 place a chair there, so that, sitting on the parapet, and 
 twisting my neck round to see the object of my admira- 
 tion, I generally left it with a torticolis.'' 
 
 Mr Jefferson kept a diary of his excursion into Italy, 
 in which he noted with minuteness, every circumstance 
 which he thought might be made useful or instructive to 
 his countrymen. Of these notes, which covered about 
 fifty printed octavo pages, he made copies on his return, 
 and transmitted them to General Washington and others 
 in America, as containing hints capable of being improv- 
 ed to the benefit of the United States. His course of 
 observation supplied him with materials for benefiting 
 the commerce of tffe United States, in some essential 
 particulars, for improving the quality in articles of staple 
 growth, and increasing the subjects of cultivation, in 
 some States. At Turin, Milan, and Genoa, he satisfied 
 himself of the practicability of introducing our whale 
 oil, for their consumption, and that of the other great 
 cities of that country. The merchants with whom he 
 asked conferences, met him freely, and communicated 
 frankly; but not being authorized to conclude a formal 
 negotiation, he could only cultivate a general disposition 
 to receive our oil merchants. He put matters into a 
 train for inducing their governments to draw their to- 
 bacco directly from the United States, and not, as here- 
 tofore, from Great Britain. He procured the seeds of 
 three different species of rice, from Piedmont, Lom- 
 bardy, and the Levant, divided each quantity into three 
 separate parcels, and forwarded them by as many dif- 
 ferent conveyances, to Charleston, in order to ensure a 
 safe arrival. He questioned the utility of engaging in 
 the cultivation of the vine in the southern States, under 
 the present circumstances of their population. Wines 
 22* 
 
254 
 
 LIFE OF 
 
 were so cheap in those countries, that a laborer with us, 
 employed in the culture of any other article, might ex- 
 change it for wine, more and better than he could raise 
 himself. It might, hereafter, become a profitable re- 
 source to us, when a more dense population shall have 
 increased our supply of raw materials beyond the demand 
 at home and abroad. Instead of augmenting the useless 
 surplus of them, the supernumerary hands might then be 
 employed on the vine. The introduction of the fig, the 
 mulberry, and the olive, he strongly recommended to the 
 cultivators in the southern parts of the United States. 
 With the olive tree, in particular, he was so pleased, 
 that he declared it next to the most precious, if not the 
 most precious of all the gifts of heaven to man. He 
 thought, perhaps, it might claim a preference even to 
 bread, considering the infinitude of yegetables, to which 
 it added a proper and comfortable nutriment. 
 
 As in commerce and agriculture, so in the manufac- 
 turing interest, Mr Jefierson was indefatigable in en- 
 deavoring to benefit his country. Of every new inven- 
 tion and discovery in the arts, he was prompt to commu- 
 nicate the earliest intelligence to Congress, or to indi- 
 vidual artists and professors. Among these, the most 
 remarkable were the principle of stereotyping, which he 
 communicated in 1786 ; and the mode of constructing 
 muskets, which he communicated about the same time* 
 It consisted in making all the parts of the musket so 
 exactly alike, as that, mixed together promiscuously, 
 any one part should serve equally for every musket in 
 the magazine. * Of those improvements which were 
 claimed as original in Europe, but of which America 
 was entitled to the merit of a prior discovery, his know- 
 ledge enabled him to detect the imposition, and his pa- 
 
 * This attempt has never been completely successful in Europe 
 or America, until accomplished by captain Hall, in the manufac- 
 ture of his improved rifle. He is now exclusively employed by the 
 United States, at Harper's Ferry, Va. 
 
THOMAS JEFFERSON. 255 
 
 triotism incited liim to vindicate the honor of his own 
 countrymen. This was in fact the case in several in- 
 stances. 
 
 In the sciences and the fine arts, Mr Jefferson was 
 equally assiduous to advance the reputation of his rising 
 country. His letters to president Stiles, to tiie presi- 
 dent of William and Mary College, to the president of 
 Harvard University, to Rittenhouse, Charles Thompson 
 and others, are illustrations of his zeal and efficiency in 
 these pursuits. 
 
 Their advances in science and in the arts of sculptj-ire, 
 painting and music, were the only things, he declared, 
 for which he envied the people of France ; and for these 
 he absolutely did envy them. His passion for the few 
 remains of ancient architecture which existed, was un- 
 bounded, and his efforts unremitting for introducing 
 samples of them in America, for the purpose of encour- 
 aging a style of architecture analogous to the Roman 
 model. In June, 1785, he received a request from the 
 directors of the public buildings in Virginia, to procure 
 and transmit them plans for the capitol, palace, &c. 
 He immediately engaged an architect of great abilities, 
 for this purpose, and directed him to take for his model 
 the Maison Quarree of Nismes, which he considered 'the 
 most precious and perfect morsel of antiquity in exist- 
 ence.' But what was his surprise and regret on learn- 
 ing, a short time after, that the buildings were actually 
 begun, without waiting for the receipt of his plans. 
 ' Pray try,' he writes to Mr Madison, 4f you can effect 
 the stopping of this work. The loss is not to be weighed 
 in the saving of money which will arise, against the comfort 
 of laying out the public money for something honorable, 
 the satisfaction of seeing an object and proof of national 
 good taste, and the regret and mortification of erecting 
 a monument of our barbarism, which will be loaded with 
 execrations as long as it shall endure. You see I am 
 an enthusiast on the subject of the arts. But it is an 
 
256 LIFE OF 
 
 enthusiasm of which I am not ashamed, as its object is 
 to improve the taste of my countrymen, to increase their 
 reputation, to reconcile to them the respect of the world, 
 and procure them its praise.' 
 
 The specimens we have given exhibit but a slender 
 outline of a series of correspondence, public and private, 
 comprising more than three hundred letters, chiefly to 
 his friends in the United States, all breathing the same 
 devotion to the interests of his country, in every imagin- 
 able department, from the most intricate points of ab- 
 stract science, and the most momentous questions of na- 
 tional policy, down to essays on the most simple processes 
 in agriculture and domestic economy. He was at the same 
 time in habits of correspondence with many distinguished 
 characters, literary and political, in most of the nations 
 of Europe. His philosophical reputation and powers 
 estabhshed him in ready favor with the constellation of 
 bold thinkers, which then illuminated France ; and much 
 of his attention was necessarily, perhaps advantageously, 
 occupied in the metaphysical discussions of the day. He 
 was on terms of intimacy with the Abbe Morellet, Con- 
 dorcet, D'Alembert, Mirabeau, &c ; and he renewed his 
 discussion in natural science, with Mons. de Buffbn, to 
 whom he had already given such a foretaste of his abili- 
 ties, in his Notes on Virginia. The ladies of that gay 
 capital, who maintain so powerful an ascendency in all 
 its circles, were delighted in his society, and pressed him 
 into their correspondence. At the solicitation of the 
 authors of the Encydopedie Methodique, the most popu- 
 lar work then publishing in Paris, Mr Jefferson prepared 
 for insertion several articles on the United States, giving 
 a history of the governm^ent, from its origin to the adop- 
 tion of the constitution. One of the authors of that 
 work had made the society of the Cincinnati the subject 
 of a libel on our government and its great military lead- 
 er. But before committing it to the press, he submitted 
 it to Mr Jefferson for examination. He found it a tissue 
 
THOMAS JEFFERSON. 257 
 
 of errors, a mere philippic against the institution, in which 
 there appeared an utter ignorance of facts and motives. 
 He wrote over the whole article; in which he vindicated 
 the motives of General Washington and his brother offi- 
 cers from every liability to reproach. His own opinions, 
 however, of the ultimate effects of that institution, un- 
 derwent such a change during his residence in Europe, 
 as induced him to recommend its total extinction ; which 
 he did, in a letter to General Washinoton, November 
 1786. 
 
 Such are some of the numerous and diversified servi- 
 ces performed by Mr Jefferson in his private, unofficial 
 capacity. ' The circumstance ought not to be overlooked, 
 that these attentions to the general interests of the Unit- 
 ed States, were exercised amidst the labors and anxie- 
 ties of a multiplicity of public avocations. His diplo- 
 matic correspondence with the Count de Vergennes, the 
 most subtile and powerful minister in Europe, was unin- 
 terrupted, and in point of urgency in behalf of America, 
 remains unrivalled. His correspondence with the bankers 
 of the United States at Amsterdam and Paris, to pre- 
 serve the credit of the United States, was constant, and 
 laborious ; and his exertions for the redemption of Amer- 
 ican captives at Algiers, for estabhshing a general coali- 
 tion of all the civilized powers against the piratical 
 States, and, on the failure of that, for negotiating treaties 
 of peace with them, on the most favorable terms, have 
 seldom been equalled. 
 
 But of all the private labors of Mr Jefferson in behalf 
 of his country, none were more useful, none more praise- 
 worthy and patriotic, than those which were directed to 
 the moral improvement of the rising generation. It was 
 to them he looked, and not to those then on the stage, 
 for the perfection of the glorious pohtical work which he 
 had exhausted every resource and sacrificed every com- 
 fort in advancing; and his ambition appeared insatiable 
 to fashion their minds, their habits, their tastes and prin- 
 ciples, after the model of the generation of '76. 
 
258 LIFE OP 
 
 It was Mr Jefferson's fortune to be an eye-witness of 
 the opening scenes of that tremendous revohition, which 
 began so gloriously and ended so terribly for France. 
 The immediate and exciting cause of this struggle for 
 political reformation, he ascribes to the influence of the 
 American example and American ideas. In his notes on 
 that event, he says : 
 
 *The American revolution seems first to have awaken- 
 ed the thinking part of the French nation, in general, 
 from the sleep of despotism into which they were sunk. 
 The ofiicers, too, who had been to America, were most- 
 ly young men, less shackled by habit and prejudice, and 
 more ready to assent to the suggestions of common 
 sense, and feeling of common rights, than others. They 
 came back to France with new ideas and impressions. 
 The press, notwithstanding its shackles, began to dissem- 
 inate them ; conversation assumed new freedoms ; pol- 
 itics became the theme of all societies, male and female ; 
 and a very extensive and zealous party was formed, which 
 acquired the appellation of the patriotic party, who, sen- 
 sible of the abusive government under which they lived, 
 sighed for occasions for reforming it. This party com- 
 prehended all the honesty of the kingdom sufficiently at 
 leisure to think, the men of letters, the easy Bourgeois^ 
 the young nobility, partly from reflection, partly from 
 mode ; for these sentiments became matter of mode, and, 
 as such, united most of the young women to the party.' 
 
 The part sustained by Mr Jeflerson in the early stages 
 of the French revolution, was of a weighty and promi- 
 nent character. It has not yet been incorporated into 
 written history, but the late revelation of his cabinet to 
 the world will soon place it there, when it will constitute 
 one of the most interesting features of his posthumous 
 reputation. 
 
 Possessing the confidence and intimacy of many of 
 the leading patriots, and more than all, of the Marquis 
 de la Fayette, their head and Atlas, he was consulted by 
 them, at every step, on measures of importance ; and 
 
THOMAS JEFFERSON. 259 
 
 the prudence of hi-s counsels, which were impHcitly fol- 
 lowed while they could have the benefit of them, retard- 
 ed the moment of convulsion and civil war until after his 
 withdrawal from the scene of action. Coming from a 
 country which had successfully passed through a similar 
 struggle, his acquaintance was eagerly sought, and his 
 opinions carried with them an authority almost oracular. 
 In attempting the redress of present grievances, he re- 
 commended a mild and gradual reformation of abuses, 
 one after another, at suitable intervals, so as not to re- 
 volt the conciliatory dispositions of the king ; and in pro- 
 viding against their recurrence in future, by remodelling 
 the principles of the government, he recommended cau- 
 tious approaches to republicanism, to give time for the 
 growth of public opinion, and work a peaceable regene- 
 ration of the political system, by slow and successive im- 
 provements through a series of years. The interest he 
 felt in the passing revolution, and his anxiety for the final 
 result, were very great. He considered a successful 
 reformation of government in France, as insuring a gen- 
 eral reformation through Europe, and the resurrection to 
 a new life of a people now ground to dust by the op- 
 pressions of the constituted powers. 
 
 He went daily from Paris to Versailles, to attend thie 
 debates of the States General, and continued there until 
 the hour of adjournment. This assembly had been con- 
 vened as a mediatorial power between the government 
 and the people ; and it was well understood that the king 
 would now concede, 1, Freedom of the person by ha- 
 beas corpus ; 2, Freedom of conscience ; 3, Freedom of 
 the press ; 4, Trial by jury ; 5, A representative legis- 
 lature ; 6, Annual meetings ; 7, The origination of 
 laws ; 8, The exclusive right of taxation and appropri- 
 ation ; and 9, The responsibility of ministers. Mr-Jef- 
 ferson urged most strenuously, an immediate compro- 
 mise, upon the basis of these concessions ; and the in- 
 stant adjournment of the assembly for a year. They 
 
260 TJFE OF 
 
 came from the vorv heart of tlio kini>-, >vho had not a 
 wish but tor the good of tlie nation ; and these improve- 
 ments, if accepted and carried into etVcct, lie had no 
 doubt wouhl be maintained during the present reign, 
 which wonhl be hmg enough for tliem to take some root 
 in tlie constitution, and be consoUdated by the attach- 
 iiient of the nation. 
 
 lie most eagerly contended they couUl obtain in fu- 
 ture, whatever might be farther necessary to improve 
 their constitution, and perfect their freedom ami happi- 
 ness. *They thought otherwise, however,' says he, *and 
 events have proved their lamentable error. For, after 
 thirtv rears of war, foreign and domestic, the loss of 
 millions of lives, the prostration of private happiness, 
 and the foreign subjugation of their own country for a 
 time, they have obtained no more, nor even that secure- 
 ly. They were unconscious of (tor who could foresee!) 
 the melancholy sequel of their well-meant perseverance; 
 that their physical t\>roe would be usurped by a tyrant to 
 trample on the independence, and even the existence, of 
 other nations; that this would atVord a fatal example for 
 the atrocious conspiracy of kings against their people; 
 would generate their unholy and homicidal alliance to 
 make common cause among themselves, and to crush by 
 the power of the whole, the eiVorts of any part, to mod- 
 erate their abuses and oppressions.' 
 
 In the evening of August 4th, on motion of the Vis- 
 count de Noailles, brother-in-law of La Fayette, the as- 
 sembly abolished all titles of rank, all the abusive privi- 
 leges of feudalism, the tythes and casuals of the clergy, 
 all provincial privileges, and in fine the feudal regimen 
 generally. IMany days were employed in putting into 
 the form of laws, the numerous revocations of abuses : 
 after which they proceeded to the preliminary work of a 
 declaration of rights. An instrument of this kind had 
 been prepared by Mr Jefterson and La Fayette, and sub- 
 mitted to the assembly by the latter on the 11th of July ; 
 
THOMAS JEFFERSON. 361 
 
 but the sudden occurrence of acts of violence had sus- 
 pended all proceedings upon it. There being much con- 
 cord of opinion on the elements of this instrument, it was 
 liberally framed, and passed with a sary general appro- 
 bation. They then appointed a committee to livaii-dVii a 
 projet of a constitution ; at the head of which was the 
 archbishop of Bordeaux. From him, in the name of 
 the committee, Mr Jefferson received a letter, request- 
 ing him to attend and assist at their deliberations. But 
 he excused himself, on the obvious considerations that 
 hii? mission was to the king, as chief magistrate of the 
 nation, that his duties were limited to the concerns of 
 his own country, and forbade his intermeddling with the 
 internal transactions of France, where be had been re- 
 ceived under a specific character only. 
 
 In this critical state of things, Mr Jefferson received 
 a note from the Marquis la Fayette, informing him that 
 he should bring a party of six or eight friends, to ask a 
 dinner of him the next day. He assured him of their 
 welcome. When they came, there were La Fayette him- 
 self and seven others, leaders of the different divisions 
 of the reform party, but honest men, and sensible of the 
 necessity of effecting a coalition by mutual sacrifices. 
 Their object in soliciting this conference, was to avail 
 themselves of the counsel and mediation of the Ameri- 
 can minister, and to effect a.reconcihation upon terms 
 which he should prescribe. The discussions began at the 
 hour of four, and were continued till ten o'clock in the 
 evening ; during which Mr Jefferson was witness to a 
 ' coolness and candor of argument unusual in political 
 conflicts, to a logical reasoning, and a chaste eloquence, 
 disfigured by no gaudy tinsel of rhetoric or declamation, 
 which he thought worthy of being placed in parallel with 
 the finest dialogues of antiquity, as handed to us by 
 Xenophen, by Plato, and Cicero.' 
 
 The result of this conference decided the fate of the 
 French constitution. It was mutually agreed, on the ad- 
 23 
 
262 LIFE OF 
 
 vice of Mr Jefferson,' that the king should have a suspen- 
 sive veto on the laws ; that the legislature should be 
 composed of a single body only ; and that it should be 
 chosen by the people. This agreement united the patriots 
 on a common ground. They all rallied to the principles 
 thus settled, carried every question agreeably to them, 
 and reduced the aristocracy to impotence and insignifi- 
 cance. 
 
 But duties of exculpation were now incumbent upon 
 Mr Jefferson. He waited the next morning on Count 
 Montmorin, minister of foreign affairs, and explained to 
 him with truth and candor, how it happened that his 
 house had been made the scene of conferences of such 
 a character. Montmorin told him he already knew every- 
 thing which had passed ; that so far from taking umbrage 
 at his conduct on that occasion, he earnestly wished he 
 would habitually assist at such conferences, being satisfi- 
 ed he would be useful in moderating the warmer spirits, 
 and promoting a wholesome and practicable reformation 
 only. Mr Jefferson told him he knew too well the duties 
 he owed to the king, to the nation, and to his own coun- 
 try, to take any part in the transactions of their internal 
 government ; and that he should persevere, with care, in 
 the character of a neutral and passive spectator, with 
 wishes only, and very sincere ones, that those measures 
 might prevail, which would be for the greatest good of 
 the nation. ' I have no doubt, indeed,' says Mr Jeffer- 
 son, ' that this conference was previously known and ap- 
 proved by this honest minister, who was in confidence 
 and communication with the patriots, and wished for a 
 reasonable reformation of the constitution.' 
 
 At this auspicious stage of the French revolution, Mr 
 Jefferson retired from the scene of action ; and the wis- 
 dom and moderation of his counsels ceased with the op- 
 portunities of imparting them. He left France, with 
 warm and unabated expectations that no serious commo- 
 tion would take place, and that the nation would soon 
 
THOMAS JEFFERSON. 263 
 
 settle down in the quiet enjoyment of a great degree 
 of acquired liberty, to go on improving its condition 
 by future and successive ameliorations, but never to 
 retrograde. The example of the United States had 
 been viewed as their model on all occasions, and with an 
 authority like that of the bible, open to explanation, but 
 not to question. The king had now become a passive 
 machine in the hands of the national assembly, and had 
 he been left to himself, would probably have acquiesced 
 in their determinations. A wise constitution would have 
 been formed, hereditary in his line, himself at its head, 
 with powers so large as to enable him to execute all the 
 good of his station, and so limited as to restrain him from 
 its abuse. This constitution he would have faithfully ad- 
 ministered, and more than this he never wished. Such 
 was the belief and the hope of Mr Jefferson ; and to one 
 source alone, he ascribed the overthrow of all these fond 
 anticipations, and the deluge of crimes and cruelties 
 which subsequently desolated France. To the despotic 
 and disastrous influence of a single woman, he attributed 
 the horrible catastrophe of the French revolution ! 
 
 'But he had a queen of absolute sway over his weak 
 mind and timid virtue, and of a character the reverse of 
 his in all points. This angel, as gaudily painted in 
 the rhapsodies of Burke, witli some smartness of fancy, 
 but no sound sense, was proud, disdainful of restraint, 
 indignant at all obstacles to her will, eager in the pur- 
 suit of pleasure, and firm enougli to hold to her desires, 
 or perish in their wreck. Her inordinate gambling and 
 dissipations, with those of the Count d'Artois, and 
 others of lier clique, had been a sensible item in the ex- 
 haustion of the treasury, which called into action the re- 
 forming hand of the nation ; and her opposition to it, 
 her inflexible perverseness, and dauntless spirit, led her- 
 self to the guillotine, drew the king on with her, and 
 plunged the world into crimes and calamities which will 
 for ever stain the pages of modern history. 1 have ever 
 believed, that had there been no queen, there would 
 have been no revolution. No force would have been 
 
264 LIFE OP 
 
 provoked, nor exercised. The king would have gone 
 hand in hand with the wisdom of his sounder counsel- 
 lors, who, guided by the increased lights of the age, 
 wished only, with the same pace, to advance the prin- 
 ciples of their social constitution. The deed which 
 closed the mortal course of the^e sovereigns, I shall 
 neither approve nor condemn. I am not prepared to 
 say, that the first magistrate of a nation cannot commit 
 treason against his country, or is unamenable to its 
 punishment : nor yet, that where there is no written 
 law, no regulated tribunal, there is not a law in our 
 hearts, and a power in our hands, given for righteous 
 employment in maintaining right, and redressing wrong. 
 Of those who judged the king, many thought him wil- 
 fully criminal ; many, that his existence would keep the 
 nation in perpetual conflict with the horde of kings, who 
 would war against a regeneration which might come 
 home to themselves, and that it were better that one 
 should die than all. I should not have voted with this 
 portion of the legislature. I should have shut up the 
 queen in a convent, putting harm out of her power, and 
 placed the king in his station, investing him with limited 
 powers, which, I verily believe, he would have honestly 
 exercised, according to the measure of his understand- 
 ing. In this way, no void would have been created, 
 courting the usurpation of a military adventurer, nor oc- 
 casion given for those enormities which demoralized the 
 nations of the world, and destroyed, and is yet to de- 
 stroy, millions and millions of its inhabitants.' 
 
 Mr Jefferson had been more than a year soliciting 
 leave to return to America, with a view to place his 
 daughters in the society of their friends, to attend to 
 some domestic arrangements of pressing moment, and 
 to resume his station for a short time, at Paris ; but it 
 was not until the last of August that he received the 
 permission desired. 
 
 The generous tribute which he has paid to the French 
 nation, at this point in his auto-biographical notes, dis- 
 closes the state of feeling with which he quitted a coun- 
 try, where he had passed so various and useful a por- 
 tion of his public life. 
 
THOMAS JEFFERSON. 265 
 
 * And here 1 cannot leave this great and good country, 
 without expressing my sense of its pre-eminence of cha- 
 racter among the nations of the earth. A more henevo- 
 lent people I have never known, nor greater warmth and 
 devotedness in their select friendships. Their kindness 
 and accommodation to strangers is unparalleled, and the 
 hospitality of Paris is beyond any thing I had conceived 
 to be practicable in a large city. Their eminence, too, 
 in science, the communicative dispositions of their 
 scientific men, the politeness of the general manners, 
 the ease and vivacity of their conversation, give a charm 
 to their society, to be found no where else. In a com- 
 parison of this with other countries, we have the proof 
 of primacy, which was given to Theraistocles after the 
 battle of Salamis. Every general voted to himself the 
 first reward of valor, and the second to Themistocles. 
 So, ask the travelled inhabitant of any nation, in what 
 country on earth would you rather live ? — Certainly, 
 in my own, where are all my friends, my relations, and 
 the earliest and sweetest affections and recollections 
 of my life. Which would be your second choice ? 
 France.' 
 
 On the 26th of September, 1789, Mr Jefferson left 
 Paris for America. lie was detained at Havre by con- 
 trary winds, until the 8th of October, when he crossed 
 over to Cowes, where he was again detained by contrary 
 winds, until the 22d5 when he embarked and landed at 
 Norfolk, Virginia, on the 23d of November. On his 
 way to Monticello he passed some days at Eppington, 
 in Chesterfield county, the residence of his friend and 
 connection, Mr Eppes ; and while there he received a 
 letter from the president. General Washington, by ex-« 
 press, covering an appointment of secretary of State to 
 the new government. Gratifying as was this high testi- 
 monial of his public estimation, the highest in the power 
 of the president to confer, he nevertheless received it 
 with real regret. His wish had been to return to Paris, 
 where he had left his household establishment, to see 
 the end of the revolution, which he then thought would 
 23* 
 
266 LIFE OF 
 
 be certainly and happily closed in less than a year, and 
 to make that the epoch of his retirement from all pub- 
 lic employments. ' I then meant,' says he, 'to return 
 home, to withdraw from political life, into which I had 
 been impressed by the circumstances of the times, to 
 sink into the bosom of my family and friends, and de- 
 vote myself to studies more congenial to my mind.' In 
 a letter to Mr Madison, a short time before leaving Paris, 
 he writes : ' You ask me if I would accept any appoint- 
 ment on that side of the water ? You know the circum- 
 stances which led me from retirement, step by step, and 
 from one nomination to another, up to the present. 
 My object is a return to the same retirement. When, 
 therefore, I quit the present, it will not be to engage in 
 any other office, and most especially any one which 
 would require a constant residence from home.' In a 
 letter to another friend in Virginia, the same sentiment 
 is pursued : 'Your letter has kindled all the fond recol- 
 lections of ancient times ; recollections much dearer to 
 me than any thing I have known since. There are 
 minds which can be pleased by honors and preferments ; 
 but I see nothing in them but envy and enmity. It is 
 only necessary to possess them, to know how little they 
 contribute to happiness, or rather how hostile they are 
 to it. No attachments soothe the mind so much as 
 those contracted in early life ; nor do I recollect any 
 societies which have given me more pleasure, than those 
 of which you have partaken with me. I had rather be 
 shut up in a very modest cottage, with my books, my 
 family, and a few old friends, dining on simple bacon, 
 and letting the world roll on as it liked, than to occupy 
 the most splendid post, which any human power can 
 give.' 
 
 In his answer to the president, under date of Decem- 
 ber 15th, he expressed these dispositions frankly, and 
 his preference of a return to Paris ; but assured ^lim at 
 the same time, that if it was believed he could be more 
 
THOMAS JEFFERSON. 267 
 
 useful in the administration of the government, he would 
 sacrifice his own inclinations without hesitation, and 
 repair to that destination. He arrived at Monticello, 
 on the 23d of December, where he received a second 
 letter from the president, expressing his continued wishes 
 that he would accept the department of State, if not 
 absolutely irreconcilable with his inclinations. This 
 silenced his reluctance, and he accepted the new ap- 
 pointment. He left Monticello on the 1st of March, 
 1790, arrived at New-York, the then seat of govern- 
 ment, on the 21st, and immediately entered on the du- 
 ties of his station. 
 
 In the short interval which he passed at Monticello, 
 his eldest daughter was married to Thomas M. Ran- 
 dolph, eldest son of the Tuckahoe branch of Randolphs, 
 who afterwards filled a dignified station in the general 
 government, and, at length, the executive chair of Vir- 
 ginia for a number of years. 
 
208 Mi'K nv 
 
 CWW'VVM X 
 
 Mi{ .Ikki'i.hson'h arrival at tlic; scmiI of ••jovcrnmcnt, in 
 the ('liaractcr of scM-rotary of SlaUi, C()m|)I(;to(l tlic or- 
 gani/.atioM of ilio first: ndiniiiistnitioii uiidor tlio prcBcnt 
 constilutioii oClIm Unihul Slaters, 'V\ir wcw system had 
 br<Mi in o|Kiati(>ii ahoiit oik^ year. (Jcor^i; Washinf»t»)n 
 liad hvA'W iiiiaiiiinoiisiy rlcrtcd president, and inan<;iira- 
 tod on tli(5 f\{)\\i of Apnl, I'/M). .lolm Adaius was 
 vivi) president; Alexander Hamilton, seer<Mary <d' the 
 Ireasarv ; Henry Ivnox, siu'retaiy of war; and Va\- 
 nuind Kandolpli, altorni^y ^(Mieral. 
 
 Of this eahinet, Alexander Hamilton was «M»joying 
 th(^ nnliniiled eonfKhun'e oi'tln^ president; and aequircd 
 a prepinideral iiif*" inllnencc^ in dir<'elin<j!,' tiu^ measures of 
 th(; administration. iSul his political opiiuons, with sneh 
 advantages of pcM'sonal ascendency, rc^ndered him [)er- 
 ha[)S a danj^'crons minister at this crisis of our present 
 •jjov«Mnment. Tl»u political character of \\w seert^tary 
 of the lr(Misnry, is drawn with a diseriminatinj;" hand 
 by Mr Jellbrson, in Wis private memoranda of that 
 period. 
 
 * A (Conversation he<»an on otiun' matters, by some cir- 
 cumstance, was led to tlu^ Uiitish (%)nstilulion, on whieli 
 Mr Adams ohservtnl, " l*ur<;(5 that constilnlion of its 
 corruption, and jrivo to its popular branch e(|uality of 
 representation, and it wtvtdd Ix; the nu)st perrecl e(mstitu- 
 lion v\cv d(*vise«l liy the wit of man." Hamilton paused 
 and said, *' Purge it of its coi'rui)tion, and give to its 
 
TIIOJVIAM .IKri'KHHON. 209 
 
 popular hnnicl) r!<pt!ility of r(!prrH«!iil!iti()n, nnd if. wouM 
 become nit iinindd/u ((hlv. (^ovcrnmenl, ; mh it. HlmicJH at 
 prcHcnt, vvilli all ilH HuppoHed (NilcclH, it in the iriOMt jxir- 
 WaX t^nwA'wuw.wi wliirli rv<'r (^xIhUmI." Aim! tiilH vvaH aH- 
 Hure'dlj/ IIk; exact litx; wl»i< li Mcpai at(;<l tin; politi«;al cieedH 
 «)rtlieHe two f;ciill(!i)irii. 'I'Ihmum; was lor two hereditary 
 hranelieH and an honest elcclivi; one ; the other lor an 
 lieriiditary kin^', with a, honne of lords and eoinnionH 
 eorriipted to his will, an<l ntarnlinfi; Intwrm hint and the 
 peo|)le. Ilaniiittni was, ind<!ed, a, Hin;;(dar <haiaet<!r. 
 or aente undrrHtandinj^-, diHintereHt<!«l, honest, atnl h«»ri- 
 orahle in all private trariHuctionH, iirnin,l)lo in Hoe.iety, and 
 duly valnin«i viitn«! in private lile, yet ho hewileJatd and 
 p(jrv<!ited l»y the llritish evaniph;, an to he nnch.r thorouf^li 
 convietion that connijtion wan eHHcntiul to the jL^ovcrn- 
 rn(jnt <d' a, nation.' 
 
 The lollowinjj;' not*', ol" a r.onviiHiition with Mr llarnil- 
 ton, dated Aujmist Htth, 171)1, j)r<;,s(jntK a inore iavorahjc 
 view ol'hiH HcrdiuficntH, and scorriH duo to liiin an a matter 
 of juHticc. 
 
 *Aloxarid(jr Hamilton, in comhtmiiin^ Mr AdamH* writ- 
 in^H, and most j»artir,(diiily Davila, as havin/i,- a tendency 
 to wcaluMi the (iresiwit government, <l<,c,l;in',d in suhstane*: 
 aa follows: " I own it is my own opinion, ihon^h I do 
 not jaddish it in Dan or |{<;(!rHheha, that tin; pr<ts(!nt j»;ov- 
 <;rnnient is not that which will answer the etuis (d' Hocie.ty, 
 by f^iviti*;' stability and protoction to itH ri<»lttH, and that 
 it will probably be (oiitid e.vpedi(!nt to «i;o itito tin; Itrilisb 
 forin. IIovvev<;r, since we have und«;rtaketi tli<5 exp<;ri- 
 inertt, I arti for "Jiivifif^' it a fair coarse, whatever rtty ex- 
 pectalioTiH itiay la;. 'I'he HU<M'.ess, itideed, so far, is greater 
 Ihait I bad <;xpect(!d, and tlnirefore, at prcjsent, HUc>ceH8 
 HcemH more possibb; thati it had done Intretoforj;, and 
 tfier<5 arc still otintr slaji(;H of irti[)rovem(!itt, which, if 
 the present does not siicc<5ed, may bo tried, and (»n«^ht 
 to la; tri«;d, before we j;ive np the repnblicati iOvm al- 
 to^(!ther; for that ttiind mast la; really deprav<;<l, whicb 
 would not prefer lla; eipialily of politicjii fij<;htH, which 
 is the fcMtndation of pur(; r(!pnbli<-atiistti, if it <tati bo 
 oJttaitied consistently with order. 'riter(;fore, whoever 
 by IiIh writings disturbH tftc prcHcnt order of things, 
 
270 LIFE OF 
 
 is really blameable, however pure his intentions may be, 
 and he was sure Mr Adams' were pure." This is the » 
 substance of a declaration made in much more lengthy 
 terms, and which seemed to be more formal than usual 
 for a private conversation between two, and as if intend- 
 ed to qualify some less guarded expressions wliich had 
 been dropped on former occasions. Th. Jefferson has 
 committed it to writing in the moment of A. Hamilton's 
 leaving the room.' 
 
 Such were the strong aristocratical elements which 
 entered into the composition of General Washington's 
 cabinet. Against this weight of opinion, Mr Jefferson 
 constituted the great republican check, and the only one, 
 except on some occasions, when he was supported by 
 the attorney general. 
 
 No other otlice under the government of the United 
 States, comprehends so wide a range of objects, or in- 
 volv^es duties of such magnitude, as the department of 
 State. It embraces the whole mass of foreign, and the 
 principal of the domestic administration. To the first 
 order of capacity, and the greatest versatility of talent, 
 it is indispensable that the organ of this important de- 
 partment should unite an intimate and extensive know- 
 ledge of the foreign and domestic relations of the coun- 
 try, a familiarity with the object and duties of govern- 
 ment, and a profound acquaintance with history and hu- 
 man nature. If these qualifications are rightly deemed 
 essential in ordinary times and under any circumstan- 
 ces, how much more was their possession necessary, at 
 the opening of the new government 1 Before it had 
 formed a character among nations, and when the im- 
 pulse and direction which should then be given to it, 
 would establish that character, perhaps forever ? Be- 
 fore its internal faculties and capabilities were developed, 
 but while they were in the process of development? 
 "The share which Mr Jefferson had in marshalling the 
 domestic resources of the republic, and fixing them upon 
 a lucrative foundation, in shaping the subordinate fea« 
 
THOMAS JEFFERSON. 271 
 
 tures of its political organization, and, more especially, 
 in establishing the principles of its foreign policy, con- 
 stitutes one of the most important epochs in his public 
 history. 
 
 Among his labors which were of a character not 
 necessari>/ appertaining to the duties of his department, 
 and, indeed, belonging more properly to some one or 
 more of the ordinary committees of Congress, were 
 
 Report of a plan for establishing a uniform system 
 of coins, weights and measures in the United States. 
 
 Report on the cod and whale fisheries. 
 
 Report on the commerce and navigation of the United 
 States. 
 
 They were of a peculiar nature, growing out of the 
 infancy of the republic, and the imperfect development 
 and organization of its resources; and as such their 
 execution, in a faithful and satisfactory manner, required 
 an accurate knowledge of the condition of the country, 
 with the exercise of the most patient investigation and 
 varied practical talents. The manner in which these 
 difficult and important trusts were discharged by Mr 
 Jefferson, commanded the admiration of his country. 
 
 1. The report of the secretary of State containing a 
 plan for establishing a uniform system of coins, w^eights 
 and measures, was executed with uncommon dispatch, 
 considering the intricacy of the subject, and the novelty 
 of the experiment. He received the order of Conpress 
 on the 15th of April, 1790, when an illness of several 
 weeks supervened, which, with the pressure of other 
 business, retarded his entering upon the undertaking 
 until some time in the ensuing month. He finished it, 
 however, on the 20th of May. One branch of the sub- 
 ject, that of coins, had already received his attention, 
 while a member of Congress, in 1784; audit had then 
 occurred to him, that a corresponding uniformity in the 
 kindred branches, of weights and measures, would be 
 
272 LIFE OF 
 
 easy of introduction, and a desirable improvement. But 
 the idea was not pursued by him, except for his own 
 private gratification ; having procured an odometer of 
 curious construction upon this principle. He used to 
 carry it, when travelling, and note the distances in miles, 
 cents and mills. 
 
 In sketching the principles of his system, Mr Jeffer- 
 son was dependent on his own judgment. It was in 
 vain to look to tlie nations of the old world, for an ex- 
 ample to direct him in his researches. No such exam- 
 ple existed. It should be remarked, however, that two 
 of the principal European governments, France and 
 England, were at this very period, learnedly engaged on 
 the same subject. 
 
 The first object which presented itself to his enquiries, 
 was the discovery of some measure of invariable length, 
 as a standard. This was found to be a matter of no 
 small ditficulty. 
 
 'There exists not in nature, as far as has been hither- 
 to observed, a single subject or species of subject, acces- 
 sible to man, which presents one constant and uniform 
 dimension. 
 
 ' ' The globe of the earth itself, indeed, might be con- 
 sidered as invariable in all its dimensions, and that its 
 circumference would furnish an invariable measure : but 
 no one of its circles, great or small, is accessible to ad- 
 measurement through all its parts ; and the various trials, 
 to measure definite portions of them, have been of such 
 various result, as to show there is no dependence on that 
 operation for certainty. 
 
 ' Matter, then, by its mere extension, furnishing no- 
 thing invariable, its motion is the only remaining re- 
 source. 
 
 ' The motion of the earth round its axis, though not 
 absolutely uniform and invariable, may be considered as 
 such for every human purpose. It is measured obvi- 
 ously, bat unequally, by the departure of a given me- 
 ridian from the sun, and its return to it, constituting a 
 
THOMAS JEFFERSON. 273 
 
 solar day. Throwing together the inequahties of solar 
 days, a mean interval, or day, has been found, and di- 
 vided, by very general consent, into eighty-six thousand 
 four hundred equal parts. 
 
 *A pendulum, vibrating freely, in small and equal 
 arcs, may be so adjusted in its length, as, by its vibra- 
 tions, to make this division of the earth's motion into 
 eighty-six thousand four hundred equal parts, called 
 seconds of mean time. 
 
 ' Such a pendulum, then, becomes itself a measure of 
 determinate length, to which all others may be referred, 
 as to a standard.' 
 
 But even the pendulum was not without its uncer- 
 tainties. Among these, not the least was the fact, that 
 the period of its vibrations varied in different latitudes. 
 To obviate this objection, he proposed to fix on some 
 one latitude to which the standard should refer. That 
 of 38 deg. being the mean latitude of the United States, 
 he adopted it at first; but afterwards, on receiving a 
 printed copy of a proposition of the bishop of Autun to 
 the national assembly of France, in which the author 
 had recommended the 45th deg., he poncluded to substi- 
 tute that in the room of 38 deg., for the sake of uni- 
 formity with a nation, with whom we were connected in 
 commerce ; and in the hope that it might become a line 
 of union with the rest of the world. 
 
 Having adopted the pendulum vibrating seconds in the 
 4.5th deg. of latitude, as a standard of invariable length, 
 he proceeded to identify, by that, the measures, weights 
 and coins of the United States. But, unacquainted with 
 the extent of reformation meditated by Congress, he 
 submitted two plans. First, on the supposition that the 
 difficulty of changing the established habits of a whole 
 nation, opposed an insuperable bar to a radical refor- 
 mation, he proposed that the present weights and meas- 
 ures should be retained, but be rendered uniform, by 
 bringing them to the same invariable standard. Second- 
 ly, on the hypothesis that an entire reformation was 
 24 
 
274 LIFE OP 
 
 contemplated, he proposed the adoption of a unit of 
 measure, to which the whole system of weights and 
 measures should be reduced, with divisions and subdi- 
 visions in the decimal ratio, corresponding to the uni- 
 formity already established in the coins of the United 
 States. On the whole, he was inclined to a general 
 reformation, with a view to make the denominations of 
 weights and measures conform to those already intro- 
 duced into the currency of the country. The facility 
 which such an improvement would establish in the vul- 
 gar arithmetic, would be soon and sensibly felt by the 
 mass of the people ; who would thereby be enabled to 
 compute for themselves, whatever they should have oc- 
 casion to buy, sell, or measure, which the present diffi- 
 cult and complicated ratios, for the most part, place be- 
 yond their computation. In the event of its being 
 adopted, however, he recommended a gradual reduction 
 of it to practice. A progressive introduction would 
 lessen the inconveniences, which might attend too sud- 
 den a substitution, even of an easier, for a more diffi- 
 cult system. After a given term, for instance, it might 
 begin in the custom houses, where the merchants would 
 become familiarized to it. After a farther term, it 
 might be introduced into all legal proceedings ; and 
 merchants and traders in foreign commodities might be 
 required to use it. After a still farther term, all other 
 descriptions of persons might receive it into common 
 use. Too long a postponement, on the other hand, 
 would increase the difficulties of its reception, with the 
 increase of our population. 
 
 This report is a curious and learned document, valua- 
 ble to the statesman and philosopher ; though, for the 
 same reasons, not calculated to interest the general 
 reader. It was submitted to Congress on the 13th of 
 July, 1790, and referred to a committee who reported in 
 favor of a general reformation, on the principles re- 
 commended by the author. But the subject was post- 
 
THOMAS JEFFERSON. 275 
 
 poned from session to session, for several years, without 
 receiving a final determination ; and at length, became 
 lost altogether in the crowd of more important matters. 
 The idea of reducing to a single standard the discordant 
 ratios of coins, weights and measures, has ever since, 
 at different intervals, engaged the attention of learned 
 statesmen in England, France, Spain and America ; but 
 a fear of encountering the difficulties of a change of 
 familiar denominations, with a natural attachment to 
 established usage, has hitherto prevented the introduc- 
 tion of a general uniformity in the systems of either 
 country. 
 
 2. The report of the secretary of State on the cod 
 and whale fisheries of the United States, is one of those 
 ancient State papers which, unlike the innumerable mul- 
 titude that perish with the occasion, seem destined to be 
 perpetual. The subject was referred to him by Con- 
 gress, on the 9th of August, 1790, in consequence of a 
 representation from the legislature of Massachusetts, 
 setting forth the embarrassments under which those 
 great branches of their business labored, and soliciting 
 the interference of the government in various ways. 
 
 This sound and energetic report was submitted to 
 Congress on the 4th of February, 1791. It was accept- 
 ed, published, and applauded by the great majority of the 
 people. The policy so urgently recommended by Mr 
 Jefferson, was adopted ; and its utility was soon demon- 
 strated, by the restoration to the United States, upon a 
 prosperous and permanent footing, of one of their most 
 important branches of domestic and maritime industry. 
 
 3. The report of the secretary of State on commerce 
 and navigation. This paper was prepared in pursuance 
 of a resolution of the house of representatives, passed 
 on the 23d of February, 1791, instructing him to report 
 to Congress the nature and extent of the privileges and 
 restrictions of the commercial intercourse of the United 
 States with foreign nations, and the measures which he 
 
276 LIFE OF 
 
 should think proper to be adopted for the improvement 
 of their commerce and navigation. 
 
 The administration of the foreign affairs of the repub- 
 lic devolving, ex officio, on the secretary of State, the 
 principal of his labors emanate from that source. Be- 
 ing the organ of communication between the government 
 and foreign nations, the preparing and communica- 
 ting instructions to our ministers of every grade at the 
 different courts, and the answering those of foreign min- 
 isters of every grade resident in the United States, con- 
 stitute a perpetual routine of arduous and complicated 
 duties. Perhaps there was never a period in our history, 
 in which these duties were more onerous and multiplied, 
 than during the years 1791, '92, and '93. The United 
 States were at issue, on the most delicate points of con- 
 troversy, with England, France, and Spain ; and finally, 
 the coalition of European despots against republican 
 France, drove our government into the necessity of main- 
 taining a strict and impartial neutrality towards the bel- 
 ligerent parties — the most difficult posture it was ever 
 called on to assume. 
 
 With Spain, difficulties had arisen of a serious char- 
 acter. They concerned chiefly the navigation of the 
 Mississippi below our southern limit, the right to which 
 was still withheld ; the settlement of boundaries between 
 the two nations ; and the interference, on the part of 
 Spain, with the tribes of Indians in our territories, in- 
 citing them to frequent and ferocious depredations on 
 our citizens. 
 
 On all these points the talents of the secretary of State 
 were constantly exercised in communicating and enforc- 
 ing the opinions of the administration. On the subject 
 of the Mississippi, his instructions to our minister at 
 Madrid were rigorous and uncompromising. He insist- 
 ed that the United States had a right not only to the un- 
 molested navigation of that river, to its mouth, but also to 
 an entrepot near thereto, in the dominions of Spain, sub- 
 
THOMAS JEI^FERSON. 277 
 
 ject to our jurisdiction exclusively, for the convenience 
 and protection of our commerce. He grounded these 
 rights upon the broad principle of the law of nature, 
 that the inhabitants on both sides of a navigable river 
 are entitled to the common use and e^ijoyment of it, to 
 the ocean ; and that the right to use a thing compre- 
 hends a right to all the means necessary to its use. The 
 peculiar energy and urgency of his official communica- 
 tions are in unison with the high tone of American feel- 
 ing which he carried into every situation. 
 
 On the subject of the boundaries between the United 
 States and Spain, and the incendiary interference of the 
 latter with the Indians on our territories, the communi- 
 cations of Mr Jefferson gave a tone to the foreign ad- 
 ministration of the government, distinguished alike for 
 moderation and firmness. He uniformly pressed on 
 our minister the importance of assuring the court of 
 Spain, on fvery occasion, in respectful yet unequivocal 
 terms, that the essential principles in dispute would nev- 
 er be relinquished — preferring always a peaceful redress 
 of grievances, yet fearless of war, if driven to that ex- 
 tremity. Such however was the obstinacy of Spain, and 
 her jealousy of a rising power in the West, which was one 
 day to obliterate her American possessions, that although 
 deprecating the possibility of war, she skilfully par- 
 ried all attempts at negotiation, and secretly practised 
 her wily arts with the Indians. This temporizing and 
 inhuman policy at length drew forth from Mr Jeffer- 
 son a bold address to the court of Spain itself, declar- 
 ing the ultimate determination of the government, in lan- 
 guage equally resolute and conciliatory. 
 
 ' We love and we value peace ; we know its blessings 
 from experience ; unmeddling with the affairs of other 
 nations, we had hoped that our distance and our dispo- 
 sitions, would have left us free, in the example and indul- 
 gence of peace with all the world. We had with sin- 
 cere and particular dispositions, courted and cultivated 
 24* 
 
278 LIFE OF 
 
 the friendship of Spain. Cherishing the same senti- 
 ments, we have chosen to ascribe the unfriendly insinu- 
 ations of the Spanish commissioners, in their intercourse 
 with the government of the United States, to the peculiar 
 character of the writers, and to remove the cause from 
 them to their sovereign, in whose justice and love of 
 peace we have confidence. If we are disappointed in 
 this appeal, if we are to be forced into a contrary order 
 of things, our mind is made up, we shall meet it with 
 firmness. The necessity of our position will supersede 
 all appeal to calculation now, as it has done heretofore. 
 We confide in our own strength, without boasting of it : 
 we respect that of others, without fearing it. If Spain 
 chooses to consider our self defence against savage butch- 
 ery as a cause of war to her, we must meet her also in 
 war, with regret, but without fear ; and we shall be hap- 
 pier to the last moment, to repair with her to the tribu- 
 nal of peace and reason.' 
 
 The controversy with Spain, on these several points, 
 was continued with unabated ardor, while Mr Jefferson 
 remained secretary of State. The rights in dispute 
 were finally secured by treaty, on the principles con- 
 tended for by him, except that the right to an entrepot 
 at New Orleans was limited to three years. The prin- 
 ciple of free bottoms, free goods, was also recognized ; 
 and the practice of privateering was humanely restrain- 
 ed. These were favorite ideas with Mr Jefi*erson. The 
 treaty with Spain was concluded on the 27th of Octo- 
 ber, 1795. 
 
 In the midst of the contest with Spain, the secretary 
 of State became involved in a diplomatic controversy 
 with Mr Hammond, minister plenipotentiary of Great 
 Britain to the United States. This controversy origin- 
 ated in the non-execution of the treaty of peace ; in- 
 fractions of which, in various particulars, had been mu- 
 tually charged, by each upon the other party, ever since 
 the conclusion of the war. Mr Jefferson directed the 
 attention of the British minister to the subject, in a point- 
 ed manner. He informed him that the British garrisons 
 
THOMAS JEFFERSON. 279 
 
 had not evacuated the western posts, in violation of an 
 express stipulation to that effect in the seventh article, 
 that the British officers had exercised jurisdiction over 
 the country and inhabitants in the vicinity of these posts, 
 that American citizens had been excluded from the navi- 
 gation of the lakes, and that, contrary to the same arti- 
 cle, a great number of negroes, the property of Ameri- 
 can citizens, had been carried away on the evacuation of 
 New York. 
 
 Mr Hammond repliedj by admitting the alleged in- 
 fractions, but justifying them on the ground of retalia- 
 tion, the United States having previously, he declared, 
 violated their engagements, by obstructing the payment 
 of debts justly due to British creditors, and by refusing 
 to make remuneration for repeated confiscations of Bri- 
 tish property, during and since the war. 
 
 To this, Mr Jefferson rejoined, on the 29th of May, 
 '92, in a masterly communication of more than sixty 
 pages octavo. He reviewed the whole ground of the 
 controversy, from beginning to end, sustaining his for- 
 mer positions and overturning those of the British minis- 
 ter, by such arguments as drove his antagonist from the 
 field. He showed that with respect to property confis- 
 cated by the individual States, the treaty merely stipu- 
 lated that Congress should recommend to the legislatures 
 of the several States to provide for its restitution. That 
 Congress had done all in their power, and all they were 
 bound by the treaty to do ; that it was left with the 
 States to comply or not, as they might think proper, 
 with the recommendation of Congress, and that this was 
 so understood by the British negotiators, and by the 
 British ministry, at the time the treaty was concluded. 
 He also claimed that the first infractions were on the 
 part of Great Britain, by retaining the western posts, 
 and by the deportation of negroes; and that the delays 
 and impediments which had taken place in the collection 
 of British debts, were justifiable on that account. 
 
280 LIFE OF 
 
 Hammond never undertook an answer to this com- 
 munication. After more than a year had elapsed, with- 
 out hearing any thing from him, Mr Jefferson invited 
 his attention to the subject, and requested an answer. 
 But Hammond evaded the challenge, alleging as an ex- 
 cuse for his neglect, that he awaited instructions from 
 his government. In this state the matter rested until it 
 became merged in disputes of a more serious character, 
 by the outbreaking of a general war in Europe, which 
 changed the political relations of both continents. 
 
 Against another pretension on the part of Great Bri- 
 tain, and one which ultimately conduced to the second 
 war with that nation, Mr Jefferson had the honor of 
 opposing the first formal resistance of our government. 
 This was the impressment of seamen on board Ameri- 
 can ships, under color of their being British subjects. 
 This custom was peculiar to England ; she had prac- 
 tised it towards all other nations, from time immemo- 
 rial, but with accumulated rigor towards the United 
 States since their independence. She claimed the ab- 
 solute right of going on board American ships, with her 
 press-gangs, and constraining into her service all sea- 
 men whatsoever, who could not produce upon the spot, 
 written evidences of their citizenship. The consequence 
 was that American citizens were frequently carried off, 
 and subjected to multiplied cruelties, not only without 
 evidence, but even against evidence. In opposition to 
 this preposterous claim, the secretary of State proclaim- 
 ed the determined voice of the government, and autho- 
 rized a rigorous system of reprisal, unless the practice 
 should be abandoned. He contended that American 
 bottoms should he prima facie evidence that all on board 
 were Americans, which would throw the burden of proof, 
 where it ought to be, on those who set themselves up 
 against natural right. Under date of June 11, 1792, 
 he thus writes to our minister at London : 
 
THOMAS JEFFERSON. 281 
 
 ' We entirely reject the mode which was the subject 
 of a conversation between Mr Morris and him, [British 
 minister,] which was, that our seamen should always 
 carry about them certificates of their citizenship. This 
 is a condition never yet submitted to by any nation, one 
 with which seamen would never have the precaution to 
 comply : the casualties of their calling' would expose them 
 to the constant destruction or loss of this paper evidence, 
 and thus, the British government would be armed with 
 legal authority to impress the whole of our seamen. 
 The simplest rule will be, that the vessel being Ameri- 
 can, shall be evidence that the seamen on board her are 
 such. If they apprehend that our vessels might thus 
 become asylums for the fugitives of their own nation 
 from impressment, the number of men to be protected by 
 a vessel may be limited by her tonnage, and one or two 
 officers onJy be permitted to enter the vessel in order to 
 examine the numbers on board ; but no press-gang 
 should be allowed ever to go on board an American ves- 
 sel, till after it shall be found that there are more than 
 their stipulated number on board, nor till after the mas- 
 ter shall have refused to deliver the supernumeraries (to 
 be named by himself) to the press-officer who has come 
 on board for that purpose ; and, even then, the Ameri- 
 can consul should be called in. In order to urge a set- 
 tlement of this point, before a new occasion may arise, 
 it may not be amiss to draw their attention to the pecu- 
 liar irritation excited on the last occasion, and the difii- 
 culty of avoiding our making immediate reprisals on 
 their seamen here.' 
 
 On the subject of impressment Mr Jefferson's private 
 opinion was, that American bottoms should be conchisive 
 evidence that all on board were American citizens, in- 
 asmuch as the right of expatriation was a natural right, 
 the free enjoyment of which no nation had the authority 
 to molest, with respect to any other nation, unless by 
 special and mutual agreement. But the administration 
 were not prepared, at this time, to carry their resistance 
 to the principle, farther than was necessary for the pro- 
 
282 
 
 LIFE OF 
 
 tection of their own seamen, without affording an 
 asylum for others. 
 
 The Holy Alliance of European despots against the 
 republic of France, in 1793, placed the United States 
 in a new position. The situation of a neutral nation is 
 always delicate and embarrassing ; but peculiarly so, 
 when it is connected with the belligerent parties by ex- 
 tensive commercial relations, and when its subjects are 
 divided by powerful political partialities and antipathies 
 towards the powers at war. This was precisely the 
 situation of the United States. 
 
 The frenzy of the popular excitement in favor of 
 France, was greatly increased by the intemperate cha- 
 racter of the minister of the French republic, Mr Genet. 
 No sooner had this gentleman arrived in the United 
 States, than, presuming on the state of public feeling, 
 he began the design of forcing them to become a party 
 to the war, by an extraordinary course of proceedings. 
 He landed on the 8th of April, 1793, at Charleston, a 
 port so remote from his points, both of departure and 
 destination, as to excite attention; and' instead of pro- 
 ceeding directly to Philadelphia and presenting his cre- 
 dentials to the president, he remained in Charleston five 
 or six weeks. While there, he was constantly engaged 
 in authorizing the fitting and arming vessels in that port, 
 enlisting men, foreigners and citizens, and giving 'them 
 commissions to cruise and commit hostilities on the na- 
 tions at war with France. These vessels were taking 
 and bringing prizes into our ports ; and the consuls of 
 France, by his direction, were assuming to hold courts 
 of admiralty on them, to try, condemn, and authorize 
 their sale as legal prize. All this was done and doing 
 before Mr Genet had been received and accredited by 
 the president, without his consent or consultation, in de- 
 fiance of an express proclamation by the government, 
 and in palpable contravention of the law of nations. 
 These proceedings immediately called forth from the 
 
THOMAS JEFFERSON. 283 
 
 British minister several memorials thereon ; to which 
 Mr Jefferson replied, on the 15th of May, condemning 
 in the highest degree, the transactions complained 
 ao^ainst, and assuring the British minister that the United 
 States would take the most effectual measures to pre- 
 vent their repetition. Mr Genet reached Philadelphia 
 the next day. His progress through the country had 
 been triumphal ; and he was received at Philadelphia 
 amidst the plaudits and acclamations of the people. 
 On his presentation to the president, he assured him 
 that on account of the remote situation of the United 
 States and other circumstances, France did not expect 
 them to become a party in the war, but wished to see 
 them preserve their prosperity and happiness in peace. 
 But in a conference with the secretary of State, soon 
 after his reception, he alluded to his proceedings at 
 Charleston, and expressed a hope that the president had 
 not absolutely decided against them. He added, that 
 he would write the secretary a note, justifying his con- 
 duct under the treaty between the two nations ; but if 
 the president should finally determine otherwise, he must 
 submit, as his instructions enjoined him to do what was 
 agreeable to the Americans. 
 
 In pursuance of his intimation, he addressed a letter 
 to the secretary of State, on the 27th of May, in which 
 it appeared that he was far from possessing a disposi- 
 tion to acquiesce in the decisions of the government. 
 This letter laid the foundation of a correspondence, 
 which is confessedly unparalleled in the annals of di- 
 plomacy. The communications of Mr Jefferson present 
 a valuable commentary on the legal interpretation of 
 treaties. They occupy a volume of the American State- 
 papers ; and a mere outline of them, would exceed the 
 limits prescribed to the present work. 
 
 The communications of Genet, on the other hand, were 
 a tissue of inflammatory declamation. To the reason- 
 ings of Mr Jefferson on the obligations of the United 
 
284 LIFE OF 
 
 States to observe an impartial neutrality towards all 
 the belligerent parties, he applied the epithet of ' diplo- 
 matic subtilties.' And when he sustained the princi- 
 ples advanced by him, by quotations from Vattel and 
 other approved jurisconsults. Genet called them ' the 
 aphorisms of Vattel,' &-c. ' You oppose,' said he, ' to 
 my complaints, to my just reclamations, upon the foot- 
 ing of right, the private or public opinion of the presi- 
 dent of the United States ; and this segis not appearing 
 to you sufficient, you bring forward aphorisms of Vattel, 
 to justify or excuse infractions committed on positive 
 treaties.' And he added, ' do not punish the brave in- 
 dividuals of your nation who arrange themselves under 
 our banner, knowing perfectly well, that no law of the 
 United States gives to the government the sole power of 
 arresting their zeal, by acts of rigor. The Americans 
 are free : they are not attached to the glebe, like the 
 slaves of Russia ; they may change their situation when 
 they please, and by accepting at this moment the suc- 
 cor of their arms in the habit of trampling on tyrants, 
 we do not commit the plagiat of which you speak. 
 The true robbery, the true crime would be to enchain 
 the courage of these good citizens, of these sincere 
 friends of the best of causes.' At other times he would 
 address himself to the political feelings of Mr Jefferson 
 himself, whom he had been induced to consider his per- 
 sonal friend, and who, he said, ' had initiated him into 
 mysteries which had inflamed his hatred against all 
 those who aspire to an absolute power.' 
 
 During the same time also Mr Genet was indus- 
 triously engaged in disseminating seditious addresses 
 among the people, and attempting, by every means in 
 his power, to inflame their passions, and induce them 
 to arise in arms against the enemies of France. 
 
 Finally, after a controversy of several months, in the 
 whole course of which, the mingled efiusions of arro- 
 gance and intemperance were opposed to a moderation 
 
THOMAS JEFFERSON. 285 
 
 and forbearance which could not be betrayed into a 
 single undignified expression, the American government 
 came to the determination of desiring the recall of Mr 
 Genet. This delicate duty was executed by Mr Jeffer- 
 son, and in a manner which has doubtless united more 
 opinions in its favor than any other diplomatic per- 
 formance on record. On the 16th of August, 1793, he 
 addressed a letter to Mr Morris, the minister of the 
 United States at Paris, containing an epitome of the 
 correspondence on both sides, assigning the reasons 
 which rendered the recall of Mr Genet necessary, and 
 directing the case to be immediately laid before the 
 French government. 
 
 It were vain to attempt a satisfactory analysis of 
 this letter. To a full and dispassionate review of the 
 transactions of Mr Genet, and an unanswerable vin- 
 dication of the principles upon which the administra- 
 tion had conducted itself in the controversy, assurances 
 were added of an unwavering attachment to France, 
 expressed in such terms as to impress every reader 
 with their sincerity. The concluding paragraphs are 
 too remarkable not to require an insertion. 
 
 After introducing a series of quotations from Mr 
 Genet's correspondence, which he deemed too offensive 
 to be translated into English, or to merit a commen- 
 tary, the author proceeded in the following dignified 
 strain : 
 
 ' We draw a veil over the sensations which these ex- 
 pressions excite. No words can render them ; but they 
 will not escape the sensibility of a friendly and mag- 
 nanimous nation, who will do us justice. We see in 
 them neither the portrait of ourselves, nor the pencil of 
 our friends ; but an attempt to embroil both ; to add 
 still another nation to the enemies of his country, and 
 to draw on both a reproach, which it is hoped will never 
 stain the history of either. The written proofs, of 
 25 
 
286 LIFE OP 
 
 which Mr Genet was himself the bearer, were too un- 
 equivocal to leave a doubt that the French nation are 
 constant in their friendship to us. The resolves of their 
 national convention, the letters of their executive coun- 
 cil attest this truth, in terms which render it necessary 
 to seek in some other hypothesis, the solution of Mr 
 Genet's machinations against our peace and friendship. 
 ' Conscious, on our part, of the same friendly and sin- 
 cere dispositions, we can with truth affirm, both for our 
 nation and government, that we have never omitted a 
 reasonable occasion of manifesting them. For I will 
 not consider as of that character, opportunities of sally- 
 ing forth from our ports to way-lay, ro1), and murder 
 defenceless merchants and others, who have done us no 
 injury, and who were coming to trade with us in the con- 
 fidence of our peace and amity. The violation of all 
 the laws of order and morality which bind mankind to- 
 gether, would be an unacceptable offering to a just na- 
 tion. Recurring then only to recent things, after so 
 afflicting a libel, we recollect with satisfaction, that in 
 the course of two years, by unceasing exertions, we paid 
 up seven years' arrearages and instalments of our debt 
 to France, which the inefficiency of our first form of 
 government had suffered to be accumulating : that press- 
 ing on still to the entire fulfilment of our engagements, 
 we have facilitated to Mr Genet the effect of the instal- 
 ments of the present year, to enable him to send relief 
 to his fellow citizens in France, threatened with famine : 
 that in the first moment of the insurrection which threat- 
 ened the colony of St Domingo, we stepped forward to 
 their relief with arms and money, taking freely on our- 
 selves the risk of an unauthorized aid, when delay would 
 have been denial : that we have received, according to 
 our best abilities, the wretched fugitives from the catas- 
 trophe of the principal town of that colony, who, escap- 
 ing from the swords and flames of civil war, threw them- 
 selves on us naked and houseless, without food or friends, 
 money or other means, their faculties lost and absorbed 
 in the depth of their distresses : that the exclusive ad- 
 mission to sell here the prizes made by France on her 
 enemies, in the present war, though unstipulated in our 
 treaties, and unfounded in her own practice or in that 
 
THOMAS JEFFERSON. 287 
 
 of Other nations, as we believe ; the spirit manifested by 
 the late grand jury in their proceedings against those 
 who had aided the enemies of France with arms and 
 implements of war ; the expressions of attachment to 
 his nation, with which Mr Genet was welcomed on his 
 arrival and journey from South to North, and our long 
 forbearance under his gross usurpations and outrages of 
 the laws and authority of our country, do not bespeak 
 the partialities intimated in his letters. And for these 
 things he rewards us by endeavors to excite discord and 
 distrust between our citizens and those whom they have 
 entrusted with their government, between the different 
 branches of our government, between our nation and 
 his. But none of these things, we hope, will be found 
 in his power. That friendship which dictates to us to 
 bear with his conduct yet a while, lest the interests of 
 his nation here should suffer injury, will hasten them to 
 replace an agent, whose dispositions are such a misrepre- 
 sentation of theirs, and whose continuance here is incon- 
 sistent with order, peace, respect, and that friendly cor- 
 respondence which we hope will ever subsist between the 
 two nations. His government will see too that the case 
 is pressing. That it is impossible for two sovereign and 
 independent authorities to be going on within our terri- 
 tory at the same time without collision. They will fore- 
 see that if Mr Genet perseveres in his proceedings, the 
 consequences would be so hazardous to us, the example 
 so humiliating and pernicious, that we may be forced 
 even to suspend his functions before a successor can ar- 
 rive to continue them. If our citizens have not already 
 been shedding each other's blood, it is not owing to the 
 moderation of Mr Genet, but to the forbearance of the 
 government. 
 
 ' Lay the case then immediately before his govern- 
 ment. Accompany it with assurances, which cannot be 
 stronger than true, that our friendship for the nation is 
 constant and unabating ; that faithful to our treaties, we 
 have fulfilled them in every point to the best of our un- 
 derstanding ; that if in any thing, however, we have con- 
 strued them amiss, we are ready to enter into candid ex- 
 planations, and to do whatever we can be convinced is 
 right ; that in opposing the extravagances of an agent, 
 whose character they seem not sufficiently to have known, 
 
288 
 
 LIFE OF 
 
 we have been urged by motives of duty to ourselves and 
 justice to others, which cannot but be approved by those 
 who are just themselves ; and finally, that after inde- 
 pendence and self-government, there is nothing we more 
 sincerely wish than perpetual friendship with them.' 
 
 This appeal to the justice and magnanimity of France, 
 was successful. Genet was recalled, and his place sup- 
 plied by Mr Fauchet, who arrived in the United States 
 in February, 1794. 
 
 On the last day of December, 1793, Mr JeiFerson re- 
 signed the office of secretary of State, and retired from 
 political life. This was not a sudden resolution on his 
 part; nor unexpected to his country. The political dis- 
 agreement between himself and the secretary of the 
 treasury, added to his general disinclination to office, was 
 the cause of his retirement. This disagreement origina- 
 ting in a fundamental difference of opinion, and aggra- 
 vated by subsequent oollisions in the cabinet, was reflect- 
 ed back upon the people, and aggravated in turn, the 
 agitations and animosities between the republicans and 
 federalists, of which they were respectively the leaders. 
 
 Having discovered in a letter from the president, while 
 on a journey to the south, that he intended to resign the 
 administration at the end of his first term, he decided 
 on making that the date of his own retirement. This 
 resolution was formed so early as April, 1791 ; and first 
 communicated to the president in February, 1792. The 
 private conversations held between these two great pub- 
 lic servants, at different periods during their official con- 
 nection, attest the sincerity of their attachment to each 
 other, and the fervor of their devotion to the country. 
 While both were sighing for retirement, each endeavored 
 to dissuade the other from it, as an irreparable public 
 calamity. 
 
THOMAS JEFFERSON. 289 
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 
 After five and twenty years' continual employment in 
 the public service, with every wish of personal ambition 
 more than gratified, Mr Jefferson returned with great 
 satisfaction to that mode of life which had always been 
 congenial to him, and from which he was resolved never 
 again to be diverted. In answer to a letter of the secre- 
 tary of State, soon after his resignation, containing an 
 invitation of the president, pressing his return to the 
 public councils, he wrote : ' No circumstances, my dear 
 sir, will ever more tempt me to engage in any thing pub- 
 lic. I thought myself perfectly fixed in this determina- 
 tion when I left Philadelphia, but every day and hour 
 since has added to its inflexibihty. It is a great pleasure 
 to me to retain the esteem and approbation of the presi- 
 dent, and this forms the only ground of any reluctance 
 at being unable to comply with every wish of his. Pray 
 convey these sentiments and a thousand more to him, 
 which my situation does not permit me to go into.' 
 
 In the cultivation of his farm, with which he was at 
 all times enamored, and to which he was now intently 
 devoted, Mr Jefferson was as philosophical and original 
 as in every other department of business. On and around 
 the mountain on which Monticello is situated, was an 
 estate of about 5000 acres owned by him ; of which 
 eleven hundred and twenty acres only were under culti- 
 vation. A ten years' abandonment of his lands to the 
 ravages of overseers, had brought on them a degree of 
 deterioration, far beyond what he had expected ; and he 
 25* 
 
290 
 
 LIFE OP 
 
 determined upon the following plan for retrieving them 
 from the wretched condition in which they were found. 
 He divided all his lands under culture, into four farms, 
 and every farm into seven fields of forty acres. Each 
 farm therefore consisted of two hundred and eighty 
 acres. He established a system of rotation in cropping, 
 which embraced seven years ; and this was the reason 
 for the division of each farm into seven fields. In the 
 first of these years, wheat was cultivated ; in the second, 
 Indian corn ; in the third, peas or potatoes ; in the fourth, 
 vetches ; in the fifth, wheat ; and in the sixth and seventh, 
 clover. Thus each of his fields yielded some produce 
 every year, and the rotation of culture, while it prepar- 
 ed the soil for the succeeding crop, increased its produce. 
 Each farm, under the direction of a particular steward 
 or bailiff, was cultivated by four negroes, four negresses, 
 four oxen, and four horses. On each field was con- 
 structed a barn sufficiently capacious to hold its produce 
 in grain and forage. A few extracts from his private 
 correspondence, at this period, will show how complete- 
 ly his mind was abstracted from the political world, and 
 absorbed in the occupations and enjoyments of his rural 
 retreat. 
 
 To James Madison. — ' I long to see you. I am pro- 
 ceeding in my agricultural plans with a slow but sure 
 step. To get under full way will require four or five 
 years. B-ut patience and perseverance will accomplish 
 it. My little essay in red clover, the last year, has had 
 the most encouraging success. I sowed then about forty 
 acres. I have sowed this year about one hundred and 
 twenty, which the rain now falling comes very oppor- 
 tunely on. From one hundred and sixty to two hundred 
 acres, will be my yearly sowing. The seed-box describ- 
 ed in the agricultural transactions of New- York, reduces 
 the expense of seeding from six shillings to two shillings 
 and three pence the acre, and does the business better 
 than is possible to be done by the human hand.' 
 
 To W. B. Giles. — * I sincerely congratulate you on 
 
THOMAS JEFFERSON. 291 
 
 the great prosperities of our two first allies, the French 
 and Dutch. If I could but see them now at peace with 
 the rest of their continent, I should have little doubt of 
 dining with Pichegru in London, next autumn ; for I be- 
 lieve I should be tempted to leave my clover for a while, 
 and go and hail the dawn of liberty and republicanism 
 in that island. I shall be rendered very happy by the 
 visit you promise me. The only thing wanting to make 
 me completely so, is the more frequent society of my 
 friends. It is the more wanting, as I am become more 
 firmly fixed to the glebe. If you visit me as a farmer, it 
 must be as a condisciple ; for I am but a learner, an 
 eager one indeed, but yet desperate, being too old to learn 
 a new art. However, I am as much delighted and occu- 
 pied with it, as if I was the greatest adept. I shall talk 
 with you about it from morning till night, and put you 
 on very short allowance as to political aliment. Now 
 and then a pious ejaculation for the French and Dutch 
 republicans, returning with due dispatch to clover, pota- 
 toes, wheat, &:.c.' 
 
 To M. Page. — ' It was not in my power to attend at 
 Fredericksburg according to the kind invitation in your 
 letter, and in that of Mr Ogilvie. The heat of the 
 weather, the business of the farm, to which I have made 
 myself necessary, forbade it; and to give one round 
 reason for all, mature sanus, I have laid up my Rosinante 
 in his stall, before his unfitness for the road shall expose 
 him faltering to the world. But why did not I answer 
 you in time 1 Because, in truth, I am encouraging my- 
 self to grow lazy, and I was sure you would ascribe the 
 delay to any thing sooner than a want of affection or re- 
 spect to you, for this was not among the possible causes. 
 In truth, if any thing could ever induce me to sleep 
 another night out of my own house, it would have been 
 your friendly invitation and my solicitude for the subject 
 of it, the education of our youth. I do most anxiously 
 wish to see the highest degrees of education given to the 
 higher degrees of genius, and to all degrees of it, so 
 much as may enable them to read and understand what 
 is going on in the world, and to keep their part of it go- 
 ing on right : for nothing can keep it right but their own 
 vigilant and distrustful superintendence.' 
 
292 LIFE OF 
 
 With the peaceful operations of agriculture, Mr Jef- 
 ferson combined another gratification — to wit, the pur- 
 suit of science. In compliment to his uncommon pas- 
 sion for philosophy, and his exalted attainments in 
 science, he was about this time appointed president of 
 the American Philosophical Society, the oldest and 
 most distinguished institution in the United States. This 
 honor had been first conferred on Dr Franklin, and 
 afterwards on Rittenhouse, at whose death Mr JeflTerson 
 was chosen. His sensibility to this mark of distinction 
 was more profound than he had ever felt on any occa- 
 sion of political preferment. ' The suffrage of a body,' 
 said he in reply, ' which comprehends whatever the 
 American world has of distinction in philosophy and 
 science in general, is the most flattering incident of my 
 life, and that to which I am the most sensible. My 
 satisfaction would be complete, were it not for the con- 
 sciousness that it is far beyond my titles. I feel no 
 qualification for this distinguished post, but a sincere 
 zeal for all the objects of our institution, and an ardent 
 desire to see knowledge so disseminated through the 
 mass of mankind, that it may, at length, reach even the 
 extremes of society, beggars, and kings.' 
 
 Of this society he was the pride and ornament. He 
 presided over it for a number of years with great effi- 
 ciency, elevating its character, and extending its opera- 
 tions, by those means which his enlarged acquaintance 
 with science and the literary world enabled him to com- 
 mand. His constant attendance at its meetings, while 
 he resided in Philadelphia, gave them an interest which 
 had not been excited for a number of years. Science, 
 under his auspices, received a fresh impulse, as will ap- 
 pear by consulting the Transactions of that period, which 
 were enriched by many valuable contributions from him- 
 self. 
 
 But it was impossible for Mr Jefi'erson utterly to ex- 
 tinguish that inbred republicanism for which he was 
 
THOMAS JEFFERSON. 
 
 293 
 
 so remarkable, or those anxieties for its preservation 
 and purity, which weighed on him so heavily at times. 
 He had left Philadelphia not without some inquietude 
 for the future destinies of the government, yet with a 
 confidence so strong as never permitted him to doubt the 
 final result of the experiment. 
 
 Early in the year 1795, the two great parties of the 
 nation became firmly arrayed against each other, on the 
 question of providing a successor to General Washing- 
 ton. Mr Adams was taken up by the federalists, and 
 Mr Jefterson was undividedly designated as the republi- 
 can candidate. 
 
 The contest was conducted with great asperity. In 
 fierceness and turbulence of character, in the temper 
 and dispositions of the respective parties, and in the 
 principles which were put in issue, the contest so strong- 
 ly resembled those of which the present generation 
 have been frequent eye-witnesses and actors, as to ren- 
 der a description unnecessary. The issue is well known. 
 The struggle of the people against the party in power 
 is always an unequal one ; and was lost on the present 
 occasion. The majority, however, was inconsiderable. 
 On counting the electoral votes in February, 1797, it 
 appeared there. were seventy-one for Mr Adams, and 
 sixty-eight for Mr Jefferson, 
 
294 LIFE OF 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 The new administration, under John Adams, com- 
 menced on the 4th of March, 1797. 
 
 Mr Jejfiferson arrived at the seat of government on the 
 2d of March. Though there was no necessity for his 
 attendance, he had determined to come on, from a prin- 
 ciple of respect to the pubUc and the new president. 
 He had taken the precaution, however, to manifest his 
 disapprobation of the forms and ceremonies, establish- 
 ed at the first inauguration, by declining all participa- 
 tion in the homage of the occasion. As soon as he was 
 certified by the public papers of the event of the elec- 
 tion, he addressed a letter to Mr Tazewell, senator of 
 Virginia, expressing his particular desire to dispense 
 with the formality of notification by a special messen- 
 ger. At the first election of president and vice presi- 
 dent, gentlemen of considerable distinction were depu- 
 ted to notify the parties chosen ; and it was made an 
 ofiice of much dignity. But this expensive formality 
 was as unnecessary as it was repugnant to the genius of 
 our government ; and he was anxious that the prece- 
 dent should not be drawn into custom. He therefore 
 authorized Mr Tazewell to request the senate, if not in- 
 compatible with their views of propriety, to discontinue 
 the practice in relation to himself, and to adopt the 
 channel of the post, as the least troublesome, the most 
 rapid, and by the use of duplicates and triplicates, al- 
 ways capable of being rendered the most certain. He 
 
THOMAS JEFFERSON. 295 
 
 addressed another letter at the same time to Mr Madi- 
 son, requesting him to discountenance in his behalf, all 
 parade of reception, induction, &.c. 
 
 There was another point, involving an important con- 
 stitutional principle, on which Mr Jefferson improved 
 the occasion of his election to introduce a salutary re- 
 formation in the practice of the government. During 
 the previous administration, the vice president was made 
 a member of the cabinet, and occasionally participated 
 in the executive consultations, equally with the mem- 
 bers of the cabinet proper. This practice he regarded 
 as a combination of legislative with executive powers, 
 which the constitution had wisely separated. He avail- 
 ed himself, therefore, of the first opening from a friend- 
 ly quarter, to announce his determination to consider 
 the office of vice president as legitimately confined to 
 legislative functions, and to sustain no part whatever 
 in the executive consultations. In a letter to Mr Madi- 
 son, dated Monticello, January 22, 1797, he says : ' My 
 letters inform me that Mr Adams speaks of me with 
 great friendship, and with satisfaction in the prospect of 
 administering the government in concurrence with me. 
 I am glad of the first information, because, though I 
 saw that our ancient friendship was affected by a little 
 leaven, produced partly by his constitution, partly by 
 the contrivance of others, yet I never felt a diminution 
 of confidence in his integrity, and retained a solid af- 
 fection for him. His principles of government I knew 
 to be changed, but conscientiously changed. As to my 
 participation in the administration, if by that he meant 
 the executive cabinet, both duty and inclination will shut 
 that door to me. As to duty, tliel constitution will 
 know me only as the member of a legislative body ; 
 and its principle is, that of a separation of legislative, 
 executive, and judiciary functions, except in cases speci- 
 fied. If this principle be not expressed in direct terms, 
 yet it is clearly the spirit of the constitution, and it 
 
296 
 
 LIFE OP 
 
 ought to be so commented and acted on by every friend 
 to free government.' 
 
 In the first moments of the enthusiasm of the inaugu- 
 ration, Mr Adams forgot party sentiments, and indi- 
 cated a disposition to harmonize with the republican 
 body of his fellow citizens. He called upon Mr Jefferson 
 on the 3d of March, and expressed great pleasure at find- 
 ing him alone, as he wished a free conversation with 
 him. He entered immediately on an explanation of the 
 situation of our affairs with France, and the danger of 
 a rupture with that nation ; that he was impressed with 
 the necessity of an immediate mission to the directory ; 
 that it would have been the first wish of his heart to 
 have got Mr Jefferson to go there, but that he supposed it 
 was now out of the question. That he had determined 
 on sending an embassy, which by its dignity should sa- 
 tisfy France, and by its selection from the three great 
 divisions of the continent, should satisfy all parts of the 
 United States ; in short, that he determined to join 
 Madison and Gerry to Finckney, and he wished Mr 
 Jefferson to consult Madison in his behalf. He did so, 
 but Mr Madison declined, as was expected. After that 
 he never said a word to Mr Jefferson on the subject, nor 
 ever consulted him as to any measures of the adminis- 
 tration. 
 
 From the warmth with which Mr Jefferson embarked 
 in opposition to the administration, it might be inferred 
 that he permitted his political feelings to influence him 
 in the discharge of his oflicial duties. But tliis was not 
 the case. He presided over the senate with dignity, 
 and, although it was composed for the most part of his 
 political enemies, with an impartiality, which the rancor 
 of the times never attempted to impeach. How atten- 
 tive he was to the duties of his station, and how accu- 
 rately he understood the rules of parliamentary order, 
 is attested by his ' Manual,' a work which he at this 
 
THOMAS JEFFERSON. 297. 
 
 time published, and which has ever since been the guide 
 of both houses of Congress. 
 
 Soon after the election of Mr Adams, the political 
 contest for his successor was renewed with increased ve- 
 hemence. Mr Jefferson was again, with one accord, 
 selected as the republican candidate for the presidency, 
 and Aaron Burr of New York, for the office of Vice 
 President. With equal unanimity, John Adams, the in- 
 cumbent, and Charles C. Pinkney of South Carolina, 
 were designated as the candidates of the federal party. 
 
 It would be tedious to describe the opposition offered 
 to Mr Jefferson. The press cast the strongest reflec- 
 tions upon his political principles, and in some instances 
 the pulpit was made the organ of party. The strife 
 which then raged was of a nature, the vehemence of 
 which has seldom been equalled. Mr Jefferson was ac- 
 cused of having betrayed his native State into the hands 
 of the enemy on two occasions while at the head of the 
 government, by a cowardly abandonment of Richmond 
 on the sudden invasion of Arnold, and subsequently, by 
 an ignominious flight from Monticello on the approach 
 of Tarlton, with circumstances of such panic and pre- 
 cipitation as to occasion a fall from his horse, and the 
 dislocation of his shoulder. He was charged with being 
 the libeller of Washington, and the retainer of mer- 
 cenary libellers to blast the reputation of the father pf 
 his country. He was accused of implacable hostility to 
 the constitution, of employing foreign scribblers to write 
 it down ; and of aiming at the annihilation of all law, 
 order, and government, and the introduction of general 
 anarchy and licentiousness. He was characterized as 
 an atheist, and the patron of French atheists, Avhom he 
 encouraged to migrate to this country ; as a demagogue 
 and disorganizer, industriously sapping the foundations 
 of religion and virtue, and paving the way for the es- 
 tablishment of a legalized system of infidelity and liber- 
 tinism. Decency would revolt were we to pursue' the 
 26 
 
298 LIFE OP 
 
 catalogue into that region of invective, vv^hicli was em- 
 ployed to vilify his private character, and which abounded 
 in fabrications that have been the theme of infinite rid- 
 icule, in prose and verse. 
 
 While the madness of party was thus raging, and at- 
 tempting to despoil him of his reputation, Mr Jefferson 
 remained a passive spectator of the scene. Supported 
 by a consciousness of his innocence, he surveyed, with 
 composure, the tempest of detraction which was howl- 
 ing around him. His confidence in the justice of public 
 opinion was stronger than his sensibility under its tem- 
 porary reproaches, and he quietly submitted to the licen- 
 tiousness of the press, as an alloy which was inseparable 
 from the boon of its freedom. Besides, he felt an ani- 
 mating pride in being made the subject of the first great 
 experiment in the world, which was to test the sound- 
 ness of his favorite principle, 'that freedom of discus- 
 sion, unaided by power, was sufficient for the protection 
 and propagation of truth.' Although frequently solicited 
 by his friends, he never would descend to a newspaper 
 refutation of calumny ; and he ne/er, in any instance, 
 appealed to the retribution of the laws. ' 1 know,' he 
 wrote to a friend in Connecticut, ' that I might have 
 filled the courts of the United States with actions for 
 these slanders, and have ruined, perhaps, many persons 
 who are not innocent. But this would be no equivalent 
 for the loss of character. I leave them, therefore, to the 
 reproof of their own consciences. If these do not con- 
 demn them, there will yet come a day when the false 
 witness will meet a judge who has not slept over his 
 slanders. If the Rev. Cotton Mather Smith, of Shena, 
 believed this as firmly as I do, he would surely never 
 have affirmed that I had obtained my property by fraud 
 and robbery ; that in one instance I had defrauded and 
 robbed a widow and fatherless children of an estate to 
 which I was executor, of ten thousand pounds sterling, 
 by keeping the property and paying them in money at 
 
THOMAS JEFFERSON. 299 
 
 tlie nominal rate, when it was worth no more than forty 
 to one ; and that all this could be proved.' Every tittle 
 of this, grave denunciation was founded in falsehood. 
 Mr Jefferson was an executor but in two instances, which 
 happened about the beginning of the revolution; and he 
 never meddled in either executorship. In one of the 
 cases only were there a widow and children. She was 
 his sister, and retained and managed the estate exclu- 
 sively in her own hands. In the other case he was co- 
 parcener, and only received on division the equal por- 
 tion allotted him. Again, his property was all patrimo- 
 nial, except about seven or eight hundred pounds' worth, 
 purchased by himself and paid for, not to widows and 
 orphans, but to the gentleman from whom he purchased. 
 The charges against Mr Jefferson were indeed so auda- 
 cious, and persevered in with such assurance, as to ex- 
 cite the solicitude of his friends in different sections of 
 the union ; and they addressed him frequent letters of 
 inquiry on the subject. These he invariably answered 
 with frankness and liberality ; but he annexed to every 
 answer a restraint against its publication. In a letter of 
 this kind to Samuel Smith of Maryland, he concludes : 
 
 ' These observations will show you how far the impu- 
 tations in the paragraph sent me approach the truth. 
 Yet they are not intended for a newspaper. At a very 
 early period of my lile, I determined never to put a sen- 
 tence into any newspaper. I have religiously adhered 
 to the resolution through my life, and have great reason 
 to be contented with it. Were I to undertake to answer 
 the calumnies of the newspapers, it would be more than 
 all my own time and that of twenty aids could effect. 
 For while I should be answering one, twenty new ones 
 would be invented. I have thought it better to trust to 
 the justice of my countrymen, that they would judge me 
 by what they see of my conduct on the stage where they 
 have placed me, and what they knew of me before the 
 epoch, since which a particular party has supposed it 
 might answer some view of theirs to vilify me in the 
 
300 LIFE OP 
 
 public eye. Some, I know, will not reflect how apocry- 
 phal is the testimony of enemies so palpably betraying 
 the views with which they <»ive it. But this is an injury 
 to which duty recjuires every one to submit whom the 
 public tliink proper to call into its councils. I thank 
 you, my clear Sir, for the interest you have for me on 
 this occasion. Though J have made up my mind not to 
 suffer calumny to disturb my tranquillity, yet I retain all 
 my sensibilities for the approbation of the jj^ood and just. 
 That is, indeed, the chief consolation for the hatred of 
 so many, who, without the least personal knowledge, 
 and on the evidence of mercenary calumniators alone, 
 cover me with their implacable hatred. The oidy return 
 I will ever make them, will be to do them all the good I 
 can, in spite of their teeth.' 
 
 Mr Jefferson was successful over his competitor by 
 a vote of seventy-three to sixty-five, in the electoral 
 colleges. The States of New York, Virginia, South 
 Carolina, Georgia, Kentucky and Tennessee, were 
 unanimous for him. The New England States, with 
 Delaware and New Jersey, were unanimous for Mr 
 Adams. Pennsylvania and North Carolina, acting by 
 districts, gave a majority of votes to Mr .Tefferson ; and 
 Maryland was equally divided between the two candi- 
 dates. 
 
 But owing to a defect in the constitution, or an inat- 
 tention to its provisions, an unexpected contingency 
 arose, which threatened to reverse the will of the nation, 
 and to place in the executive chair a man who, it was 
 notorious, had not received a solitary vote for that sta- 
 tion. Mr Jefferson was elected president, and Aaron 
 Burr vice president, by an equal number of votes ; and 
 as the constitution required no specification of the office 
 for which each respectively was designed, but simply 
 confined the choice to the person having the highest 
 number of votes, the consequence was that neither had 
 the majority required by law. In this dilemma, the 
 election devolved on the house of representatives, and 
 
THOMAS JEFFERSON. 301 
 
 produced storms of an unprecedented character. The 
 federalists seized on the occasion, to favor their own pecu- 
 liar political principleso They held a caucus, and resolved 
 on the alternative, either to elect Burr in the room of 
 Jefferson, or, bj preventing a choice altogether, to 
 create an interregnum. In the latter event, they agreed 
 to pass an act of Congress, devolving the government 
 on a president, pro tem, of the senate, who would per- 
 haps have been a person of their choice. 
 
 On the 11th of February, the house proceeded in the 
 manner prescribed by the constitution to elect a presi- 
 dent of the United States. The representatives were 
 required to vote by States, instead of by persons. On 
 opening the ballots it appeared that there were eight 
 States for Mr Jefferson, six for colonel Burr, and two 
 divided ; consequently there was no choice. The pro- 
 cess was repeated, and the same result was indicated, 
 through FIVE successive days and nights, and thirty- 
 five ballotings. 
 
 During this long suspense, the decision depended on 
 a single vote ! Either one of the federalists from the 
 divided States, Vermont and Maryland, coming over to 
 the republican side, would have made a ninth State, 
 and decided the election in favor of Mr Jefferson. But 
 the opposition appeared invincible in the resolution to 
 have a president of their ow^n choice. 
 
 ' Mr N. a representative from Maryland, had been for 
 some weeks confined to his bed, and was so ill that his 
 life was considered in danger. Ill as he was, he insisted 
 on being carried to the hall of representatives, in order 
 to give his vote. The physicians forbade such a pro- 
 ceeding ; he insisted, and they appealed to his wife, 
 telling her that such a removal, and the consequent ex- 
 citement, might prove fatal to his life. " Be it so, then," 
 said she, "if my husband must die, let it be at the post 
 of duty ; no weakness of mine shall oppose his noble 
 resolution." How little did these physicians expect> 
 26* 
 
302 LIFE OF 
 
 when they appealed to the influence of one of the fond- 
 est and most devoted of wives, this courage. Of course 
 they withdrew their opposition ; the patient was car- 
 ried, in a Htter, to the capitol, where a bed was pre- 
 pared for him in an ante-room adjoining the senate 
 chamber, followed by his wife, where, during the four 
 or five days and nights of balloting, she remained by 
 his side ; supporting the strength of the feeble invalid, 
 who with difficulty traced the name of Jefferson each 
 time the ballot box was handed to him. Such was the 
 spirit of that day — the spirit of that party !' 
 
 Finally, on the thirty-sixth ballot the opposition gave 
 way, apparently from exhaustion. Mr Morris of Ver- 
 mont withdrew, which enabled his only colleague, Lyon, 
 to give the vote of that State to Mr Jefferson. The four 
 federalists from Maryland, who had hitherto supported 
 Burr, voted blanks, which n>ade the positive ticket of 
 their colleagues the vote of that State. South Carolina 
 and Delaware, both represented by federalists voted 
 blanks. So there were on the last ballot, ten States for 
 Mr Jefferson, four for colonel Burr, and two blanks."^ 
 The result, on being proclaimed, was greeted with ap- 
 plause from the galleries, which were immediately or- 
 dered by the speaker to be cleared. Mr Jefferson did 
 not receive a federal, nor colonel Burr a democratic 
 vote. The latter became, of course, vice president ; but 
 his apostacy separated him irretrievably from the con- 
 fidence of the republicans, while it demonstrated his 
 fitness for those treasonable purposes of ambition which 
 he subsequently manifested. 
 
 * On the last ballot, Vermont, New York, New Jersey, Pennsyl- 
 vania, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, Georgia, Kentucky and 
 Tennessee, voted for Mr Jefferson. New Hampshire, Massachu- 
 setts, Connecticut, and Rhode Island, for colonel Burr. Delaware 
 and South Carolina, voted blanks. 
 
THOMAS JEFFERSON. 303 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 On the fourth of March, 1801, Mr Jefferson was in- 
 ducted into office. The crowd of strangers who had 
 thronged the city during the previous period of agitation, 
 had disappeared, on the understanding that it was the 
 pleasure of the president to be made the subject of no 
 homage or ceremony. The city of Washington had been 
 occupied, as the seat of government, but a few months 
 only ; the number of its inhabitants, at this time, did not 
 exceed that of a small village ; the individuals composing 
 the late administration, had taken their departure with 
 the ex-president, early on the fourth of March ; and 
 now, divested of half its migratory population, the infant 
 metropolis presented a solitary appearance. The sim- 
 plicity of the scene, and of the ceremony of inaugura- 
 tion, is described by a Washington reminiscent : — 'The 
 sun shono bright on that morning. The senate was con- 
 vened. Those members of the republican party that re- 
 mained at the seat of government, the judges of the su- 
 preme court, some citizens, and persons from the neigh- 
 boring country, and about a dozen ladies, made up the as- 
 sembly in the senate chamber, who were collected to wit- 
 ness the ceremony of the president's inauguration. Mr 
 Jefferson had not yet arrived. He was seen walking 
 from his lodo:ino:s, which were not far distant, attended 
 by five or six gentlemen, who were his fellow lodgers. 
 Soon afterwards he entered, accompanied by a commit- 
 tee of the senate, and bowing to the senate, who arose 
 to receive him. he approached a table on which the bible 
 
304 LIFE OP 
 
 lay,aiid took the oath which was administered to him by the 
 chief justice. He was then conducted, by the president 
 of the senate, to his chair, which stood on a platform 
 raised some steps above the floor ; after the pause of a 
 moment or two he arose and delivered that beautiful in- 
 augural address wliich has since become so popular and 
 celebrated, with a clear, distinct voice, in a firm and 
 modest manner. — On leaving the chair he was surround- 
 ed by friends who pressed forward with cordial and eager 
 congratulations. The new president walked home with 
 two or three of the gentlemen who lodged in the same 
 house. At dinner he took his accustomed place at the 
 bottom of the table, his new station not eliciting from his 
 democratic friends any new attention or courtesy. A 
 gentleman from Baltimore, an invited guest, who acci- 
 dentally sat next to him, asked permission to wish him 
 joy, ^' I would advise you," answered Mr Jefferson, smil- 
 ing, " to follow my example on nuptial occasions, when 
 I always tell the bridegroom I w^ill wait till the end of 
 the year before offering my congratulations." And this 
 was the only and solitary instance of any notice taken of 
 the event of the morning.' 
 
 In the short compass in which the inaugural address 
 of Mr Jefferson is compressed, the essential principles 
 of a free government are stated, with the measures best 
 calculated for their attainment and security, and an am- 
 ple refutation of adverse principles. 
 
 Nor was it intended as an ostentatious display of his 
 political sentiments. The principles advanced in it were 
 subsequently reduced to practice. 
 
 James Madison was appointed secretary of State ; Al- 
 bert Gallatin, secretary of the Treasury ; General Dear- 
 born, secretary of War; Robert Smith, secretary of the 
 Navy ; and Levi Lincoln, attorney general. Agreeably 
 to the example set by himself, the vice president was not 
 invited to take any part in the executive consultations. 
 He addressed a circular to the heads of departments es- 
 
THOMAS JEFFERSON. 305 
 
 tablishing the mode and degree of communication be- 
 tween them and the president. All letters of business 
 addressed to himself, were referred by him to the proper 
 department to be acted upon. Those addressed to the 
 secretaries, with those referred to them, were all com- 
 miiTlicated to the president, whether an answer was re- 
 quired or not ; in the latter ^ase simply for his informa- 
 tion. If an answer was requisite, the secretary of the 
 department communicated the letter and his proposed 
 answer. If approved, they were simply sent back after 
 perusal ; if not, they were returned with an informal 
 note suggesting an alteration or query. If any doubt of 
 importance arose, he reserved it for conference. 
 
 At the threshold of his administration, Mr Jefferson 
 was met by difficulties which called into requisition all 
 the firmness of his character. He found the principal 
 offices of the government, and most of the subordinate 
 ones, in the hands of his political opponents. This state 
 of things required prompter correctives than the tardy 
 effects of death and resignation. On him, therefore, for 
 the first time, devolved the disagreeable enterprize of ef- 
 fecting this change. The general principles of action 
 which he sketched for his guide on this occasion, were 
 the following : 1st, All appointments to civil office, du~ 
 ring pleasure," made after the event of the election was 
 certainly known to Mr Adams, were considered as nulli- 
 ties. He did not view the persons appointed as even 
 candidates for the office, but replaced others without no- 
 ticing or notifying them. 2d, Officers who had been 
 guilty of official mal-conduct were proper subjects of re- 
 moval. 3d, Good men, to whom there was no objection 
 but a difference of political principle, practised on so 
 far only as the right of a private citizen would justify, 
 were not proper subjects of removal, except in the case 
 of attorneys and marshals. The courts being so decid- 
 edly federal, it was thought that those offices, being the 
 doors of entrance, should be exercised by republican cit- 
 izens, as a shield to the republican majority of the na- 
 
306 , LIFE OF 
 
 tion. 4th, Incumbents who had prostituted their offices 
 to the oppression of their fellow citizens, ought, in justice 
 to those citizens, to be removed, and as examples to de- 
 ter others from like abuses. 
 
 To these means of introducing the intended change, 
 was added one other in the course of his administration 
 — to wit, removal for electioneering activity, or open and 
 industrious opposition to the principles of the govern- 
 ment. ' Every officer of the government,' said he, ' may 
 vote at elections according to his own conscience ; but 
 we should betray the cause committed to our care, were 
 we to permit the influence of official patronage to be 
 used to overthrow that cause.' In all new appointments, 
 the president confined his choice to republicans, or re- 
 publican federalists. 
 
 The change in the public offices was the first measure 
 of importance which gave a character of originality to 
 the administration. Various abuses existed, dependent 
 on executive indulgence, which soon called into action 
 the reforming hand of the president. In a letter of the 
 president to JNathaniel Macon, member of Congress from 
 North Carolina, in May, 1801, it is curious to notice 
 the following laconic statement of the progress and in- 
 tended course of reform : 
 
 ' Levees are done away. 
 
 ' The first communication to the next Congress will 
 be, like [all subsequent ones, by message, to which no 
 answer will be expected. 
 
 ' The diplomatic establishment in Europe wnll be re- 
 duced to three ministers. 
 
 ' The compensations to collectors depend on you, and 
 not on me. 
 
 'The army is undergoing a chaste reformation. 
 
 'The navy will be reduced to the legal establishment 
 by the last of this month. 
 
 'Agencies in every department Avill be revised. 
 
 ' ^e shall push you to the uttermost in economizing. 
 
 'A very early recommendation had been given to the 
 
THOMAS JEFFERSON. 307 
 
 Post Master General to employ no printer, foreigner, or 
 revolutionary tory, in any of his offices. This depart- 
 ment is still untouched. 
 
 ' The arrival of Mr Gallatin, yesterday, completed the 
 organization of our administration. 
 
 During the short interval of time between his inaugu- 
 ration and the meeting of the first Congress, the atten- 
 tion of the president was occupied in maturing his plans 
 for republicanizing the government ; and in carrying 
 them into execution, in all cases where he possessed the 
 power independently of the legislature. The courtly 
 custom of levees, with the train of attendant forms and 
 ceremonies, had its origin with the government. Gen- 
 eral Washington resisted the importunities to introduce 
 them, for three weeks after his induction into office. At 
 last he yielded, and Colonel Humphreys, a gentleman 
 of great parade, was charged with the arrangement of 
 ceremonies on the first occasion. Accordingly an ante- 
 chamber and presence-room were provided ; and when 
 the company who were to pay their court, had assem- 
 bledj the president advanced, preceded by Humphreys. 
 After passing through the ante-chamber, the door of the 
 inner room was thrown open, and Humphreys entered 
 first, calling out with a loud voice, ' The president of 
 the United States.' The president was so much discon- 
 certed, that he never recovered from it during the whole 
 time of the levee. After the company had retired, he 
 said to Humphreys, ' Well, you have taken me in once, 
 but by — you shall never take me in a second time.' He 
 never allowed the same form to be repeated, but had the 
 company introduced as they entered the room, where he 
 stood to receive them. The levees were continued un- 
 der Mr Adams. Repeated at short intervals, and ac- 
 companied, as they were, by a general course of enter- 
 tainment, they were unnecessarily expensive and ob- 
 structive of business. Mr Jefferson discontinued them. 
 He had but two public days for the reception of compa- 
 
308 LIFE OF 
 
 ny — the fourth of July and first of January. On these 
 occasions, the doors of his house were thrown open, and 
 the most Uberal hospitality provided for the entertain- 
 ment of visitors of every grade without distinction. 
 
 So much for the demolition of forms. With these a 
 system of substantial reformation was vigorously prose- 
 cuted by the president. The introduction of economy 
 in the public expenditures was the cardinal principle of 
 this system. To diminish the number and weight of 
 public burthens, and establish a frugal system of gov- 
 ernment, which ' should not take from the mouth of labor 
 the bread it had earned.' To this end, the army and 
 navy were reduced into republican peace establishments ; 
 or rather to the ultimate point of reduction, confided to. 
 executive discretion. Farther than this, he could not 
 go without the concurrence of the legislature. The 
 amount of force, including regulars and militia, which 
 the several acts of the preceding administration had au- 
 thorized the president to raise, was considerably over 
 100,000 men. Mr Jefferson reduced the army to four 
 a*egiments of infantry, two regiments of artillerists and 
 engineers, and two troops of light dragoons. The next 
 year, by the consent of the legislature, he reduced it to 
 two regiments of infantry, one regiment of artillerists, 
 and a corps of engineers, or to about three thousand men. 
 
 He visited in person each of the departments, and 
 obtained a catalogue of the officers employed in each, 
 with a statement of their wages and amount of duties. 
 Those under his own immediate charge, were subjected 
 to the same scrutiny. Thence he extended his enquiries 
 over the whole territory of the republic, and compre- 
 hended in the revision all those, who under any species 
 of public employment, drew inoney from the treasury. 
 This done, he immediately commenced the reduction of 
 all such offices as he deemed unnecessary, whose tenure 
 depended on executive discretion. The inspectors of 
 the internal revenue were discontinued in a mass. They 
 
THOMAS JEFFERSON. 309 
 
 comprised a large body of treasury men, dispersed 
 over the country. Various other agencies, created by 
 executive authority, on salaries fixed by the same au- 
 thority, were deemed superfluous. These were all sup- 
 pressed. The diplomatic establishment was reduced to 
 three ministers, all that the public interests required — 
 namely, to England, France, and Spain. He called in 
 foreign ministers who had been absent eleven, and even 
 seventeen years ; and established the rule which he had 
 formerly recommended to General Washington, by whom 
 it was approved — that no person should be continued 
 on foreign mission beyond a term of six, seven or eight 
 years. But the great mass of the public offices, being 
 established by law, required the concurrence of the leg- 
 islature to discontinue them. 
 
 The President formed the design of introducing some 
 wholesome improvements in the established code of inter- 
 national intercourse, by engaging in concurrence and 
 peaceable co-operation, a coalition of the most liberal 
 powers of Europe. These improvements respected the 
 rights of neutral nations, and were original conceptions 
 with himself and Dr Franklin. He desired to see the 
 established law of nations abolished, which authorized 
 the taking the goods of an enemy from the ship of a 
 friend ; and to have substituted in its place, by special 
 compacts, the more rational and convenient rule, that 
 free ships should make free goods. The vexatious ef- 
 fects of the former principle upon neutral nations peace- 
 ably pursuing their commerce, and its tendency to em- 
 broil them with the powers involved in war, were suffi- 
 cient reasons for its universal abandonment ; while the 
 operation of the latter principle, leaving the nations at 
 peace to enjoy the common rights of the ocean unmo- 
 lested, was more favorable to the interests of commerce, 
 and lessened the occasions and the vexations of war. Be- 
 sides, the principle of 'free bottoms, free goods,' he con- 
 tended, was the genuine dictate of national morality, 
 37 
 
310 
 
 LIFE OF 
 
 and the converse, which had unfortunately obtained, a 
 corruption originally introduced by accident between 
 States* then predominating upon the ocean, and after- 
 wards adopted from the mere force of example, by oth- 
 er nations, as they successively appeared upon the the- 
 atre of general cemnierce. 
 
 The president desired to see this improvement so 
 far carried out as to abolish the pernicious distinction of 
 contraband of war, in the articles of neutral commerce. 
 He regarded the practice of entering the siiip of a friend 
 to search and seize what was called contraband of war, 
 as a violation of natural right, and extremely liable to 
 abuse. 
 
 ' War between two nations,' says he, * cannot di- 
 minish the rights of the rest of the world remaining at 
 peace. The doctrine that the rights of nations remain- 
 ing quietly in the exercise of moral and social duties, 
 are to give way to the convenience of those who prefer 
 plundering and murdering one another, is a monstrous 
 doctrine ; and ought to yield to the more rational law", 
 that " the wrons; which two nations endeavor to inflict 
 on each other, must not infringe on the rights or con- 
 veniences of those remaining at peace." And what is 
 contraband, by the law of nature ? Either every thing 
 which may aid or comfort an enemy, or nothing. Either 
 all commerce which would accommodate him is unlaw- 
 ful, or none is. The difference between articles of one 
 or another description, is a difference in degree only. 
 No line between them can be drawn. Either all inter- 
 course must cease between neutrals and belligerents, or 
 all be permitted. Can the world hesitate to say which 
 shall be the rule 1 Shall two nations turning tigers, 
 break up in one instant the peaceable relations of the 
 whole world 1 Reason and nature clearly pronounce 
 that the neutral is to go on in the enjoyment of all its 
 rights, that its commerce remains free, not subject to the 
 jurisdiction of another, nor consequently its vessels to 
 search, or to enquiries whether their contents are the 
 
 * Venice and Genoa. 
 
THOMAS JEFFERSON. 311 
 
 property of an enemy, or are of those articles which have 
 been called contraband of war.' 
 
 These opinions and arguments he communicated in 
 the form of instructions, to Robert R. Livingston, nom- 
 inated as minister plenipotentiary to France the day af- 
 ter his inauguration. They were communicated unoffi- 
 cially, however, and with the express reservation, that 
 they were not to be acted upon until the war in Europe, 
 which threatened to embroil us with the principal bellige- 
 rents, should be brought to a termination. The same 
 principles had been repeatedly sanctioned by the govern- 
 ment, and he entertained little doubt of the concurrence 
 of his constitutional advisers. They formed a part of 
 those instructions of Congress, drafted by himself in 
 1784, to the first American ministers appointed to treat 
 with the nations of Europe ; and which were acceded to 
 by Prussia and Portugal. In the renewal of the treaty 
 with Prussia, they had been avoided, at the instance of 
 our then administration, lest it should seem to commit us 
 against England on a question then threatening decision 
 by the sword ; and in the late treaty with the last named 
 power, they had been abandoned by our envoy, Avhich 
 constituted a principal ground of opposition to that me- 
 *morable negotiation. 
 
 Scarcely had the president entered upon the duties of 
 his office, when our commerce in the Mediterranean was 
 interrupted by the pirates. Tripoli, the least considera- 
 ble of the Barbary powers, came forward with demands 
 unfounded either in right or compact, and avowed the 
 determination to extort them at the point of the sword, 
 on our failure to comply peaceably before a given day. 
 The president with becoming energy, immediately put 
 in operation such measures of resistance as the urgency 
 of the case demanded, without waiting the advice of Con- 
 gress. The style of the challenge admitted but one 
 answer. He sent a squadron of frigates into the Medi- 
 terranean, with assurances to the Bey of Tripoli of our 
 
312 LIFE OP 
 
 sincere desire to remain in peace ; but with orders to pro- 
 tect our commerce, at all hazards, against the threaten- 
 ed attack. The Bey had ah'eady declared war in form. 
 His cruisers were out ; two had arrived at Gibraltar. 
 Our commerce in the Mediterranean was blockaded ; 
 and that of the Atlantic in peril. The arrival of the 
 American squadron dispelled the danger. One of the 
 Tripolitan cruisers having fallen in with and engaged a 
 small schooner of ours, which had gone out as a tender 
 to the larger vessels, was captured with a heavy slaugh- 
 ter of her men, and without the loss of a single one on 
 our part. This severe chastisement, with the extraor- 
 dinary skill and bravery displayed by the Americans, 
 quieted the pretensions of the Bey, and operated as a 
 caution in future to that desperate community of free- 
 booters. 
 
 On the 8th of December, 1801, Mr Jefferson made his 
 first annual communication to Congress, hy message. It 
 had been the uniform practice with his predecessors to 
 make their first communications on the opening of Con- 
 gress, by personal address, to which a formal answer 
 was immediately returned by each house separately. 
 The president always used to go in state, as it was called, 
 to deliver his speech. He moved to the capitol, preced- 
 ed by the marshal and constables of the district, with 
 their white staffs, and accompanied by the heads of de- 
 partments, the members of Congress, and a numerous 
 procession of citizens. On these occasions he always 
 wore his sword. A desire to impart a more popular 
 character to the government by divesting it of a ceremo- 
 nial which partook in some degree of the character of a 
 royal pageant, a regard to the convenience of the legis- 
 lature, the economy of their time, and relief from the 
 embarrassments of immediate answers, induced Mr Jef- 
 ferson to adopt the mode ef communication by message, 
 to which no answer was returned. And his example 
 has been followed by all succeeding presidents. 
 
THOMAS JEFFERSON. 313 
 
 The president announced in his message that the ces- 
 sation of hostilities in Europe had produced a consequent 
 cessation of those irregularities which had afflicted the 
 commerce of neutral nations ; and restored the ordinary 
 communications of peace and friendship between the 
 principal powers of the earth. That our intercourse 
 with the Indians on our frontiers, was marked by a spirit 
 of mutual conciliation and forbearance, highly advanta- 
 geous to both parties. That our relations with the Bar- 
 bary States were in a less satisfactory condition, and 
 such as to inspire the belief that measures of offence 
 ought to be authorized, sufficient to place our force on 
 an equal footing with that of its adversaries. That the 
 increase of population within the last ten years, as indi- 
 cated by the late census, proceeded in such an unexam- 
 pled ratio as promised a duplication every twenty-two 
 years. That this circumstance, combined with others, 
 had produced an augmentation of revenue which pro- 
 ceeded in a ratio far beyond that of population, and au- 
 thorized a reduction of such of its branches as were par- 
 ticularly odious and oppressive. 
 
 Accordingly he recommended the abolition of all the 
 internal taxes, comprehending excises, stamps, auctions, 
 licences carriages, and refined sugars ; to which he add- 
 ed the postage of newspapers to facilitate the progress 
 of information. The remaining sources of revenue, aid- 
 ed by the extensive system of economy which he propos- 
 ed to introduce, would be sufficient, he contended, to 
 provide for the support of government, to pay the inter- 
 est of the public debt, and to discharge the principal in 
 a shorter period than the laws or the general expecta- 
 tion had contemplated. 
 
 As supplemental, however, to the proposition for dis- 
 continuing the internal taxes, he recommended a dimi- 
 nution of the public disbursements, by the abolition of 
 all superfluous drafts upon the treasury. He informed 
 the legislature of the progress he had already made in 
 27* 
 
314 LIFE OF 
 
 this department of public duty, by the suppression of all 
 unnecessary offices, agencies and missions, which depend- 
 ed on executive authority ; and recommended to their 
 consideration a careful revision of the remainder. ' Con- 
 sidering,' says he, ' the general tendency to multiply of- 
 fices and dependencies, and to increase expense to the 
 ultimate term of burthen which the citizen can bear, it 
 behooves us to avail ourselves of every occasion which 
 presents itself, for taking off the surcharge ; that it never 
 may be seen how that, after leaving to labor the smallest 
 portion of its earnings on which it can subsist, govern- 
 ment shall itself consume the residue of what it was in- 
 stituted to guard.' 
 
 In order to multiply barriers against the dissipation of 
 the public money, he recommended Congress to establish 
 the practice of specific appropriations, in all cases sus- 
 ceptible of definition ; to reduce the undefined field of 
 contingencies ; and to bring back to a single department 
 for examination and approval, all accountabilities for re- 
 ceipts and expenditures. 
 
 He directed the attention of Congress to the army, 
 and advised the reduction of the existing establishment 
 to the number of garrisons actually necessary, and the 
 number of men requisite for each garrison. A standing 
 army in time of peace was both unnecessary and dan- 
 gerous. The militia was the main pillar of defence to 
 the country, and the only force which could be ready at 
 every point to repel invasion, until regulars could be pro- 
 vided to relieve them. This consideration rendered im- 
 portant a careful review, at every session, of the existing 
 organization of the militia, and the amendment of such 
 defects as from time to time might show themselves in 
 the system, until it should be made sufficiently perfect. 
 ' Nor should we now,' said he, ' or at any time separate, 
 until we can say we have done everything for the militia 
 which we could do were an enemy at our door.' 
 
 With respect to the navy, although a difference of opin- 
 
THOMAS JEFFERSON. 315 
 
 ion might exist as to the extent to which it should be car- 
 ried, yet all would agree that a small force was continu- 
 ally wanted for actual service in the Mediterranean. All 
 naval preparations beyond this, the president thought, 
 should be confined to the provision of such articles as 
 might be kept without waste or consumption, and be in 
 readiness for any exigence which might occur. 
 
 The president was of opinion, that agriculture, man- 
 ufactures, commerce and navigation, were most disposed 
 to thrive when left most free to individual enterprise. 
 Protection from casual embarrassments, however, might 
 sometimes be seasonably interposed ; and was clearly 
 within the constitutional limits of Congress. 
 
 He submitted to the serious consideration of the leg-is- 
 lature the judiciary system of the United States, and sug- 
 gested the expediency of rescinding that branch of it, 
 recently erected, should it appear on examination to be 
 superfluous, of which he entertained no doubt. While 
 on the subject of the judiciary, he commended to their 
 protection the * inestimable institution of juries,' urging 
 the propriety of their extension to all cases involving the 
 security of our persons or property, and the necessity of 
 their impartial selection. 
 
 The president warmly recommended a revisal of the 
 laws on the subject of naturahzation, and an abbrevia- 
 tion of the period prescribed for acquiring citizenship. 
 The existing regulation, requiring a residence of four- 
 teen years, was a denial of citizenship to a great propor- 
 tion of those who asked it, obstructing the prosperous 
 growth of the country, and incompatible with the hu- 
 mane spirit of our laws. 
 
 After commending to them prudence and temperance 
 in discussion, which were so conducive to harmony and 
 rational deliberation within their own walls, and to that 
 consolidation of sentiment among their constituents which 
 was so happily increasing, the president concluded as 
 follows : ' That all should be satisfied with any one or- 
 
316 LIFE OF 
 
 der of tilings, is not to be expected ; but I indulge the 
 pleasing persuasion that the great body of our citizens 
 will cordially concur in honest and disinterested efforts, 
 which have for their object to preserve the general and 
 state governments in their constitutional form and equi- 
 librium, to maintain peace abroad, and order and obedi- 
 ence to the laws at home ; to establish principles and 
 practices of administration favorable to the security of 
 liberty and property, and to reduce expenses to what is 
 necessary for the useful purposes of government.' 
 
 The first message of the first democratic president of 
 the United States, was anticipated with a fever of popu- 
 lar impatience. On its appearance, sensations diametri- 
 cally opposite were excited in the two great divisions of 
 the political public. The fundamental features of his 
 policy, as publicly delineated by the president, were too 
 unequivocal and strongly marked not to realize the ex- 
 pectations of his supporters, and the necessary appre- 
 hensions of his adversaries. His propositions for lessen- 
 ing the expenditures of the previous administrations, by 
 the abolition of sinecures, and the establishment of a 
 rigid accountability with the remaining offices of the 
 government ; for cutting down the army, and relying for 
 ordinary protectio-n on the unpensioned resource of an 
 omnipresent militia ; for reducing the navy to the actual 
 force required for covering our commerce from the rav- 
 ao-es of the common enemies of Christendom ; for the 
 gradual and systematic extinguishment of the public 
 debt, in derision of the monarchical maxim that ' a na- 
 tional debt is a national blessing' ; for circumscribing 
 discretionary powers over money, by establishing the 
 rule of specific appropriations ; for restoring the hospi- 
 table policy of the government towards aliens, and fugi- 
 tives from foreign oppression ; for multiplying barriers 
 around the sovereignty of the States and the liberties of 
 the people, against the encroachments of the federal au- 
 thorities ; by crippling the despotism of the judiciary, 
 
THOMAS JEFFERSON. 
 
 317 
 
 and lopping fronri it a supernumerary member engrafted 
 by his predecessors for political purposes; all these 
 propositions were seized with avidity by his opponents, 
 and made one by one, a topic of censure or of raillery. 
 On the other hand, innumerable addresses of thanks by 
 republican assemblies, and by individual champions of 
 the republican party, were communicated to him from 
 every section of the union. To these he retKrned pub- 
 lic or private answers, according to the nature of the 
 address. 
 
 But of all the measures of reform recommended in the 
 president's message, none was so extensive, as the prop- 
 osition to suppress all the internal taxes. This was in- 
 deed a solid inculcation of the principles of republicanism. 
 In proposing to disband all these at a stroke, the presi- 
 dent meditated the disarming the government of an im- 
 mense resource of executive patronage and preponder- 
 ance, besides relieving the people of a surcharge of taxa- 
 tion. The disinterestedness of the transaction was only 
 equalled by its boldness, at which the republicans them- 
 selves were considerably alarmed. In a letter to one of 
 them, dated December 19, 1801, the president wrote : 
 
 ' You will perhaps have been alarmed, as some have 
 been, at the proposition to abolish the whole of the internal 
 taxes. But it is perfectly safe. They are under a million 
 of dollars, and we can economize the government two or 
 three millions a year. The impost alone gives us ten or 
 eleven millions annually, increasing at a compound ra- 
 tio of six and two thirds per cent, per annum, and con- 
 sequently doubling in ten years. But leaving that in- 
 crease for contingencies, the present amount will support 
 the government, pay the interest of the public debt, and 
 discharge the principal in fifteen years. If the increase 
 proceeds, and no contingencies demand it, it will pay off 
 the principal in a shorter time. Exactly one half of the 
 public debt, to wit, thirty-seven millions of dollars, is 
 owned in the United States. That capital then will be 
 set afloat, to be employed in rescuing our commerce 
 
318 LIFE OF 
 
 from the hands of foreigners, or in agriculture, canals, 
 bridges, or other useful enterprises. By suppressing at 
 once the whole internal taxes, we abolish three-fourths 
 of the offices now existing, and spread over the land. 
 Seeing the interest you take in the public affairs, I have in- 
 dulged myself in observations flowing from a sincere and 
 ardent desire of seeing our aflairs put into an honest and 
 advantageous train.' 
 
 The first Congress which assembled after Mr Jeffer- 
 son came into power, contained an ascendency of repub- 
 licanism in both houses ; with just enough of opposition 
 to hoop the majority indissolubly together, and induce 
 the legislature to move in strong co-operation with the 
 executive. They erected into laws all the fundamental 
 changes recommended by the president, and thereby 
 enabled him to carry through a system of administration 
 which substantially revolutionized the government. 
 
 To other specific improvements might be added the 
 general simplification of the system of finance, in which 
 he was powerfully aided by Gallatin ; and the establish- 
 ment of the permanent rule of definite appropriations of 
 money for all objects susceptible of definition, so that 
 every person in the United States might know for what 
 purpose, and to what amount, every fraction of the pub- 
 lic expenditure was applied. His watchfulness over this 
 department of administration, the operations of which 
 are so intimately interwoven with all human concerns, 
 is forcibly illustrated by the following letter to the secre- 
 tary of the treasury. 
 
 ' I have read and considered your report on the oper- 
 ations of the sinking fund, and entirely approve of it, as 
 the best plan on which we can set out. I think it an 
 object of great importance, to be kept in view and to be 
 undertaken at a fit season, to simplify our system of 
 finance, and bring it within the comprehension of every 
 member of Congress. 
 
 ' I like your idea of kneading all the little scraps and 
 fragments into one batch, and adding to it a comple- 
 
THOMAS JEFFERSON. . 319 
 
 mentaiy sum, which, while it forms it into a single mass 
 from which every thing is to be paid, will enable us, 
 should a breach of appropriation ever be charged on us, 
 to prove that the sum appropriated, and more, has been 
 applied to its specific object. 
 
 ' But there is a point beyond this, on which I should 
 wish to keep my eye, and to which I should aim to ap- 
 proach by every tack which previous arrangements force 
 on lis. That is, to form into one consolidated mass all 
 the moneys received into the treasury, and to marshal 
 the several expenditures, giving them a preference of 
 payment according to the order in which they shall be 
 arranged. As for example. 1. The interest of the pub- 
 lic debt. 2. Such portions of principal as are exigible. 
 3. The expenses of government. 4. Such other portions 
 of principal as, though not exigible, we are still free to 
 pay when we please. The last object might be made to 
 take up the residuum of money remaining in the treasury 
 at the end of every year, after the three first objects were 
 complied with, and would be the barometer whereby to 
 test the economy of the administration. It would fur- 
 nish a simple measure by which every one could mete 
 their merit, and by which every one could decide when 
 taxes w^ere deficient or superabundant. If to this can 
 be added a simplification of the form of accounts in the 
 treasury department, and in the organization of its offi- 
 cers, so as to bring every thing to a single centre, we 
 might hope to see the finances of the Union as clear and 
 intelligible as a merchant's books, so that every member 
 of Congress, and every man of any mind in the union, 
 should be able to comprehend them, to investigate abu- 
 ses, and consequently to control them. 
 
 ' I have suggested only a single alteration in the re- 
 port, which is merely verbal, and of no consequence. 
 We shall nowjret rid of the commissioner of the internal 
 revenue, and superintendent of stamps. It remains to 
 amalgamate the comptroller and auditor into one, and re- 
 duce the register to a clerk of accounts ; and then the 
 organization will consist, as it should at first, of a keep- 
 er of money, a keeper of accounts, and the head of the 
 department. 1 have hazarded these hasty and crude 
 ideas, which occurred on contemplating your report. 
 
320 . LIFE OF 
 
 They may be the subject of future conversation and cor- 
 rection.' 
 
 The purchase of Louisiana from France, had long 
 been a favorite object with Mr Jefferson, as essential to 
 removing from the United States a continual and eternal 
 collision and cause of war with the European possessor, 
 besides securing to us the exclusive navigation of the 
 western waters, and an immeasurable region of fertile 
 country. The territory of Louisiana was originally col- 
 onized by France. In 1762, the greater part of it, in- 
 cluding the island of New Orleans, was ceded to Spain ; 
 and by the general treaty of peace which followed the 
 Canadian war in '63, the whole territory of France and 
 Spain, eastward of the Mississippi to the Ibberville, 
 thence through the middle of that river to the sea, was 
 ceded to Great Britain. Under the former possession 
 by France, the territory embraced what is denominated 
 West Florida. Spain during the war of the revolution 
 conquered this, with East Florida, from Great Britain, 
 and acquired the right to them both by the treaty of '83. 
 While in the hands of Spain, the United States acquired 
 the right to a free navigation of the Mississippi, and to 
 an entrepot at New-Orleans. About this time, to wit, 
 in 1800, Spain restored to France the whole of Louisia- 
 na according to its ancient and proper limits. This 
 transfer was attended with a suspension of our right of 
 deposit at New-Orleans, and opened to us in the opin- 
 ion of the president, the prospect of a complete reversal 
 of all our friendly relations with France. In view of the 
 threatening crisis, he immediately joined Mr Monroe as 
 envoy extraordinary, to R. R. Livingston, minister res- 
 ident at the French court, with instructions joint and 
 several to negotiate the purchase of Louisiana from 
 France. In the letter to Mr Monroe conveying the no- 
 tice of his appointment, the president says ; ' All eyes, 
 all hopes are now fixed on you ; and were you to decline, 
 
THOMAS JEFFERSON. 321 
 
 the chagrin would be universal, and would shake under 
 your feet the high ground on which you stand with the 
 public. For on the event of this mission may depend 
 the future destinies of this republic. If we cannot, by 
 a purchase of the country, insure to ourselves a course 
 of joerpetual peace and friendship with all nations, then, 
 as war cannot be distant, it behooves us immediately to 
 be preparing for that course, without, however, hasten- 
 ing it ; and it may be necessary, on your failure on the 
 continent, to cross the channel. We shall get entangled 
 in European politics, and figuring more, be much less 
 happy and prosperous. This can only be prevented by 
 a successful issue to your present mission I am sensi- 
 ble after the measures you have taken for getting into a 
 different line of business, that it will be a great sacrifice 
 on your part, and presents from the season and other 
 circumstances, serious difficulties. But some men are 
 born for the public. Nature, by fitting them for the 
 service of the human race on a broad scale, has stamp- 
 ed them with the evidences of her destination and their 
 duty.' 
 
 The personal agency of Mr Jefferson in this achieve- 
 ment was of the most laborious character. In addition 
 to his official instructions communicated through the 
 secretary of State, his private letters to our ministers, 
 and to influential characters in France, on whose fidelity 
 and friendship he relied, are ample testimonials of his 
 ardor and indefatigableness in the prosecution of the en- 
 terprize. Among these, is the following, addressed to Mr 
 Livingston. 
 
 * The cession of Louisiana and the Floridas by Spain 
 to France, works most sorely on the United States. On. 
 this subject the secretary of State has written to you ful- 
 ly, yet I cannot forbear recurring to it personally, so 
 deep is the impression it makes on my mind. It com- 
 pletely reverses all the political relations of the United 
 28 
 
322 LIFE OP 
 
 States, and will form anew epoch in our political course. 
 Of all nations of any consideration, France is the one, 
 which, hitherto, has offered the fewest points on which 
 we could have any conflict of right, and the most points 
 of a communion of interests. From these causes we 
 have ever looked to her as our natural friend, as one 
 with which we never could have an occasion of differ- 
 ence. Her growth, therefore, we viewed as our own, 
 her misfortunes ours. There is on the globe one single 
 spot, the possessor of which is our natural and habitual 
 enemy. It is New-Orleans, through which the produce 
 of three-eighths of our territory must pass to market, 
 and from its fertility it will ere long yield more than 
 half of our whole produce, and contain more than 
 half of our inhabitants. France, placing herself in that 
 door, assumes to us the attitude of defiance. Spain 
 might have retained it quietly for years. Her pacific 
 dispositions, her feeble state, would induce her to in- 
 crease our facilities there, so that her possession of the 
 place would be hardly felt by us, and it would not, per- 
 haps, be very long before some circumstances might 
 arise, which might make the cession of it to us the price 
 of something of more worth to her. Not so can it ever 
 be in the hands of France : the impetuosity of her tem- 
 per, the energy and restlessness of her character, yjlaced 
 in a point of eternal friction with us, whilst our character, 
 which, though quiet and loving peace and the pursuit of 
 wealth, is high-minded, despising wealth in competition 
 with insult or injury, enterprising and energetic as any 
 nation on earth, are circumstances which render it im- 
 possible that France and the United States can continue 
 long friends, when they meet in so irritable a position. 
 They, as well as we, must be blind, if they do not see 
 this ; and we must be very improvident if we do not be- 
 gin to make arrangements on that hypothesis. The day 
 that France takes possession of New-Orleans, fixes the 
 sentence which is to restrain her for ever within her low- 
 water mark. It seals the union of two nations, who, in 
 conjunction, can maintain exclusive possession of the 
 ocean. From that moment we must marry ourselves to 
 the British fleet and nation. We must turn all our at- 
 tentions to a maritime force, for which our resources 
 
THOMAS JEFFERSON. 323 
 
 place us on very high ground : and having formed and 
 connected together a power which may render reinforce- 
 ment of her settlements here impossible to France, make 
 the first cannon which shall be fired in Europe the sig- 
 nal for tearing up any settlement she may have made, 
 and for holding the two continents of America in seques- 
 tration for the common purposes of the United British 
 and American nations. This is not a state of things we 
 seek or desire. It is one which this measure, if adopted 
 by France, forces on us as necessarily, as any other 
 cause, by the laws of nature, brings on its necessary ef- 
 fect. It is not from a fear of France that we deprecate 
 this measure proposed by her. For however greater 
 her force is than ours, compared in the abstract, it is 
 nothing in comparison of ours, when to be exerted on 
 our soil. But it is from a sincere love of peace, and a 
 firm persuasion, that, bound to France by the interests 
 and the strong sympathies still existing in the minds 
 of our citizens, and holding relative positions which in- 
 sure their continuance, we are secure of a long course of 
 peace. Whereas, the change of friends, which will be 
 rendered necessary if France changes that position, em- 
 barks us necessarily as a belligerent power in the first 
 war of Europe. In that case, France will have held 
 possession of New-Orleans during the interval of a peace, 
 long or short, at the end of which it will be wrested from 
 her. Will this short lived possession have been an equiv- 
 alent to her for the transfer of such a weight into the 
 scale of her enemy ? Will not the amalgamation of a 
 young, thriving nation, continue to that enemy the health 
 and force which are at present so evidently on the de- 
 cline ? And will a few years possession of New-Or- 
 leans add equally to the strength of France 1 She may 
 say she needs Louisiana for the supply of her West In- 
 dies. She does not need it in time of peace, and in war 
 she could not depend on them, because they would be so 
 easily intercepted. I should suppose that all these con- 
 siderations might, in some proper form, be brought into 
 view of the government of France. Though stated by 
 us, it ought not to give offence ; because we do not bring 
 them forward as a menace, but as consequences not con- 
 trollable by us, but inevitable from the course of things. 
 
324 LIFE OF 
 
 We mention them not as things which we desire by any 
 means, but as things we deprecate ; and we beseech a 
 friend to look forward and to prevent them for our com- 
 mon interests.' ***** 
 *I have no doubt you have urged these considerations, 
 on every proper occasion, with the government where 
 you are. They are such as must have effect, if you can 
 find means of producing thorough reflection on them by 
 that government. The idea here is, that tlie troops sent 
 to St Domingo, were to proceed to Louisiana after fin- 
 ishing their work in that island. If this were the ar- 
 rangement, it will give you time to return again and 
 again to the charge. For the conquest of St Domingo 
 will not be a short work. It will take considerable time, 
 and wear down a great number of soldiers. Every eye in 
 the United States is now fixed on the affairs of Louisiana. 
 Perhaps nothing, since the revolutionary war, has pro- 
 duced more uneasy sensations through the body of the na- 
 tion. Notwithstanding temporary bickerings have taken 
 place with France, she has still a strong hold on the affec- 
 tions of our citizens generally. I have thought it not amiss, 
 by way of supplement to the letters of the secretary of 
 State, to write you this private one, to impress you with 
 the importance we affix to this transaction. I pray you 
 to cherish Dupont. He has the best dispositions for the 
 continuance of friendship between the two nations, and 
 perhaps you may be able to make a good use of him.' 
 
 On the 30th of April 1803, the negociation was con- 
 cluded, and the entire province of Louisiana was ceded 
 to the United States for the sum of fifteen millions of 
 dollars. The American negociators seized the favorable 
 moment to urge the claims of American merchants on 
 the French government, for spoliations on their proper- 
 ty, which were allowed to the amount of three millions 
 seven hundred and fifty thousand dollars, and the bar- 
 gain M^as thus closed. This important acquisition more 
 than doubled the territory of the United States, trebled 
 the quantity of fertile country, secured the uncontrolled 
 navigation of the Mississippi and its tributaries, and 
 opened an independent outlet for the produce of 
 
THOMAS JEFFERSON. 325 
 
 the western States, free from collision with other pow- 
 ers, and the perpetual dangers to our peace from that 
 source. The treaty was received with approbation by 
 the great majority of the nation. There were some, 
 however, particularly in the eastern States, who wrote 
 and declaimed strenuously against it. They saw in the 
 great enlargement of our territory the seeds of a future 
 dismemberment of the union, by a separation into east- 
 ern and western confederacies. On the other hand, it 
 was the opinion of the president, that the acquisition 
 would prove an additional bond of union, rather than a 
 cause of dismemberment ; that the larger our associa- 
 tion was, the less it would be shaken by local factions ; 
 and that no one could presume to limit the extent to 
 which the federative principle might operate effectively. 
 Mr Madison maintained the same opinion in the Feder- 
 alist ; and experience has hitherto confirmed it. But in 
 any view of the case, were those apocryphal dangers 
 worthy a moment's consideration, when contrasted w^th 
 the certain and incalculable blessings of the conquest, 
 as well positive and immediate, as by the avoidance in 
 future, of those interminable calamities which would 
 have ensued from a contrary state of things 1 Was it 
 not better that the opposite bank of the Mississippi should 
 be settled by our own brethren and children, than by 
 strangers of adverse feelings and principles ? With 
 which should we have been most likely to have lived in 
 harmony and friendly intercourse, down to the present 
 day? 
 
 To General Gates. — ^'I accept with pleasure, and 
 with pleasure reciprocate your congratulations on the 
 acquisition of Louisiana : for it is a subject of mutual 
 congratulation, as it interests every man of the nation. 
 The territory acquired, as it includes all the waters of 
 the Missouri aud Mississippi, has more than doubled the 
 area of the United States, and the new part is not infe- 
 rior to the old, in soil, climate, productions, and impor- 
 28* 
 
326 LIFE OP 
 
 tant communications. If our legislature dispose of it 
 with the wisdom we have a right to expect, they may 
 make it the means of tempting all our Indians on the 
 east side of the Mississippi to remove to the West, and of 
 condensing instead of scattering our population. 
 
 To M. DupoNT De Nemours. — ' The treaty which has 
 so happily sealed the friendship of our two countries, has 
 been received here with general acclamation. Some in- 
 flexible opponents have still ventured to brave the public 
 opinion. For myself and my country I thank you for 
 the aids you have given in it ; and I congratulate you 
 on having lived to give those aids in a transaction replete 
 with blessinos to unborn millions of men, and which will 
 mark the face of a portion on the globe so extensive as 
 that which now composes the United States of America. 
 * * * Our policy will be to form New Orleans and 
 the country on both sides of it on the Gulf of Mexico, 
 into a State ; and, as to all above that, to transplant our 
 Indians into it, constituting them a Marechaussee to pre- 
 vent emigrants crossing the river, until we shall have fil- 
 led up all the vacant country on this side. This will se- 
 cure both Spain and us as to the mines of Mexico, for 
 half a century, and we may safely trust the provisions 
 for that time to the men who shall live in it.' 
 
 When the treaty arrived, the president convened Con- 
 gress at the earliest day practicable, for its ratification 
 and execution. The federalists in both houses declaim- 
 ed and voted against it, but they were now so reduced in 
 numbers as to be incapable of serious opposition. The 
 question on its ratification in the senate was decided by 
 twenty-four against seven. The vote in the house of rep- 
 resentatives for making provision for its execution, was 
 carried by eighty-nine against twenty-three. Mr Pichon, 
 minister of France, proposed, according to instructions 
 from his government, to have added to the ratification a 
 protestation against any failure in time or other circum- 
 stances of execution on our part. He was told by the 
 president, that in that case a counter protestation would 
 be annexed on our part, which would leave the thing 
 
THOMAS JEFFERSON. 327 
 
 exactly where it was ; that tlie negotiation had been con- 
 ducted from the commencement to its present stage, 
 with a frankness and sincerity honorable to both nations: 
 that to annex to this last chapter of the transaction such 
 an evidence of mutual distrust, would be to change its 
 aspect dishonorably to both parties ; that we had not 
 the smallest doubt that France would punctually execute 
 her part. Seeing the ratification passed, and the bills 
 for execution carrying by large majorities in both hou- 
 ses, Mr Pichon, like an able and honest minister, un- 
 dertook to do what he knew his employers would have 
 done with a like knowledge of the circumstances, and ex- 
 changed the ratifications. Commissioners were imme- 
 diately deputed to receive possession. They proceeded 
 to New Orleans with such regular troops as were garri- 
 soned in the nearest posts, and some militia of the Mis- 
 sissippi territory. To be prepared for any thing unex- 
 pected, which might arise out of the transaction, a re- 
 spectable body of militia was ordered to be in readiness 
 in the states of Ohio, Kentucky and Tennessee. No oc- 
 casion, however, arose for their services. Our commis- 
 sioners, on their arrival at New Orleans, found the prov- 
 ince already delivered by the commissaries of Spain to 
 that of France, who delivered it over to them on the 
 20th of December, 1803. 
 
 The circumstance ought not to be overlooked that 
 this mighty acquisition, exceeding in territory the great- 
 est monarchy in Europe, was achieved without the guilt 
 or calamities of blood, from a military autocrat, whose 
 ceaseless ambition was a universality of empire, and 
 who, in the untamable pursuit of his purpose, went on 
 demolishing nations at a blow, and partitioning the earth 
 at pleasure, until vanquished by the consolidated power 
 of Europe. ' There is no country,' says a writer, * like 
 the valley of the Mississippi on the face of the globe. — 
 Follow the mighty amphitheatre of rocks that nature has 
 heaped around it. Trace the ten thousand rivers that 
 
328 LIFE or 
 
 unite their waters in tlie mighty Mississippi ; count the 
 happy millions that already crowd and animate their 
 banks — loading their channels with a mighty produce. 
 Then see the whole, bound by the hand of nature in 
 chains which God alone can sever, to a perpetual union 
 at one little connecting point ; and by that point fasten- 
 ing itself by every tie of interest, consanguinity, and 
 feeling, to the remotest promontory on our Atlantic 
 coast. A few short years have done all this ; and yet 
 ages are now before us : ages in which myriads are des- 
 tined to multiply throughout its wide spread territory, 
 extending the greatness and the happiness of our country 
 from sea to sea. What would we have been without the 
 acquisition of Louisiana ? What were we before it ? 
 God and nature fixed the unalterable decree, that the 
 nation which held New Orleans should govern the whole 
 of that vast region. France, Spain, and Great Britain, 
 had bent their envious eyes uj)on it. And their intrigues, 
 if matured, would eventually have torn from us that vast 
 paradise which reposes upon the western waters. * * 
 Other conquests bring with Uiern misery and oppression 
 to the luckless inhabitant. This brought emancipation, 
 civil and religious freedom, laws, wealth.' 
 
 The humane and conciliatory policy extended to- 
 wards the Indians on our frontiers, was another distin- 
 miishiuff feature of the administration. A free and 
 friendly commerce was opened between them and the 
 United States. Trading houses were established among 
 them, and necessaries furnished them in exchange for 
 their commodities, at such moderate prices as were only 
 a remuneration to us, while highly advantageous to them. 
 Instead of relying on an augmentation of military force, 
 proportioned to our constant extension of frontier, the 
 president recommended a gradual enlargement of the 
 capital employed in this species of commerce, as a more 
 eftectual, economical and humane instrument for pre- 
 serving peace with the aborigines. The visible and tan- 
 
THOMAS JEFFERSON. 
 
 329 
 
 gible advantages of civilization were spread before their 
 eyes, with a view to train their minds insensibly to the 
 reception of its moral blessings. They were liberally 
 supplied with the implements of husbandry, and house- 
 hold use; instructors in the arts of first necessity were 
 stationed and maintained among them ; the introduction 
 of ardent spirits into their limits, was ])rolubited, at the 
 request of many of their chiefs ; and llie punishment of 
 death by hanging was commuted into death by military 
 execution, which was less repugnant to their minds, and 
 diminished the obstacles to the surrender of the criminal. 
 The practice of the art of vaccination, lirst success- 
 fully introduced into tins country by the exertions of 
 president JeiVerson, was made by him to diiVuse its bles- 
 sings among the Indians, with an efl^ct as astonishing as 
 it was humane and endearing. The terrible pestilence, 
 of which this discovery proved an antidote, was even 
 more fatal in its ravages among the natives of the wil- 
 derness than in civili/cd society. The medical skill of 
 their physicians had not attained even to an assuagement 
 of its violence. Whole tribes were swept away at a blast. 
 They opposed no other shield against its attacks than 
 flight, or the fortitude of martyrs. By the persuasions 
 and exertions of the president, they were induced to be- 
 lieve in the elhcacy of vaccination as a preventive. Com- 
 ing from so good a father, they thought it must have been 
 sent him from the Great Spirit ; and whole nations sub- 
 mitted to the process of inoculation, with the warmest 
 benedictions on their benevolent protector. 
 
 These conciliatory measures of the government, with 
 the most rigorous enactments against the intrusion of in- 
 cendiaries and hostile emissaries, established and main- 
 tained a course of friendly relations with the Indians, 
 which was uninterrupted by war with any tribe during 
 Mr Jefferson's administration. Out of this continued state 
 of peace and reciprocal kindness, treaties sprung up 
 annually, which secured to the United States great ac- 
 
330 LIFE OF 
 
 cessions to tlieir territorial title. The same year of the 
 acqiiisitioii of Louisiana, wasdistiiigiiished by tlie purchase 
 from the Kaskaskias of that vast and fertile country ex- 
 tending along the Mississippi, from the mouth of the 
 Illinois to tlic Ohio ; whicli was followed, the next 
 year, by the relinquishment from the Delawares of the 
 native title to all the country between the Wabash and 
 Ohio. These acquisitions comprehended the territory 
 which forms the present states of Illinois and Indiana. 
 They were soon followed by other purchases of great 
 extent and fertility, from the northern tribes, and from 
 the Chickasaws, Cherokees and Creeks of the southern. 
 The amount of national domain, to which the native ti- 
 tle was extinguished under Mr .leiVerson, embraced near- 
 ly one hundred millions of acres. In exchange for this, 
 with the addition of an uninterrupted peace with them, 
 the United States had only to pay inconsiderable annui- 
 ties in animals, in money, in the iniplements of agricul- 
 ture, and to extend to them their patronage and protec- 
 tion. 
 
 The administration of Mr Jefferson in relation to for- 
 eign powers, was based upon the broad princij)les of his 
 inaugural maxim — ' peace, commerce, and honest friend- 
 ship with all nations, entangling alliances with none.' 
 His opinions on commerce were the same as those incul- 
 cated in his report in '03; and they were such as have 
 since been sanctioned by the government. The ports 
 of the United States were declared open to all nations 
 without distinction, and the unmolested enjoyment of the 
 ocean, as the common theatre of navigation, was claim- 
 ed as an inviolable right. Freedom was offered for 
 freedom, and ])rohibition was opposed to prohibition 
 with every nation on the globe. A free system of com- 
 merce, which should leave to nations the exchange of 
 mutual surplusses for mutual wants, on the basis of easy 
 and exact reciprocity, was his desire ; but if any nation, 
 deceived by calculations of interest into a contrary sys- 
 
THOMAS JEFFERSON. 331 
 
 tem, should defeat that wish, his determination was fixed 
 to meet inequalities abroad by countervailing inequalities 
 at home, as the only eft'ectnal weapon of coercion and of 
 self-protection. With regard to treaties, it was the sys- 
 tem of the president to have none with any nation, as 
 far as could be avoided. 
 
 The United States were not in a situation to command 
 reciprocal advantages, and to none other would lie suc- 
 cumb by a written compact. Tl>e existing treaties, 
 therefore, were permitted to expire vvitliout renewal, 
 ayd all overtures for treaty with other nations were de- 
 clined, lie believed also, that witli nations as with in- 
 dividuals, dealings might be carried on as advantageous- 
 ly, perhaps more so, while their continuance depended 
 on voluntary and reciprocal good treatment, as if fixed 
 by a permanent contract, which, when it became injuri- 
 ous to either party, was made, by forced constructions, 
 to mean what suited them, and became a cause of war, 
 instead of a bond of peace. He had a perfect horror at 
 every tiling like connecting ourselves witli the politics 
 of Euro|)e. They were governed by so many false prin- 
 ciples, that he deemed a temporary acquiescence under 
 these, preferable to entangling ourselves with them by 
 alliances extorted from our present imbecility on the 
 water. Peace was now our most important interest, 
 and a recovery from debt. ' If we can delay but for a 
 few years,' he wrote to an American minister, ' tlie ne- 
 cessity of vindicating the laws of natnre on the ocean, 
 we shall be the more sure of doing it with effect. The 
 day is within my time as well as yours, lohen ive may suy 
 hy what laws other nations shall treat us on the sea. And 
 we will say it. In the mean time we wish to let every 
 treaty we have drop off without renewal.' With regard 
 to the IJritish government, in particular, he had so little 
 confidence that they would voluntarily retire from their 
 habitual wrongs in the impressment of our seamen, that 
 without an express stipulation to that effect, he was sat- 
 
332 LIFE OP 
 
 isfied we ought never to tie up our hands by treaty, from 
 the right'of passing non-importation or non-intercourse 
 acts, to make it their interest to become just. 
 
 Out of this keen sensibility to maritime injuries, a 
 transaction arose which afforded a pretext for torrents 
 of abuse upon the president. A committee of the senate 
 called on him with two resokitions of that body on the 
 subject of impressment and spoliations by Great Britain, 
 and urged the importance of an extraordinary mission, 
 to demand satisfaction. The president was averse to 
 the measure. The members of the other house appli(iid 
 to him individually, and represented the responsibility 
 which a failure to obtain redress would throw on him, 
 while pursuing a course in opposition to the opinion of 
 nearly every member of the legislature. He found it 
 necessary, at length, to yield to the general sense of the 
 legislative body ; and accordingly nominated Mr Mon- 
 roe as minister extraordinary, to join Mr Pinckney, at 
 the British Court. Explicit instructions were given 
 them to conclude no treaty without a specific article 
 guarding against impressments. After a tedious nego- 
 tiation they succeeded in concluding a treaty — the best 
 probably that could be procured — but containing no pro- 
 vision against future aggressions on our seamen, which 
 was made an express sine qua non in their instructions. 
 There was no excuse for such an omission ; for on re- 
 ceiving information from our negociators, that they had 
 it in their power to sign such a treaty, the president in 
 return had apprised them that should it be forwarded it 
 could not be ratified, and he recommended a resumption 
 of negociations for inserting the stipulation in question. 
 The treaty came to hand exactly in the exceptionable 
 shape which the administration had predetermined 
 against. The president rejected it on his own respon-- 
 sihility^ and transmitted instructions to put the treaty 
 into an acceptable form, if practicable; otherwise, to 
 back out of the negociation as well as they could. 
 
THOMAS JEFFERSON. 333 
 
 Besides the abandonment of the principle which was 
 the great object of the extraordinary mission, there were 
 other material objections to the treaty, which were sup- 
 posed to justify the president in rejecting it. Tiie Brit- 
 ish commissioners appeared to have screwed every ar- 
 ticle as far as it would bear, to have surrendered nothing, 
 and taken every thing. There was but a single article 
 in the treaty, the expunging of which would have left 
 such a preponderance of evil in all the others, as to h^ve 
 made it worse than no treaty ; and even that article ad- 
 mitted only our right to enjoy the indirect colonial trade, 
 during the present Jiostilities. If' peace was made that 
 year, and war resumed the next, the benefit of this stip- 
 ulation was gone, and yet we were bound for ten years, 
 to pass no non-importation or non-intercourse laws, nor 
 take any other measures to restrain the usurpations of 
 the ' Leviathan of the ocean.' And to crown the whole, 
 a protestation was annexed by the British ministers, at 
 the time of the signature, the effect of which was to leave 
 that government free to consider it a treaty or no treaty, 
 according to their own convenience, while it bound the 
 United States finally and unconditionally. 
 
 This proceeding of the president was considered a fa- 
 tal error by the opponents of the administration ; and 
 many sensible republicans were inclined to the opinion 
 that he should have consulted the co-ordinate branch of 
 the treaty-making power, on the question of rejection. 
 But the constitution has made the concurrence of both 
 branches necessary to the confirmation, not to the re- 
 jection of a treaty ; and where that instrument has con« 
 fided independent matters to either department of gov- 
 ernment, it is the right and duty of such department to 
 decide independently as to the course it shall pursue. 
 Mr Jefi*erson acted upon this construction ; and the same 
 principle has been recognized, in repeated instances, 
 under federal and republican adminstrations. The lead- 
 ing principle of the constitution evidently is the inde-^ 
 29" 
 
334 LIFE OP 
 
 pendence of the legislature, executive and judiciary, of 
 each other ; and the utmost jealousy should be exercised 
 by eac^h, to prevent either of the others from becoming 
 a despotic branch. This was the deliberate opinion of 
 Mr Jefferson, on which he always acted, and declared 
 he would ever act, and maintain it with the powers of 
 the government, against any control which might be at- 
 tempted by the judiciary or legislature in subversion of 
 his right to move independently in his peculiar province, 
 Examples in which the position has been maintained, 
 and sufficient to establish its soundness, have abounded 
 in the practice of the governm^t. 
 
 The opinions of the president on the subject of the 
 navy, were not, perhaps such as have been generally ap- 
 proved ; though it is certain they have been greatly mis- 
 understood and misrepresented. Serious apprehensions 
 were entertained by the federal party that Mr Jefferson 
 would annihilate the whole marine establishment ; but 
 they were totally discredited by the event. His first act, 
 after having executed the law passed under his prede- 
 cessor, for the sale of certain vessels and reducing the 
 number of our naval officers, was to fit out a squadron 
 for the Mediterranean, to resist a threatened aggression 
 from Tripoli ; and this force, subsequently increased 
 from time to time by his recommendations, was the 
 means of effecting the suppression of Algerine pira- 
 cy. He afterwards recommended the construction of 
 some additional vessels of strength, to be in readiness 
 for the first moment of war, provided they could be pre- 
 served from decay and perpetual expense by being kept 
 in ordinary. But the majority of the legislature were 
 opposed to any augmentation of the navy ; and none 
 consequently was made. This circumstance is worthy of 
 notice, as illustrative of the fact that Mr Jefferson was 
 less hostile to the navy than the great body of his sup- 
 porters. ' I know,' says a gentleman* who executed 
 
 * Samuel Smith. - 
 
THOMAS JEFFERSON. 335 
 
 the duties of that department for some time, ' that no 
 man was a greater friend to the navy than Mr Jefferson. 
 His acts brought it into notice — its own gallantry and 
 bravery have done the rest — it now occupies a proud 
 station in the eyes of the world. The bravery displayed 
 by the Mediterranean squaslron, in the war with Tripo- 
 li, raised the American character in Europe, and gave 
 to our officers confidence in themselves. By affording 
 them much instruction and an opportunity of acquiring 
 a practical knowledge of their profession, it prepared 
 them for a future contest, in which they crowned them- 
 selves and their country with glory — fought their way 
 to popularity at home, to the admiration of the world, 
 and to the affections of their countrymen.' It is more- 
 over generally admitted that the efforts of Mr Jefferson 
 while in Paris, to form a perpetual alliance of the prin- 
 cipal European powers against the Barbary States, and 
 subsequently, while secretary of State, to induce the ad- 
 ministration to dispatch a force into the Mediterranean 
 adequate to the protection of our commerce, laid the 
 first foundations of the American navy. Upon this point, 
 there is extant the authority of a gentleman, whose 
 knowledge of the subject enabled him to pronounce an 
 opinion, which will not be questioned. The following 
 letter from John Adams to Mr Jefferson, in 1822, with 
 the answer of the latter annexed, places the history of 
 the American navy in a light which ought to go far to- 
 wards removing the injurious misapprehensions that have 
 prevailed on the subject. 
 
 * I have long entertained scruples about writing this 
 letter, upon a subject of some delicacy. But old age has 
 overcome them at last. 
 
 'You remember the four ships ordered by congress to 
 be built, and the four captains appointed by Washing- 
 ton ; Talbof, and Truxton, and Barry, &c, to carry an 
 ambassador to Algiers, and protect our commerce in the 
 Mediterranean. I have always imputed this measure to 
 
336 LIFE &f 
 
 you, for several reasons. First, because you frequently 
 proposed it to me while we were at Paris, negociating 
 together for peace with the Barbary powers. Secondly, 
 because I knew that Washington and Hamilton were 
 not only indifferent about a navy, but averse to it. There 
 was no secretary of the navy ; only four heads of depart- 
 ment. You were secretary of State ; Hamilton, secretary 
 of the treasury; Rnox, secretary of war; and I believe 
 Bradford was attorney general. I have always suspect- 
 ed that you and Knox were in favor of a navy. If Brad- 
 ford v/as,so, the majority was clear. But Washington, 
 I am confident, was against it in his judgment. But 
 his attachment to Knox, and his deference to your 
 opinion, for I know he had a great regard for you, might 
 induce him to decide in favor of you and Knox, even 
 though Bradford united with Hamilton in opposition to 
 you. That Hamilton was averse to the measure, I have 
 personal evidence ; for while it was pending, he came in a 
 hurry and a fit of impatience to make a visit to me. He 
 said he was likely to be called upon for a large sum of mo- 
 ney to build ships of war to fight the Algerines, and he 
 asked ray opinion of the measure. I answered him that I 
 was clearly in favor of it. For I had always been of 
 opinion, from the commencement of the revolution, that 
 a navy was the most powerful, the safest, and the cheap- 
 est national defence for this country, My advice, there- 
 fore was, that as much of the revenue as could possibly 
 be spared, should be applied to the building and equip- 
 ping of ships. The conversation was of some length, 
 but it was manifest in his looks and in his air, that he 
 was disgusted at the measure, as well as at the opinion 
 that I had expressed. 
 
 ' Mrs Knox not long since wrote a letter to Doctor 
 Waterhouse, requesting him to procure a commission for 
 her son in the navy ; ' that navy,' says her ladyship, ' of 
 which his father was the parent.' ' For,' says she, ' I 
 have frequently heard General Washington say to my 
 husband, the navy was your child.' I have always be- 
 lieved it to be Jefferson's child, though Knox may have 
 assisted in ushering it into the world. Hamilton's hob- 
 by was the army. That Washington was averse to a 
 navy, I had full proof from his own lips, in many differ- 
 
THOMAS JEFFERSON. 
 
 337 
 
 ent conversations, some of them of length, in which he 
 always insisted that it was only building and arming ships 
 for the English. 'Si quid novisti rectius istis, candidus 
 imperii; si non, his utere mecum,^ ' 
 
 Mr Jefferson's reply : 
 
 ' I have racked my memory and ransacked my papers, 
 to enable myself to answer the enquiries of your favor of 
 October the 15th ; but to little purpose. My papers 
 furnish me nothing ; my memory, generalities only. I 
 know that while I was in Europe, and anxious about the 
 fate of our seafaring men, for some of whom, then in 
 captivity in Algiers, we were treating, and all were in 
 like danger, I formed, undoubtingly, the opinion that 
 our government, as soon as practicable, should provide 
 a naval force sufficient to keep the Barbary States in or- 
 der ; and on this subject we communicated together, as 
 you observe. When I returned to the United States, and 
 took part in the administration under General Washing- 
 ton, I constantly maintained that opinion ; and in De- 
 cember, 1790, took advantage of a reference to me from 
 the first Congress which met after I was in office, to re- 
 port in favor of a force sufficient for the protection of 
 our Mediterranean commerce ; and I laid before them 
 an accurate statement of the whole Barbary force, pub- 
 lic and private. I think General Washington approved 
 of building vessels of war to that extent. General Knox 
 I know did. But what was Colonel Hamilton's opinion, 
 I do not in the least remember. Your recollections on 
 that subject are certainly corroborated by his known 
 anxieties for a close connection with Great Britain, to 
 which he might apprehend danger from collisions be-, 
 tween their vessels and ours. Randolph was then attor-. 
 ney general ; but his opinion on the question I also en- 
 tirely forget. Some vessels of war were accordingly 
 built and sent into the Mediterranean. The additions 
 to these in your time, I need not note to you, who are 
 well known to have ever been an advocate for the wood-, 
 en walls of Themistocles. Some of those you added, 
 were sold under an act of congress passed while you 
 were in office. I thought, afterwards, that the public 
 safety might require some additional vessels of strength^ 
 29* 
 
338 - LIFE OF 
 
 to be prepared and in readiness for the first moment of 
 a war, provided they could be preserved against the de- 
 cay which is unavoidable if kept in the water, and clear 
 of the expense of officers and men. With this view I 
 proposed that they should be built in dry docks, above 
 the level of the tide waters, and covered with roofs. I 
 farther advised, that places for these docks should be se- 
 lected where there was a command of water on a high 
 level, as that of the Tiber at Washington, by which the 
 vessels might be floated out on the principle of a lock. 
 But the majority of the legislature was against any ad- 
 dition to the navy, and the minority, although for it in 
 judgment, voted against it on a principle of opposition. 
 We are now, I understand, building vessels to remain 
 on the stocks, under shelter, until wanted, when they 
 will be launched and finished. On my plan they could 
 be in service at an hour's notice. On this, the finishing, 
 after launching, will be a work of time. 
 
 ' This is all I recollect about the origin and progress 
 of our navy. That of the late war, certainly raised our 
 rank and character among nations. Yet a navy is a ve- 
 ry expensive engine. It is admitted, that in ten or twelve 
 years a vessel goes to entire decay ; or, if kept in repair, 
 costs as much as would build a new one : and that a na- 
 tion who could count on twelve or fifteen years' of peace, 
 would gain by burning its navy and building a new one 
 in time. Its extent, therefore, must be governed by cir- 
 cumstances. Since my proposition for a force adequate 
 to the piracies of the Mediterranean, a similar necessity 
 has arisen in our own seas for considerable addition to 
 that force. Indeed, I wish we could have a convention 
 with the naval powers of Europe, for them to keep down 
 the pirates of the Mediterranean, and the slave ships on 
 the coast of Africa, and for us to perform the same du- 
 ties for the society of nations in our seas. In this way, 
 those collisions would be avoided between the vessels of 
 war of different nations, which beget wars, and consti- 
 tute the weightiest objection to navies. I salute you 
 with constant aff*ection and respect.' 
 
 It appears that the only difference of opinion between 
 these illustrious statesmen on the subject of a navy, was 
 
THOMAS JEFFERSON. 339 
 
 as to the extent to which it should be carried. Mr 
 Adams was for a heavy establishment, ready at all times, 
 and sufficient to compete with that of the most powerful 
 nation on the water, the moment it should become our 
 adversary. Mr Jefferson thought that its extent should 
 always be regulated by circumstances; and this is pro- 
 bably the republican doctrine. Being a very expensive 
 engine, both in its first creation, and in its maintenance 
 against the unavoidable ravages of time, he was for re- 
 straining it in time of peace to a force sufficient only for 
 the protection of our commerce ; and for confining all 
 naval preparations against the contingency of war, to 
 the building of ships in dry docks, where they could be 
 kept free from decay, from the expense of officers and 
 men, and ready at any moment for actual service. 
 
 In addition to the incompetency of our resources to 
 maintain a powerful navy, other and weighty objections 
 existed at this time, which always had great influence on 
 the mind of the President. The necessary multiplica- 
 tion of habitual violations of natural right, in the form of 
 impressments, and the collisions from other sources, fitted 
 to embroil us continually with the nations whom we 
 could indeed master on the land, were sensible reasons 
 against exhausting our strength on a navy, and transfer- 
 ring the scene of combat to a theatre where the enemy 
 were omnipotent and we were nothing. To these might 
 perhaps be added, equality in the distribution of the pub- 
 lic burthen, a favorite principle of administration with 
 the president. One portion of the union, whose contri- 
 butions were least, would be elevated to greatness and 
 wealth, to the depression of another portion, whose con- 
 tributions were greatest, and pecuniary remuneration 
 comparatively little. If there was error in this consider- 
 ation, it was founded in a too great anxiety for the good 
 of the whole, rather than an undue influence of sectional 
 feeling, of which a suspicion could scarcely find place 
 even in the credulity of his enemies. 
 
340 LIFE OF 
 
 The plan for the establishment of dry docks, in pur- 
 suance of his naval system, was always a fruitful theme 
 of raillery against the president; and yet, it is some- 
 what surprising that the principle should have since 
 been sanctioned by the government, and have obtained 
 the concurrent approbation of the greatest maritime 
 powers in Europe. A plan, agreeing in its chief features 
 with that of Mr Jefferson, though inferior to it in others, 
 has since been adopted, both in this country and in 
 Europe, for .preventing ships from early decay by keep- 
 ing them out of the water, and protecting them from the 
 weather. The most prodigal and aristocratic govern- 
 ments on the globe have now become converts to a prac- 
 tice, which it was alleged, originated in parsimony and 
 ignorance. 
 
 The use of gun-boats, which composed a part of the 
 naval system recommended by the president, has receiv- 
 ed an unlimited measure of condemnation at the hands 
 of his political opponents. They were principally in- 
 tended, in connection with land batteries, for the defence 
 of our harbors and sea-port towns. The outlines of the 
 plan are exhibited in the following statement of the pre- 
 sident. 
 
 ' If we cannot hinder vessels from entering our har- 
 bors, we should turn our attention to the putting it out 
 of their power to lie, or come to, before a town, to injure 
 it. Two means of doing this may be adopted in aid of 
 each other. 1. Heavy cannon on travelling carriages, 
 which may be moved to any point on the bank or beach 
 most convenient for dislodging the vessel. A sufficient 
 number of these should be lent to each sea-port town, 
 and their militia trained to them. The executive is au- 
 thorized to do this ; it has been done in a smaller de- 
 gree, and will now be done more competently. 
 
 ' 2. Having cannon on floating batteries or boats, 
 which may be so stationed as to prevent a vessel enter- 
 ing the harbor, or force her, after entering, to depart. 
 There are about fifteen harbors in the United States, 
 which ought to be in a state of substantial defence. The 
 
THOMAS JEFFERSON. 
 
 341 
 
 whole of these would require, according to the best 
 opinions, two hundred and forty gun-boats. Their cost 
 was estimated by Captain Rodgers at two thousand dol- 
 lars each ; but we had better say four thousand dollars. 
 The whole would cost one million of dollars. But we 
 should allow ourselves ten years to complete it, unless 
 circumstances should force it sooner. There are three 
 situations in which the gun-boat may be. 1. Hauled up 
 under a shed, in readiness to be launched and manned 
 by the seamen and militia of the town on short notice. 
 In this situation she costs nothing but an enclosure, or a 
 sentinel to see that no mischief is done to her. 2. Afloat, 
 and with men enough to navigate her in harbor and take 
 care of her, but depending on receiving her crew from 
 the town on short warning. In this situation, her annual 
 expense is about two thousand dollars, as by an official 
 estimate at the end of this letter. 3. Fully manned for 
 action. Her annual expense in this situation is about 
 eight thousand dollars, as per estimate subjoined. When 
 there is general peace, we should probably keep about 
 six or seven afloat in the second situation ; their annual 
 expense twelve to fourteen thousand dollars ; the rest all 
 hauled up. When France and England are at war, we 
 should keep, at the utmost, twenty-five in the second 
 situation, their annual expense fifty thousand dollars. 
 When we should be at war ourselves, some of them would 
 probably be kept in the third situation, at an annual ex- 
 pense of eight thousand dollars ; but how many, must 
 depend on the circumstances of the war. We now pos- 
 sess ten, built and building. It is the opinion of those 
 consulted, that fifteen more would enable us to put every 
 harbor under our view into a respectable condition; and 
 that this should limit the views'of the present year. This 
 would require an appropriation of sixty thousand dollars, 
 and I suppose that the best way of limiting it, without 
 declaring the number, as perhaps that sum would build 
 more.' 
 
 In the Mediterranean, the superiority of gun-boats for 
 harbor service has been illustrated by experience. Al- 
 giers is known to have owed the safety of its city since 
 the epoch of their construction, to these vessels. Before 
 that, it had been repeatedly insulted and injured. The 
 
342 LIFE OP 
 
 effect of ffun-boats in the neiscliborhood of Gibraltar is 
 well known, and how much thej were used both in the 
 attack and defence of tliat place, during a former war. 
 The remarkable action, between tlie Russian flotilla of 
 gun-boats and galleys, and a Turkish fleet of ships of 
 the line and frigates, in the Liman sea, in 1788, is mat- 
 ter of historical record. The latter, were completely 
 defeated, and several of their ships of the line destroyed. 
 There is not, it is believed, a maritime nation in Europe, 
 which has not adopted the same species of armament for 
 the defence of some of its harbors ; the English and 
 French certainly have; by the northern powers of the 
 continent, whose seas are particularly adapted to them, 
 they are still more used ; andtlie only occasion on which 
 Admiral Nelson was ever foiled, was by gun-boats at 
 Boulogne. 
 
 Mr Jefl'erson was re-elected by a vote of one hundred 
 and sixty-two against fourteen. The only States which 
 voted for his opponent, Finckney, were Connecticut and 
 Delaware, with two districts in Maryland. George Clin- 
 ton was elected vice president by the same majority over 
 Rufus King. The unanimity of the vote on the present 
 occasion, while it pronounced judgnjcnt of approbation 
 on the character of the administration, is really unexam- 
 pled in the history of the United States, considering the 
 circumstances of the times. The vote subsequently given 
 to Mr Monroe, though more nearly unanimous, was much 
 less extraordinary. The latter vote was given in a sea- 
 son of calm; the former amid the violence of a po- 
 litical tempest. Every other chief magistrate also, ex- 
 cept General Jackson, has rode into office on the same 
 tide of opinion that sustained his predecessor. They 
 alone on an opposing one ; and in four years Mr Jeffer- 
 son nearly amalgamated both currents in his favor. 
 
 On the 4th of March, 1805, Mr Jefterson re-entered 
 upon the duties of the chief magistracy for another term. 
 The same absence of all parade and ostentation, that 
 
THOMAS JEFFERSON. 343 
 
 characterized the former, was rigorously observed on the 
 present occasion. 
 
 In his second inaugural message, Mr Jefferson speaks 
 of the influence of seditious intruders, operating upon 
 the prejudices and ignorance of the Indians, wliich had 
 always embarrassed the general government in its efforts 
 to cliange their pursuits, and ameliorate their unhappy 
 condition. ' These persons,' said he, ' inculcate a sanc- 
 timonious reverence for the customs of their ancestors ; 
 that whatsoever they did must be done through all time ; 
 that reason is a false guide, and to advance under its 
 council in their physical, moral, or political condition, is 
 perilous innovation ; that their duty is to remain as their 
 Creator made them, ignorance being safety, and know- 
 ledge full of danger ; in short, my friends, among them 
 is seen the action and counteraction of good sense and 
 bigotry ; they too, have their antiphilosophers, v/ho find 
 an interest in keeping things in their present state, who 
 dread reformation, and exert all their faculties to main- 
 tain the ascendency of habit over the duty of improving 
 our reason and obeying its mandates.' 
 
 New principles were advanced, regarding the appro- 
 priation of the surplus revenue of the nation, after the 
 final redemption of the public debt. The epoch being 
 not ftir distant, when that propitious event might be 
 safely calculated to happen, the president thought it a 
 fit occasion to suggest his views on the most eligible 
 arrangement and disposal of the public contributions, 
 upon the basis which would then be presented. Should 
 the impost duties be suppressed, and that advantage 
 given to foreign over domestic manufactures 1 Should 
 they be diminished, and upon what principles 1 Or should 
 they be continued, and applied to the purposes of inter- 
 nal improvement, education, ^c 1 were questions which 
 he submitted to the consideration of the people, and sub- 
 sequently urged upon the attention of the legislature in 
 his ofiicial communications. The president did not hesi- 
 
344 LIFE OF 
 
 tate to recommend that the revenue, when liberated by 
 the redemption of the public debt, should, by a just repar- 
 tition among the States and a corresponding amend- 
 ment of the constitution, be applied in time of peace, to 
 rivers, canals, roads, arts, manufactures, education, and 
 other great objects of public utility within each State ; 
 and in time of war, to defraying the accumulated ex- 
 penses of such a crisis from year to year, to which the 
 current resources would be fully adequate, without en- 
 croaching on the rights of future generations by burthen- 
 ing them with the debts of the past. War would then 
 be but a suspension for the time being, of useful works; 
 and the restoration of peace, a return to the progress of 
 improvement, untrammeled by pecuniary embarrass- 
 ments. Instead therefore of reducing the revenue aris- 
 ing from the consumption of foreign articles, to the actual 
 amount necessary for the current expenses of the go- 
 vernment, the president recommended its continuance 
 with certain modifications, and its application to works 
 of internal improvement. On some articles of more 
 general and necessary use, he advised a suppression of 
 the impost ; but the great mass of the articles on which 
 duties were paid, were foreign luxuries, purchased by 
 those who were rich enough to use them without feeling 
 the tax. Their patriotism certainly, he thought, would 
 prefer a continuance of the general system which, while 
 not oppressive to themselves, would prove advantageous 
 to the nation, by furnishing the means of public educa- 
 tion, roads, rivers, canals, and such'other objects of pub- 
 lic improvement as it might be thought proper to add to 
 the constitutional enumeration of federal powers. By 
 these operations new channels of communication would 
 be opened between the States, the lines of separation be 
 made to disappear, their interests be identified, and their 
 union cemented by new and indissoluble ties. 
 
 He placed education among the first and worthiest of 
 the objects of public care in its application of the surplus 
 
THOMAS JEFFERSON. 345 
 
 reTenue ; * not with a view to take its ordinary branches 
 out of the hands of private enterprise, which managed 
 so much better all the concerns to which it was equal ; 
 but for the purpose of enlarging its sphere by supplying 
 those sciences which, though rarely called for, were yet 
 necessary to complete the circle, all the parts of which 
 contributed to the improvement of the nation, and some 
 of them to its preservation.' In pursuance of this idea, 
 he recommended to the consideration of Congress the 
 establishment of a National University, with such an ex- 
 tension of the federal powers as should bring it within 
 their jurisdiction. He believed an amendment of the 
 constitution, by consent of the States, necessary as well 
 for this, as for the other objects of public improvement, 
 which he recommended ; because they were not among 
 those enumerated in the constitution, and to which it 
 permitted the public money to be applied. So early as 
 1806, he informed Congress, that by the time the State 
 legislatures should have deliberated upon the appropriate 
 amendment to the constitution, the necessary laws be 
 passed, and arrangements made for their execution, the 
 requisite amount of funds would be on hand and without 
 employment. He contributed liberally to the establish- 
 ment of the proposed institution, permitted his name to 
 be placed at the head of it, and used every exertion to 
 carry it into operation ; but the germ was unhappily 
 blighted by sectional jealousies. 
 
 The happy and advantageous train in which the affairs 
 of the nation were established during the president's first 
 term, left little for the remainder of his administration 
 except to maintain ]3eace and neutrality amidst the con- 
 vulsions of a warring world, and to rescue the union 
 from one of the most nefarious and daring conspiracies 
 recorded in modern history. The measures called into 
 action by these two formidable difficulties, developed 
 two opposite extremes of character in the government, 
 which were so admirably adapted each to its respective 
 30 
 
346 LIFE OF 
 
 exigency, as to have worked out for the country an al- 
 most supernatural deliverance. The forbearance and 
 moderation manifested under the pressure of the crisis, 
 were as necessary to our safety, as the energy and 
 promptitude with which the internal enemy was crushed, 
 and laid prostrate at the feet of government. 
 
 The traitorous conspiracy of Burr was one of the most 
 flagitious of which history will ever furnish an example ; 
 and there was probably not a person in the United States 
 who entertained a doubt of the real guilt of the accused. 
 His purpose was to separate the western States from the 
 union, annex Mexico to them, establish a monarchical 
 government, with himself at the head, and thus provide 
 an example and an instrument for the subversion of our 
 liberties. The American Cataline, cool, sagacious and 
 wary, had probably engaged one thousand men to follow 
 his fortunes, without letting them know his projects, 
 farther than by assurances that the government approved 
 them. The great majority of his adherents took his as- 
 sertion for this, but with those who would not, and were 
 unwilling to embark in his enterprises without the ap- 
 probation of the government, the following stratagem 
 was practised. A forged letter, purporting to be from 
 the secretary of war, was made to express his approba- 
 tion, and to say that the president was absent at Monti- 
 cello, but that on his return, the enterprise would be 
 sanctioned by him without hesitation. This letter was 
 spread open on Burr's table, so as to invite the eye of all 
 who entered his room. By this means he avoided expos- 
 ing himself to any liability to prosecution for forgery, 
 while he proved himself a master in the arts of the con- 
 spirator. The moment the proclamation of the president 
 appeared, undeceiving his deluded partisans. Burr found 
 himself stript of his surreptitious influence, and left with 
 about thirty desperadoes only. The people rose in mass 
 wherever he appeared or was suspected to be, and by 
 their energy the rebellion was crushed, without the ne- 
 
THOMAS JEFFERSON. 347 
 
 cessity of employing a detachment of the military, except 
 to guard their respective stations. His first enterprise 
 was to have seized New Orleans, which he '^supposed 
 would eifectually bridle the upper country, reduce it to 
 ready subjection, and plant him at the door of Mexico 
 without an enemy in the rear. But, on unfurling the 
 ensigns of the union there was not a single native Creole, 
 and only one American, that did not abandon his stand- 
 ard, and rally under the banners of the constitution. His 
 real partisans were the new emigrants from the United 
 States and elsewhere, fugitives from justice, disaffected 
 politicians, and desperate adventurers. The event was 
 a happy one. It was always a source of exultation to 
 the president, inasmuch as it realized his declaration on 
 assuming the helm of public affairs — ' that a republican 
 government was the strongest one on earth, and the only 
 one, where every man at the call of the law, would fly 
 to the standard of the law, and would meet, infractions 
 of the public order, as his own personal concern.' The 
 atrocity of the crime, however, and the existence of the 
 most conclusive proof compelled him, as it did every 
 other reflecting mind, to seek in some other hypothesis 
 than the jealous provisions of the laws in favor of life, 
 the acquittal of this modern parricide. The result of the 
 trial astonished the world, and confounded the specta- 
 tors, from whose minds every doubt had vanished, when 
 the investigation was suddenly arrested by the decision 
 of the court. The very verdict of the jury, 'that the 
 accused was not proved guilty hy any evidence submitted 
 to them,'' was a virtual acknowledgment that the defect 
 was in the application of the law, or the law itself, not 
 in the evidence of guilt ; and this verdict was ordered to 
 be recorded simply, ' Not guilty.' Indeed, all the con- 
 sequences of the immovable tenure of the judiciary — 
 except by process ©f impeachment — and their conse- 
 quent irresponsibility to any practicable control, were 
 conspicuously demonstrated on the present occasion. No 
 
348 LIFE OF 
 
 farther evidence was wanting to fix the president unal- 
 terably in the opinion which he had long entertained, that 
 in tMs defect of the constitution lurked the canker which 
 unless timely eradicated, was destined to destroy the 
 equilibrium of powers in the general government, and 
 between the general and state governments. In a letter 
 written at this time, he says : — 
 
 ' All this, however, will work Well. The nation will 
 judge both the offender and judges for themselves. If a 
 member of the executive or legislature does wrong, the 
 day is never far distant when the people will remove him. 
 They will see then, and amend the error in our constitu- 
 tion, which makes any branch independent of the nation. 
 They will see that one of the great co-ordinate branches 
 of the government, setting itself in opposition to the 
 other two, and to the common sense of the nation, pro- 
 claims impunity to that class of offenders which endeav- 
 ors to overturn the constitution^ and are themselves pro- 
 tected in it by the constitution itself: for impeachment 
 is a farce which will not be. tried again. If their pro- 
 tection of Burr produces this amendment, it will do more 
 good than his condemnation would have done. Against 
 Burr, personally, I never had one hostile sentiment. I 
 never, indeed, thought him an honest, frank-dealing man, 
 but considered him as a crooked gun, or other perverted 
 machine, whose aim or shot you could never be sure of. 
 Still, while he possessed the confidence of the nation, I 
 thought it my duty to respect in him their confidence, 
 and to treat him as if he deserved it : and if his punish- 
 ment can be commuted now for an useful amendment of 
 the constitution, I shall rejoice in it.' 
 
 While on the subject of the independence of the judi- 
 ciary, it may be proper to examine the opinions of Mr 
 Jefferson at a subsequent date, and under a more dispas- 
 sionate contemplation of the question, than was practi- 
 cable in the state of feeling excited by the case of Burr. 
 The tenure of good behavior allotted to the federal 
 judges, was a defect in the constitution of which no one 
 thought at the time of its adoption, nor until the tenden- 
 
THOMAS JEFFERSON. 349 
 
 cies of the principle had begun to develope themselves 
 by action. The amplitude of jurisdiction assumed dur- 
 ing the federal ascendency nearly co-extensive with the 
 common law, seem first to have awakened the thinking 
 part of the public in general, and Mr Jefferson in par- 
 ticular, to a sense of the dangerous error which made 
 one of the three branches of government so effectually 
 independent of the nation. His solicitude upon this im- 
 portant subject appeared to increase every year after- 
 wards, following him steadily into his retirement, as new 
 occasions administered new aliment to his fears. The 
 following extract of a letter to William T. Barry in 1822, 
 evinces the state of his mind at that period, and the 
 earnestness of his endeavors to procure an amendment 
 of the constitution. 
 
 * I consider the party division of whig and tory the 
 most wholesome which can exist in any government, and 
 well worthy of being nourished, to keep out those of a 
 more dangerous character. We already see the power, 
 installed for life, responsible to no authority (for impeach- 
 ment is not even a scarecrow,) advancing with a noise- 
 less and steady pace to the great object of consolidation. 
 The foundations are already deeply laid by their deci- 
 sions, for the annihilation of constitutional State rights, 
 and the removal of every check, every counterpoise to 
 the ingulphing power of which themselves are to make a 
 sovereign part. If ever this vast country is brought 
 under a single government, it will be one of the most ex- 
 tensive corruption, indifferent and incapable of a whole- 
 some care over so wide a spread of surface. This will 
 not be borne, and you will have to choose between re- 
 formation and revolution. If I know the spirit of this 
 country, the one or the other is inevitable. Before the 
 canker is become inveterate, before its venom has reach- 
 ed so much of the body politic as to get beyond control, 
 remedy should be applied. Let the future appointments 
 of judges be for four or six years, and renewable by the 
 president and senate. This will bring their conduct, at 
 regular periods, under revision and probation, and may 
 30* 
 
350 LIFE OP 
 
 keep them in equipoise between the general and spe- 
 cial governments. We have erred in this point, by copy- 
 ing England, where certainly it is a good thing to have 
 the judges independent of the King. But we have 
 omitted to copy their caution also, which makes a judge 
 removable on the address of both legislative houses. 
 That there should be public functionaries independent of 
 the nation, whatever may be their demerit, is a solecism 
 in a republic, of the first order of absurdity and incon- 
 sistency.' 
 
 At the revolution in England it was considered a great 
 point gained in favor of liberty, that the commissions of 
 the judges which had hitherto been during the pleasure 
 of the king, should thenceforth be given during good be- 
 havior ; and that the question of good behavior should 
 be left to the vote of a simple majority in the two houses 
 of parliament. A judiciary dependant on the will of the 
 king, could never have been any other than an instru- 
 ment of tyranny ; nothing then could be more salutary 
 than a change to the tenure of good behavior, with the 
 concomitant restraint of impeachment by a simple majo- 
 rity. The founders of the American republic were more 
 cordial in their jealousies of the executive than either of 
 the other branches; so true was this of Mr Jefferson in 
 particular, that he at first thought the qualified negative 
 given to that magistrate on all the laws, should have 
 been much farther restricted. They therefore, very pro- 
 perly and consistently adopted the English reformation 
 of making the judges independent of the executive. But 
 in doing this they as little suspected they had made them 
 independent of the nation, by requiring a vote of two 
 thirds in the senatorial branch to effect a removal. Ex- 
 perience has proved such a majority impracticable where 
 any defence is made, in a body of the strong political 
 partialities and antipathies which ordinarily prevail. In 
 the impeachment of judge Pickering of New Hampshire, 
 no defence was attempted, otherwise the party vote of 
 
THOMAS JEFFERSON. 
 
 351 
 
 more than one third of the Senate would have acquitted 
 
 him. 
 
 Tiie judiciary of the United States, then, is an irres- 
 ponsible body; and history has established, if reason 
 could not have foreseen, its slow and noiseless accession 
 of influence, under the sanctuary of such a tenure. If 
 the mischief is acknowledged, the only question should 
 be, not when, but what should be the remedy 1 ' I would 
 not, indeed,' says Mr Jefferson, ' make the judges de- 
 pendent on the executive authority, as they formerly 
 were in England ; but I deem it indispensable to the 
 continuance of this government, that they should be sub- 
 mitted to some practical and impartial control ; and that 
 this, to be impartial, must be compounded of a mixture 
 of state and federal authorities. It is not enough that 
 honest men are appointed judges. All know the influ- 
 ence of interest on the mind of man, and how unconsci- 
 ously his judgment is warped by that influence. To this 
 bias add that of the esprit de corps, of their peculiar 
 maxim and creed, that 'it is the office of a good judge 
 to enlarge his jurisdiction,' and the absence of responsi- 
 bility ; and how can we expect impartial decision be- 
 tween the general government, of which they are so 
 eminent a part, and an individual State, from which they 
 have nothing to hope or fear. We have seen too, that, 
 contrary to all correct example, they are in the habit of 
 going out of the question before them, to throw an an- 
 chor ahead, and grapple farther hold for future advances 
 of power. They are then, in fact, the corps of sappers 
 and miners, steadily working to undermine the inde- 
 pendent rights of the States, and to consolidate all power 
 in the hands of that government, in which they have so 
 important a freehold estate. But it is not by the conso- 
 lidation or concentration of powers, but by their distri- 
 bution, that good government is effected.' ' I repeat,' 
 he adds, ' that I do not charge the judges with wilful 
 and ill-intentioned error ; but honest error must be arrest- 
 
852 LIFE OF 
 
 ed, when its toleration leads to public ruin. As for the 
 safety of society, we commit honest maniacs to Bedlam, 
 so judges should be withdrawn from the bench, whose 
 erroneous biases are leading us to dissolution. It may, 
 indeed, injure them in fame or in fortune ; but it saves 
 the republic, which is the first and supreme law.' 
 
 The latter part of Mr Jefferson's administration was 
 afflicted by a crisis in our foreign relations, which de- 
 manded the exercise of all that fortitude and self-denial 
 which immortalized the introductory stages of the revo- 
 lution, and charged the entire responsibility of the war 
 upon Great Britain. Unfortunately, the political ani- 
 mosities engendered by the contests of opinion which 
 had distracted the nation, and the mania of commercial 
 cupidity and avarice engendered by a twenty-four year's 
 interval of peace, greatly interrupted on the present oc- 
 casion, that spirit of cohesion between the States, which 
 alone carried us triumphantly through the revolution. 
 The enthusiasm of the spirit of '76 had in a considera- 
 ble measure evaporated. Every description of embargo, 
 and every degree of commercial deprivation, which was 
 then too little to satisfy the rivalry of self-immolation in 
 the cause of country, was now too great to be endured, 
 though clothed with the authority of law, and intended 
 to avert the calamities of war. 
 
 From the renewal of hostilities between Great Britain 
 and France in 1803, down to the period at which the em- 
 bargo was enacted, the commerce of the United States 
 was subjected to depredations by the belligerents, until it 
 was nearly annihilated. In the tremendous struggle for 
 ascendency, which animated these powerful competitors 
 and convulsed the European world to its centre, the laws 
 of nature and of nations were utterly disregarded by 
 both, and the injuries inflicted on our commerce by the 
 one, were retaliated by the other ; not on the aggressor, 
 but on the innocent and peaceable victim to their united 
 aggression. 
 
THOMAS JEFFERSON. 353 
 
 Under the joint operation of their edicts and procla- 
 mations, there was not a single port in Europe, or her 
 dependences, to which American vessels could navigate 
 without being exposed to capture and condemnation. In 
 this situation the president wisely recommended an em- 
 bargo ; and in pursuance of his recommendation the 
 measure was adopted by Congress, on the 22d day of 
 December, 1807, by overwhelming majorities in both 
 houses. 
 
 In addition to the joint aggressions on our neutral 
 rights, under the sweeping paper blockades of both bel- 
 ligerents, Great Britain was in the separate habit of dai- 
 ly violations of our sovereignty, in the form of impress- 
 ments. The injuries perpetually arising from this source 
 alone, constituted an abundant cause of war, and con- 
 sequently of embargo. Denying the right of expatriation, 
 the British ministry authorized the seizure oi naturalized 
 Americans wherever they could be found, under color of 
 their having been born within the British dominions. 
 From the abuses of this practice, sufficiently oppressive 
 in its rightful exercise, thousands of American citizens, 
 native horn, as well as naturalized, were subjected to the 
 petty despotism of naval officers, acting as judges, juries 
 and executioners, and doomed to slavery and death, or 
 to become the instruments of destruction to their own 
 countrymen. 
 
 Minor provocations and injuries were, in June 1807, 
 absorbed in the audacity of an aggression, which is with- 
 out a parallel in the history of independent nations at 
 peace. By order of the British admiral, Berkley, the 
 ship Leopard of fifty guns fired on the United States 
 frigate Chesapeake, of thirty-six guns, within the waters 
 of the United States, in order to compel the delivery of 
 part of her crew claimed as British subjects. After sev- 
 eral broadsides from the Leopard and four men killed 
 on board the Chesapeake, the latter struck ; was board- 
 ed by the British ; and had four men taken from her, 
 
354 LIFE OF 
 
 three of them native American citizens, one of whom 
 was hanged as a British deserter. Never since the bat- 
 tle of Lexington had there existed such a state of univer- 
 sal exasperation in the public mind, as was produced by 
 this aggression. Popular assemblies were convened in 
 every considerable place, at which resolutions were pas- 
 sed expressive of indignation at the outrage. 
 
 The president forthwith issued a proclamation, inter- 
 dicting British armed vessels from entering the waters 
 of the United States, and commanding all those therein 
 immediately to depart. In this manner peace wa^ pro- 
 longed, without any compromise of the national honor, 
 and saving the right to declare war under better auspi- 
 ces, on failure of an amicable reparation of the injury. 
 By the time Congress assembled the affair of the Chesa- 
 peake was hopefully committed to negociation, with fhe 
 additional constraint which it imposed on the British 
 government to settle the whole subject of impressments. 
 And the depredations on our neutral rights by the rival 
 belligerents, under their orders in council, or imperial 
 decrees, were put upon an equal footing, and made the 
 occasion of an embargo operating equally and impar- 
 tially against both. 
 
 As a substitute for war, an embargo was the choice 
 of a less evil for a greater, and at the same time annoy- 
 ed the belligerent powers more than could have been 
 done by open warfare. England felt it in her manufac- 
 tures by privations of the raw material, in her maritime 
 interests by the loss of her naval stores, and above all in 
 the discontinuance of supplies essential to her colonies. 
 France felt it in the deprivation of all those luxuries 
 which she had been accustomed to receive through our 
 neutral commerce, and in the still more distressing de- 
 privation of necessaries for her colonies. Our com- 
 merce was the second in the world, our carrying trade 
 the very first, and had the restraint upon them been rig- 
 idly observed, it might have inclined the. European na- 
 
THOMAS JEFFERSON. 355 
 
 tions to justice. But the popular resistance was so 
 great, so determined, and so daring, that it was found 
 impracticable to enforce obedience, without provoking 
 violence and insurrection. The consequence was that 
 the practical efficacy of the embargo, as an engine of 
 coercion, proved greatly disproportioned to the reasona- 
 ble expectations of its friends. 
 
 Those engaged in foreign commerce, and in the car- 
 rying trade, were found to prefer the hazard of seizure 
 and confiscation to a general embargo ; and where the 
 interests of any portion of the community are supposed 
 to be affected by a public measure, no consideration of 
 national advantage or dignity will ever reconcile the ag- 
 grieved party to the smallest pecuniary sacrifice. The 
 opposition to the embargo was no doubt more strenuous, 
 from the circumstance that that portion of our citizens 
 who were more immediately affected by its operation, 
 particularly the merchants, considered themselves the 
 best judges relative to the expediency of any restriction 
 of the kind, and were inclined to look upon the act of 
 the executive as arbitrary and ill-advised. So impracti- 
 cable must it ever be found for the wisest government to 
 consult the general welfare of the nation, and at the same 
 time provide for local wants, or administer to sectional 
 monopoly. 
 
 Among the distinguishing ornaments of the adminis- 
 trative policy of Mr Jefferson, none was more conspi- 
 cuous, none more congenial to the distinctive nature of 
 republicanism, than his scrupulous adherence to the in- 
 violability of freedom of speech, of the press, and of re- 
 ligion. The utmost latitude of discussion was not only 
 tolerated, but invited and protected, as a fundamental 
 ingredient in the composition of republican government. 
 The celebrated traveller, Baron Humboldt, calling on 
 the president one day, was received into his cabinet. 
 On taking up one of the public journals which lay upon 
 the table, he was shocked to find its columns teeming 
 
356 LIFE OF 
 
 with the most wanton abuse and licentious calumnies 
 against the president. He threw it down with indigna- 
 tion, exclaiming, ' Why do you not have the fellow hung 
 who dares to write these abominable lies V The presi- 
 dent smiled at the warmth of the Baron, and replied — 
 ' What ! hang the guardians of the public morals ? No, 
 sir, — rather would I protect the spirit of freedom which 
 dictates even that degree of abuse. Put that paper into 
 your pocket, my good friend, carry it with you to Europe, 
 and when you hear any one doubt the reality of Ameri- 
 can freedom, show them that paper, and tell them where 
 you found it.' ' But is it not shocking that virtuous 
 characters should be defamed V rephed the Baron. 
 'Let their actions refute such libels. Believe me,' con- 
 tinued the president, ' virtue is not long darkened by the 
 clouds of calumny ; and the temporary pain which it 
 causes is infinitely overweighed by the safety it insures 
 against degeneracy in the principles and conduct of pub- 
 lic functionaries. When a man assumes a public tryst, 
 he should consider himself as public property.' * 
 
 In pursuance of this principle, he discharged all those 
 who were suffering persecution for opinion's sake, under 
 the sedition law, immediately on coming into office. He 
 interposed the executive prerogative in every instance, 
 by ordering the prosecutions to be arrested ; or, if judg- 
 ment and execution had passed, by remitting the fines 
 of the sufierers, and releasing them from imprisonment. 
 The grounds on which he rested his right to act in these 
 cases, are forcibly stated .in answer to a correspondent 
 in Massachusetts, who questioned the constitutionality 
 of his interference. 
 
 ' But another fact is, that I "liberated a wretch who 
 was suffering for a libel against Mr Adams." I do not 
 know who was the particular wretch alluded to ; but I 
 discharged every person under punishment or prosecu- 
 
 * Winter in Washington. 
 
THOMAS JEFFERSON. 357 
 
 tion under the sedition law, because I considered, and 
 now consider, that law to be a nullity, as absolute and 
 as palpable as if Congress had ordered us to fall down 
 and worship a golden image; and that it was as much 
 my duty to arrest its execution in every stage, as it would 
 have been to have rescued from the fiery furnace those 
 who should have been cast into it for refusing to worship 
 the image. It was accordingly done in every instance, 
 without asking what the offenders had done, or against 
 whom they had offended, but whether the pains they 
 were suffering were inflicted under the pretended sedi- 
 tion law. It was certainly possible that my motives for 
 contributing to the relief of Callender, and liberating 
 sufferers under the sedition law, might have been to pro- 
 tect, encourage, and reward slander ; but they may also 
 have been those which inspire ordinary charities to ob- 
 jects of distress, meritorious or not, or the obligation of 
 an oath to protect the constitution, violated by an unau- 
 thorized act of Congress. Which of these were my mo- 
 tives, must be decided by a regard to the general tenor 
 of my life. On this I am not afraid to appeal to the na- 
 tion at large, to posterity, and still less to that Being 
 who sees himself our motives, who will judge us from his 
 own knowledge of thenri, and not on the testimony of 
 man.' 
 
 On the subject of religion, it was the policy of the 
 president to maintain freedom of thought and speech in 
 all the latitude of which the human mind is susceptible, 
 and to discountenance by all the means in his power, 
 every tendency to predominance and persecution in any 
 sect by proscription of the least degree, even in public 
 opinion. 
 
 In reply to the solicitation of a very respectable cler- 
 gyman, for the appointment of a national fast, in con- 
 formity to the practice of his predecessors, he assigns 
 the reasons of his departure from their example in the 
 following words. 
 
 ' I consider the government of the United States as 
 interdicted by the constitution from intermeddling with 
 religious institutions, their doctrines, discipline, or exer- 
 31 
 
358 LIFE OP 
 
 cises. This results not only from the provision that no 
 law shall be made respecting the establishment or free 
 exercise of religion, but from that also which reserves to 
 the States the powers not delegated to the United States. 
 Certainly, no. power to prescribe any religious exercise, 
 or to assume authority in religious discipline, has been 
 delegated to the general government. It must then rest 
 with the States, as far as it can be in any human authori- 
 ty. But it is only proposed that I should recommend, not 
 prescribe, a day of fasting and prayer. That is, that I 
 should indirectly assume to the United States an author- 
 ity over religious exercises, which the constitution has 
 directly precluded them from. It must be meant, too, 
 that this recommendation is to carry some authority, 
 and to be sanctioned by some penalty on those who dis- 
 regard it ; not indeed of fine and imprisonment, but of 
 some degree of proscription, perhaps in public opinion. 
 And does the change in the nature of the penalty make 
 the recommendation less a Imo of conduct for those to 
 whom it is directed 1 I do not believe it is for the inter- 
 est of religion to invite the civil magistrate to direct its 
 exercises, its discipline, or its doctrines ; nor of the re- 
 ligious societies, that the general government should be 
 invested with the power of effecting any uniformity of 
 time or manner among them. Fasting and prayer are 
 religious exercises ; the enjoining them an act of disci- 
 pline. Every religious society has a right to determine 
 for itself the times for these exercises, and the objects 
 proper for them, according to their own particular tenets ; 
 and this right can never be safer than in their own hands, 
 where the constitution has deposited it. 
 
 * I am aware that the practice of my predecessors may 
 be quoted. But I have ever believed, that the example 
 of State executives led to the assumption of that author- 
 ity by the general government, without due examination, 
 which would have discovered that what might be a right 
 in a State government, was a violation of that right when 
 assumed by another. Be this as it may, every one must 
 act according to the dictates of his own reason, and 
 mine tells me that civil powers alone have been given to 
 the president of the United States, and no authority to 
 direct the religious exercises of his constituents.' 
 
THOMAS JEFFERSON. 359 
 
 With regard to the personal piety of the president, if 
 external observances are of any account, it is well known 
 that he was a constant and exemplary attendant upon 
 public worship ; liberal in contributions to the support of 
 the simple religion of Jesus ; but frowning and inflexible 
 on all sectarian projects. It is stated with much confi- 
 dence by a living chronicle* of those times, whose per- 
 sonal intimacy with the president enabled him to speak 
 with authority on the subject, that ' he contributed to 
 found more temples for religion and education than any 
 other man of that age.' 
 
 The minor traits of Mr Jefferson's administration open 
 a range of topics, on which the historian might dwell. 
 His simplicity was only equalled by his economy, of 
 which he presented an example, in the extinguishment 
 of more than thirty-three milUons of the public debt. 
 The diplomatic agents of foreign governments, on their 
 introduction to him, were often embarrassed, and some- 
 times mortified, at the entire absence of etiquette with 
 which they were received. His arrivals at the seat of 
 government, and his departures therefrom, were so tim- 
 ed and conducted as to be unobserved and unattended. 
 His inflexibility upon this point, so diff*erent from the 
 practice of his predecessors, could never be overcome ; 
 and he was finally permitted to pursue his own course, 
 undisturbed by any manifestations of popular feeling. 
 His uniform mode of riding was on Jiorseback, which 
 was daily, and always unattended. In one of these sol- 
 itary excursions, while passing a stream of water he was 
 accosted by a feeble beggar, who implored his assistance 
 to transport him and his baggage. He immediately 
 mounted the beggar behind him and carried him over ; 
 on perceiving he had neglected his wallet, he as good 
 humoredly recrossed the stream and brought it over to 
 him. 
 
 * S. H. Smith. 
 
360 LIFE OP 
 
 Although repeatedly and warmly solicited by his 
 friends to make a tour to the North, he never could rec- 
 oncile it to his -feelings of propriety as chief magis- 
 trate. In a private answer to Governor Sullivan of 
 Massachusetts, on the subject, he wrote : ' The course 
 of life which General Washington had run, civil and 
 military, the services he had rendered, and the space he 
 therefore occupied in the affections of his fellow citizens, 
 take from his examples the weight of precedents for 
 others, because no others can arrogate to themselves 
 the claims which he had on the public homage. To my- 
 self, therefore, it comes as a new question, to be viewed 
 under all the phases it may present. I confess, that I am 
 not reconciled to the idea of a chief magistrate parading 
 himself through the several States as an object of public 
 gaze, and in quest of an applause, which, to be valuable, 
 should be purely voluntary. I had rather acquire si- 
 lent good will by a faithful discharge of my duties, than 
 owe expressions of it to my putting myself in the way of 
 receiving them.' 
 
 He carried his ideas of simplicity to such an extent as 
 to deprecate the size of the house allotted to the chief 
 magistrate. He thought it should have been turned into a 
 University. Nor was it from any sordidness, any insensi- 
 bility to the charms of elegance, that his frugality, sim- 
 plicity, and plainness proceeded ; but from a sense of his 
 obligations as a public man. Had it been otherwise, he 
 might with less propriety have deprecated the size and 
 magnificence of his own Monticello, which, in the vari- 
 ous buildings and rebuildings it underwent at his hands, 
 to suit the progress of his taste in the arts, is believed to 
 have cost little less than the mansion of the chief mag- 
 istrate. In his private expenditures, he was indeed lib- 
 eral to a fault. Humane towards his fellow man, on a 
 scale of benevolence which comprehended every dis- 
 tinction of color and condition, no practicable object of phi- 
 lanthropy was probably ever presented to him, which he 
 
THOMAS JEFFERSON. 361 
 
 did not encourage by his assistance. But in the immedi- 
 ate circle of his friends, to whom he was ever devoted, 
 his Hberahty appeared to know no limits. In the profusion 
 of presents which he lavished upon them, in the accom- 
 modations of money with which he succored them un- 
 der embarrassment, in the hospitality with which he en- 
 tertained strangers and visitors from every country, and 
 in his ordinary habits of living, such evidences of a pri- 
 vate munificence appeared, as formed a perfect contrast 
 with his frugality and simplicity as a public man. 
 
 One other trait of Mr Jefferson, in the discharge of 
 his official duties, deserves notice, — to wit, his disinter- 
 estedness. This quality is evident from the fact that 
 in all the splendid stations which he occupied, he accu- 
 mulated nothing ; but retired from each of them much 
 poorer than he entered, and from the last and greatest 
 station, 'with hands,' to use his own expression, 'as 
 clean as they were empty,' — -indeed, on the very verge 
 of bankruptcy. While, in the short interval of eight 
 years, he had saved to his country millions and millions 
 of dollars, enough to make her rich and free, who was 
 before poor and oppressed with taxation ; he, to the im- 
 mense fortune with which he set out in life, had added 
 nothing, but had lost almost every thing. If any farther 
 testimony were wanting on this theme, it might be drawn 
 from the fact of his having refrained from appointing a 
 single relation to office. This was not only true of him 
 while president, but in every public station which he fil- 
 led. Writing to a friend in 1824, he says : ' In the course 
 of the trusts I have exercised through life with powera 
 of appointment, I can say with truth, and with unspeak- 
 able comfort, that I never did appoint a relation to office, 
 and that merely because I never saw the case in which 
 some one did not offer, or occur, better qualified.' Nor, 
 in the multiplied removals and replacements which he 
 was compelled to make, did he eject a personal enemy ^ 
 or appoint a personal friend. He felt it his duty to ob". 
 
 31* 
 
362 LIFE OF 
 
 serve these rules, for reasons expressed in answer to an 
 application for office by a refative : ' That my constitu- 
 ents may be satisfied, that, in selecting persons for the 
 management of their affairs, I am influenced by neither 
 personal nor family interests, and especially, that the 
 field of public office will not be perverted by me into a 
 family property. On this subject, I had the benefit of 
 useful lessons from my predecessors, had I needed them, 
 marking what was to be imitated and what avoided. 
 But, in truth, the nature of our government is lesson 
 enough. Its energy depending mainly on the confidence 
 of the people in their chief magistrate, makes it his duty 
 to spare nothing which can strengthen him with that 
 confidence. 
 
 In the crowd of official occupations which devolve on 
 the executive magistrate, Mr Jefferson found time to ac- 
 complish a succession of private labors and enterprises 
 which would have been enough of themselves to have 
 exhausted the ordinary measure of application and tal- 
 ent. A simple enumeration of the topics on which his 
 leisure moments were employed, will suffice to exhibit 
 the extent of his efforts for the improvement and happi- 
 ness of the nation. Regular essays abound in his cor- 
 respondence during this period, on physics, law and 
 medicine ; on natural history, particularly as connect- 
 ed with the aborgines of America; on maxims for the 
 regulation and improvement of our moral conduct, ad- 
 dressed to young men ; on agriculture, navigation, and 
 manufactures ; on politics and political parties, science, 
 history and religion. In some of those intervals when 
 he could justifiably abstract himself from the public af- 
 fairs, his meditations turned upon the subject of Chris- 
 tianity. He had some years before promised his views 
 of the christian religion to Dr Rush, with whom, and 
 with Dr Priestley, he was in habits of intercommunica- 
 tion on the subject. The more he reflected upon it, the 
 more he confessed, ' it expanded beyond the measure of 
 
THOMAS JEFFERSON. 363 
 
 either his time or information.' But he availed himself 
 of a day or two, while on the road to Monticello, in 1803, 
 to digest in his mind a comprehensive outline, entitled, 
 'A Syllabus of an estimate of the merit of the doctrine 
 of Jesus, compared with those of others.' This he af- 
 terwards wrote out and forwarded to Dr Rush, in dis- 
 charge of his promise, but under a strict injunction of 
 secrecy, ' to avoid the torture,' as he expressed himself, 
 * of seeing it disembowelled by the Aruspices of modern 
 Paganism.' It embraced a comparative view of the eth- 
 ics of Christianity with those of Judaism, and of ancient 
 philosophy under its most esteemed authors ; particular- 
 ly Pithagoras, Socrates, Epicurus, Cicero, Epictetus, 
 Seneca, Antoninus. The result was, such a development 
 of the immeasurable superiority of the doctrine of Chris- 
 tianity, that he declared 'its Author had presented to the 
 world a system of morals, which, if filled up in the style 
 and spirit of the rich fragments he has left us, would be 
 the most perfect and sublime that has ever been taught 
 by man.' Space can only be spared for the conclusions 
 he arrived at, which were all on the side of Christianity. 
 ' They are the result,' says he, ' of a life of inquiry and 
 reflection, and very different from that anti-christian 
 system imputed tome by those who know nothing of my 
 opinions.' The question of the divinity, or inspiration 
 of Christ, being foreign to his purpose, did not enter in- 
 to the estimate. 
 
 ' 1. He [ Jesus ] corrected the deism of the Jews, con- 
 firming them in their belief of one only God, and giving 
 them juster notions of his attributes and government. 
 
 ' 2. His moral doctrines, relating to kindred and 
 friends, were more pure and perfect than those of the 
 most correct of the philosophers, and greatly more so 
 than those of the Jews ; and they went far beyond both in 
 inculcating universal philanthropy, not only to kindred 
 and friends, to neighbors and countrymen, but to all 
 mankind, gathering all into one family, under the bonds 
 
d04 LIFE OF 
 
 of love, charity, peace, common wants, and common aids. 
 A development of this head will evince the peculiar su- 
 periority of the system of Jesus over all otliers. 
 
 * 3. The precepts of philosophy, and of the Hebrew 
 code, laid hold of actions only. He pushed his scrutinies 
 into the heart of man ; erected his tribunal in the region 
 of his thoughts, and purified the waters at the fountain 
 head. 
 
 ' 4. He taught, emphatically, the doctrine of a future 
 state, which was either doubted or disbelieved by the 
 Jews ; and wielded it with etiicacy, as an important in- 
 centive, supplementary to the other motives to moral 
 conduct.' 
 
 The president was in habits of frequent communica- 
 tion with the fraternity of literary men spread over 
 Europe ; and with the various societies instituted for 
 benevolent or useful purposes, — particularly the Agri- 
 cultural Society of Paris, and the Board of Agricul- 
 ture of London, of both of which he was a member. He 
 was indetatioable in endeavorino" to obtain the useful 
 discoveries of these societies, as they occurred, and in 
 communicating to them in return, those of the western 
 hemisphere. He imported from France at his own ex- 
 pense, two flocks of Merino slieep, — among the first in- 
 troduced into this country — with a variety of new inven- 
 tions in the agricultural and mechanic arts, and new 
 articles of culture, which have since become of general 
 use in the United States. He transmitted to the Society 
 of Paris, in return, several tierces of South Carolina rice, 
 for cultivation in France ; and to the Board of Agricul- 
 ture of I^ondon, several barrels of the genuine May wheat 
 of Virginia. Some of these exportations happened during 
 the restraints of the embargo, and, on its getting into 
 the newspapers, excited a ridiculous uproar against the 
 president. His correspondence with the eminent phi- 
 lanthropists of Europe, particularly on the subject of 
 vaccination, at the epoch of the first intelligence of its 
 discovery ; his eftbrts for introducing it into this country, 
 
THOMAS JEFFERSON. ^^"^ 
 
 against the weight of scepticism and ridicule which it 
 encountered ; and his subsequent correspondence with 
 Dr Waterhouse and others, mingled with experimental 
 exertions for establishing and propagating its efficacy, 
 are among the standing monuments of his perseverance 
 in the general cause of humanity, while at the head of the 
 
 nation. 
 
 The plan of colonizing the free people of color, in 
 some place remote from the United States, originated 
 with Mr Jefferson, at an early period ; and on coming 
 into the office of president he prosecuted the enterprise 
 with renewed energy. A correspondence was opened 
 between him and Mr Monroe, then governor of Virginia ; 
 and the first formal proceeding on the subject was made 
 in the Virginia legislature, soon afterwards, to wit, about 
 the year 1803. The purpose of his correspondence with 
 Mr Monroe, is explained in a letter^ from him about ten 
 .years afterwards, and published in the first annual re- 
 port of the Colonization Society. He proposed to gain 
 admittance for the free people of color, into the establish- 
 ment at Sierra Leone, which then belonged to a private 
 company in England; or in failure of that, to procure a 
 situation in some of the Portuguese settlements in South 
 America. He wrote to Mr Ring, then our minister in 
 London, to apply to the Sierra Leone Company. The 
 appUcation was made, but without success, on the ground 
 that the company was about to dissolve and relinquish 
 its possessions to the government. An attempt to nego- 
 tiate with the Portuguese governor was equally abortive, 
 which suspended all active measures for a time. But 
 the enterprise was kept alive by Mr Jefferson, who by 
 his impressive admonitions of its importance, held the 
 legislature of Virginia firm to its purpose. The subject 
 was from time to time discussed in that body, till in the 
 year 1816 a formal resolution was passed almost unani- 
 mously, being but a repetition of certain resolutions 
 which had been adopted in secret session at three dis- 
 
366 
 
 LIFE OF 
 
 tinct antecedent periods. It was truly the feeling and 
 voice of Virginia, which was followed by the States of 
 Maryland, Tennessee and Georgia. Colonization socie- 
 ties were then for the first time formed.* 
 
 In the catalogue of unofficial services, the improve- 
 ments which Mr Jefferson bestowed upon the national 
 metropolis, are not among the least engaging. Almost 
 every thing tliat is beautiful in the artificial scenery of 
 Washington, is due to his taste and industry. He plant- 
 ed its walks with trees, and strewed its gardens with 
 flowers. He was rarely seen returning from his daily 
 excursions on horseback, without bringing some branch 
 of tree, or shrub, or bunch of flowers, for the embellish- 
 ment of the infant capital. He was familiar with every 
 tree and plant, from the oak of the forest, to the lowli- 
 est flower of the valley. The willow-oak was among his 
 favorite trees ; and he was often seen standing' on his 
 horse to gather the acorns from this tree. He was pre- 
 paring to raise a nursery of them, which, when large 
 enough to give shade, should be made to adorn the walks 
 of all the avenues in the city. In the mean time, he 
 planted them with the Lombardy poplar, being of the 
 most sudden growth, contented that, though he could not 
 enjoy their shade, his successors would. Those who 
 have stood on the western portico of the capitol, and 
 looked down the long avenue of a Jmile in length to the 
 president's house, have been struck with the beautiful 
 colonnade of trees which adorns the whole distance on 
 either side. These were all planted under the direction 
 of Mr Jefferson, who often joined in the task with his 
 own hands. He always lamented the spirit of extermi- 
 nation which had swept off the noble forest trees that 
 overspread Capitol Hill, extending down to the banks of 
 the Tiber, and the shores of the Potomac. He would 
 have converted the grounds into extensive parks and 
 
 * N. A. Review, vol. 18, p. 41. 
 
THOMAS JEFFERSON. 367 
 
 gardens. ' The loss is irreparable,' said he to an Euro- 
 pean traveller, ' nor can the evil be prevented. When 
 I have seen such depredations, I have wished for a mo- 
 ment to be a despot, that, in the possession of absolute 
 power, I might enforce the preservation of these valua- 
 ble groves. Washington might have boasted one of the 
 noblest parks, and most beautiful malls, attached to any 
 city in the world.' 
 
 Such are a few^ of the private efforts and enterprises 
 which Mr Jefferson intermingled with the discharge of 
 his public avocations. They were performed too, with- 
 out any neglect of the sweets of social intercourse, or of 
 literary occupation, which ever constituted the predomi- 
 nant passions of his soul. A regular portion of every 
 day was devoted to the acquisition of science ; and the 
 most liberal portions, to the reception of company. The 
 facility with which he discharged these draughts upon 
 his attention, amidst the complication of public and ne- 
 cessary duties, was wont to excite the astonishment of 
 those who visited him. The impression produced by his 
 notice of a remark of a visitor, dropped in the freedom 
 of conversation and expressive of surprise at his being 
 able to transact the public business, amidst such numer- 
 ous interruptions, is well remembered to this day by those 
 who heard it. ' Sir,' said Mr Jefferson, ' I have made 
 it a rule, since I have been in public life, never to let the 
 sun rise before me, and, before I breakfasted, to trans- 
 act all the business called for by the day.' Much of the 
 ease with which he acquitted himself under such an ac- 
 cumulation of engagements, is ascribable to his industry 
 and versatility of practical talent ; but more perhaps to 
 system, and a methodical arrangement of time. So 
 exact were his habits of order, that in a cabinet over- 
 burthened with papers, every one was so labelled and 
 arranged, as to be capable of access in a moment. 
 
 Mr Jefferson had long contemplated the approach of 
 the happy day, which was to relieve him from the ' dis- 
 
'M\H 
 
 <»i' 
 
 ii'mn'tup^ Imii'IIkmi of powiu'/ mid i«^Miorn hini to ilin on- 
 joyitM'hl of liJH rmnily, liin IhioKh, iiihI Iiih rnrin. Soon 
 nihil' IIk; ((itiiiMciirrnKiiil, ol' liin Httrttnd l<;nii, ii<: litid re- 
 (|ii(ihI(m( Ilin r<d|(>vv cili/.oitM io ilmd^ of ri HMCAUiHHor for 
 liiiii, Io wlioiii iio docJiU'od * lin mIiouM d< liv< r llic piddic. 
 roiHTiiiM Willi f.'r<'MhiC joy lliiui Iki rrrnvrd llinii.' IMl* 
 IVlndiMoii wiiH rv'idciil ly Iun lirnl. <di(>icn, IVl i IVIunnx! iiin Hi)C- 
 oiid ; ImiI ill! IJK- |)iildi<'. H<uiliin<iiil, MpiMMii'dd 111 lirHl, to nltow 
 Notru) Nyitipionui of vMciiliiiioii liotvvooii iIh'iii, Ih) iil)HlMin- 
 (mI (Vdiii liny ii/jviicy in drridiiiH' iIh I'ljitil <liro<'linii ; not 
 only (Voin n |H'in('i|dn (d'diily, hiil. IVoni n dc^Hiro to cnrry 
 inio Ilin rnlir(unnnt tlio (m|iiiiI ('(H'diulity of Hkino, whom 
 lid Cniidly rliiit iirln i/,rd mm ' Iwo |iritiri|i!d pilltirH of )mh 
 liii|»|niH'Hr!.' lliH winlirH wiTo HncciiHuiivrly riitilird l>y llio 
 iiiili<»ii, in ilH HiMM'.iiNHivo <dioi<M!M ; iind llirir i'('H|WM'.tivo 
 iidininiHlriilionH, iiiirlicnliirly llnit of IM r Miidinnn, wrro 
 MO COnrorniiddr Io liu! own III |»riiiri|dr nnd in Npiiit, that 
 tln^y Hi^nnird Imt u conliniiution of piiwor in llii^ miiiiio 
 liiindH. VV Immi ii <liHtin<j;niHli(Ml I'^umicIi <'ili/,<Mi, who hud 
 vinilcd our ronnliy nndrr llio HWiiy of lliin policy, n^tiiril- 
 od Io I'mnrr, oiin ol'llin liiHt (plONi ioiiM wlii<di lloiiilpiirto 
 iihIuuI him, wmh, * Whut Kind <d' u g'ovornniont in that of 
 tint llnilrd SlalcH'f ' It \h oiks Sir,' ho rrpliiul, 'which 
 yon can neither Jrr/ nor .s'r/.' The I'irHt < 'onnnl HHKcd 
 no iii<>i«- <|iicNtionN; Toclin^, Ihal niicIi n pano^yriti mi 
 thin p;(ivcrniiicnl, wiin llio HOVOJ'UHt Hutirc on Imm. 
 
 Tlin voKMt (»r ilir iiniioii WaH Htl'oni^' and inipoihinaln 
 lor a rc-clcc|i(ni <d' IMr .h^llcrHon, hut ho rcjccicd llio al- 
 luronnMit, in iiiiloxihlo lulhoronco to a priiiciplo which ho 
 winhcd Io lircoiitc an inviolahio UH if incoi-poralc<l into 
 the coniililnlnni. l\ol only principle, hot llie Hlr(ni;j;eMt 
 of incliiiiiliiMiM dictal(Ml l(» hini mik-Ii a coiirHc. If Ihero 
 WiiH Miiy one Heiitiinnni, next Io llie love of country, 
 whi<di wiiM now n|ipeiinoMl in llie hiiMiHt of IMr JciVcirHotl, 
 it wiiH ihal of liiM riiindiar aHNcrliini, ' ihat he never leit 
 HO happy UN when Hlnflin^ power iVoin liin own HhoidderN 
 ujioii thoHU of another.' Thu imtaUience with which ho 
 
'niOIMAN JKKKKHMON. 'M\0 
 
 Unll<'i|MitO(l lii<^ np|ioiiih-(l «|MM-Ii, and {\ut MMliHriirlioii 
 witli wliit'.li lin Niiliitrd its Mrrivnl urn ox[)I'(!HN()<I hi viii'i- 
 OHM lotl.diH In lllH IVh'imIh. 
 
 * I liMVO liroil you, my iViiiiKl, uilli m Iouj; l<ilt<ir. IJiit 
 your it diutn will <mi)I iu ii low liiinn ntoin. IVliiin Imih 
 yet I wo yM'iirs l<> niMliii r. I niiitiird <d' itii oIlK-n wIkmoI 
 cau do no nioK) ;.mmmI (linn iniiny oiIhiin, who would lir 
 glad lo Imi rni|doy<id in il,. To niyHdlf, |»riH<nndly, il 
 bt'iiigH notliiii;.*, bill uncriiNin^' diud^rry, iind t\i{i\y loMM 
 of riijindH. I'vriy oll'irn lait'^oiiiinfj; var.uiil,, ov«iry ai»- 
 poinhncnl. niMd<i, nir tinniic im lnf>rnf^ it renf tnurtntt. 
 My only ronNoliilion in in llid JMiln^i, llnd, my fidlovv riti- 
 /.<jiiH at lar^n ^ivo mo crodit. for ^mmmI intonlioMii. I will 
 certainly mdoMvor t<» m<u'it tlio oonlinuanco of tlial f^tMul 
 will wln<di followH wrll intondod artionn, and tiioir ap- 
 probnlion will Im^ tlic; doaroNl roward I (iin nury into ro- 
 lirom«mt.' 
 
 * At tlio rn<\ ol niy |nrHont loini, of \vln<li two yriirn 
 iiro yot to c.onio, I |»ro|>oM<i to rotiio (Voni jtiddir, lil'(i;,and 
 to cloHO my dayH on iriy jiatrimony ol" IMonlnrllo, in ll»« 
 hoMom oT my I'limily. I Inivn liitlirrto (injoycd uniforin 
 lirnltii ^ lint llir w< I'dit (d' jiuMm*. liui-iinrMM lin^,inM to Im) 
 too liitnvy lor nio, nml I lon^ lor tlio onjoyiiMmt of rural 
 lifo, jinKHij; my l»o(dui, my [nrniN, and my f'limily. Ilav- 
 inf» pnlormod my f/mi(/ra,';rno sfifH lu/tti, I om rntitird to 
 my diHoliar^o, and ; Imidd l>o norry, indood, tinit otliorm 
 NiMMild ho Moonor Hon.ihh: ihiin inyMolC when I oiiffhl to 
 anU it.' 
 
 * Within a low <\nyH I rotir<i to my ("iimily, my hooKn 
 and farniM ; arid haviiiK'^'aiiKMl tho harltor myNoli', I hIiiiII 
 Nud^ on my iVionds hIII! hnlVoliii,<' iho nlorm, with nnxio.ty 
 indood, hilt not with onvy. INoyor did a juiHonor, ro- 
 lcaN(;d from Imh ohaiiiN, Tool huoIi rtdiofiiH I hIiiiII on mIiii- 
 liiiiji; oil* tho HlmrKh'H oC |»owor. INiilnro inlondod mo j'or 
 llio traii4|iiil pnrHiiitH ol" Hoiom-o, hy londomiji^ thoni my 
 Miipromo doli^ht. Itiit tho ojiormitioH of tho timoN in 
 whi< h I hiivo livrd, hnvo forood mo to taKo a part in ro- 
 HiHtin^ thojii, and to commit myHoU" on tho hoiHloioiiN 
 ociMin of politic/iiI pnHMioriH. I. llinnli <«o<l lor tho oppor- 
 liinity of retiring; Irom thom without <-.onHuro, and rarry- 
 
370 LIFE OP 
 
 ing with me the most consoling proofs of public appro- 
 bation. I leave every thing in the hands of men so able 
 to take care of them, that if we are destined to meet 
 misfortunes, it will be because no human wisdom could 
 avert them. Should you return to the United States, 
 perhaps your curiosity may lead you to visit the hermit 
 of Monticello. He will receive you with affection and 
 delight ; hailing you in the mean time with his affection- 
 ate salutations, and assurances of constant esteem and 
 respect.' 
 
 In the spring of 1809, Mr Jefferson made his last re- 
 treat to the hermitage of Monticello. He retired from 
 a forty years' possession of accumulative honors, and 
 from the summit of human popularity, with a mind un- 
 shaken in its principles, with the same jiealousy of pow- 
 er, the same love of equality and abhorrence of aristoc- 
 racy, and the same unbounded confidence in the major- 
 ity of the people. He was sixty-six years old. At the 
 same age, a singular coincidence, have all the other 
 chief magistrates retired from office — Washington, Ad- 
 ams, Madison, Monroe — except the younger Adams, 
 who wanted but the ordinary term of service to complete 
 the same number of years. 
 
 He was accompanied into retirement with the plaudits 
 and benedictions of his grateful countrymen. Addres- 
 ses upon addresses, public and private, by political as- 
 semblies, religious associations, and literary institutions, 
 were showered upon him, expressive of approbation of 
 his conduct in the administration of the government, 
 and containing prayers for his future tranquillity and 
 happiness. To the citizens of Washington who assem- 
 bled to pay him a farewell tribute of their affection, he 
 replied : ' I receive with peculiar gratification the affec- 
 tionate address of the citizens of W^ashington, and in 
 the patriotic sentiments it expresses, I see the true char- 
 acter of the national metropolis. The station which we 
 occupy among the nations of the earth, is honorable, but 
 
THOMAS JEFFERSON. 
 
 371 
 
 awful. Trusted with the destinies of this soUtary repub- 
 lic of the world, the only monument of human rights, 
 and the sole depository of the sacred fire of freedom and 
 self government, from hence it is to be lighted up in oth- 
 er regions of the earth, if other regions of the earth shall 
 ever become susceptible of its genial influence. All 
 mankind ought, then, with us, to rejoice in its prosper- 
 ous, and sympathize in its adverse fortunes, as involving 
 every thing dear to man. And to what sacrifices of in- 
 terest, or convenience, ought not these considerations to 
 animate us ! To what compromises of opinion and in- 
 clination, to maintain harmony and union among our- 
 selves, and to preserve from all danger this hallowed 
 ark of human hope and happiness ! That differences of 
 opinion should arise among men, on politics, on religion, 
 and on every other topic of human enquiry, and that 
 these should be freely expressed in a country where all 
 our faculties are free, is to be expected. But these val- 
 uable privileges are much perverted when permitted to 
 disturb the harmony of social intercourse, and to lessen 
 the tolerance of opinion. To the honor of society here 
 it has been characterized by a just and generous liberal- 
 ity ; and an indulgence of those affections, which, with- 
 out regard to political creeds, constitute the happiness 
 
 of life.' 
 
 The inhabitants of his native county, Albemarle, were 
 eager for the occasion to testify those emotions of grati- 
 tude and aftection, which they felt for their ' illustrious 
 neighbor and friend;' and to welcome him ' to those 
 sweets of retirement for which he had so often sighed.' 
 With this view, they formed the determination at a pub- 
 lic meeting to receive him in a body at the extremity of 
 the county, and conduct him home. Fearful, however, 
 lest the zeal of friendship might inflict a wound on his 
 characteristic modesty, they previously submitted to him 
 their intention. In reply, he expressed his wish, that 
 ' his neighbors would not take so much trouble on his 
 
372 LIFE OF 
 
 account.' The idea was accordingly relinquished. But 
 at a subsequent meeting of the inhabitants of the county, 
 an address was unanimously adopted, and ordered to be 
 presented to him, in which they added to the general 
 gratulations of the nation, their particular sensations 
 of respect, in the most affecting terms. * As individu- 
 als,' it concluded, * among whom you were raised, and 
 to whom you have at all times been dear, we again wel- 
 come your return to your native county, to the bosom of 
 your family, and to the affections of those neighbors who 
 have long known, and have long revered you in private 
 life. We assure you, sir, we are not insensible to the 
 many sacrifices you have already made, to the various' 
 stations which have been assigned you by your country ; 
 we have witnessed your disinterestedness, and while we 
 feel the benefits of your past services, it would be more 
 than ingratitude in us, did we not use our best efforts to 
 make your latter days as tranquil and as happy, as your 
 former have been bright and glorious.' 
 
 To this address Mr Jefferson returned the following 
 answer. 
 
 ' Returning to the scenes of my birth and early life, 
 to the society of those with whom I was raised, and who 
 have been ever dear to me, I receive, fellow citizens 
 and neighbors, with inexpressible pleasure, the cordial 
 welcome you are so good as to give me. Long absent 
 on duties which the history of a wonderful era made in- 
 cumbent on those called to them, the pomp, the turmoil, 
 the bustle, and splendor of office, have drawn but deeper 
 sighs for the tranquil and irresponsible occupations of 
 private life, for the enjoyment of an affectionate inter- 
 course with you, my neighbors and friends, and the en- 
 dearments of family love, which nature has given us all, 
 as the sweetener of every hour. For, these I gladly lay 
 down the distressing burthen of power, and seek, with 
 my fellow citizens, repose and safety under the watchful 
 cares, the labors, and perplexities of younger and abler 
 minds. The anxieties you express to administer to my 
 happiness, do, of themselves, confer that happiness ; and 
 
THOMAS JEFFERSON. 373 
 
 the measure will be complete, if my endeavors to fulfil 
 my duties in the several public stations to which I have 
 been called, have obtained for me the approbation of my 
 country. The part which I have acted on the theatre of 
 public life, has been before them ; and to their sentence I 
 submit it : but the testimony of my native county, of the 
 individuals who have known me in private life, to my 
 conduct in its various duties and relations, is the more 
 grateful, as proceeding' from eye witnesses and observ- 
 ers, from triers of the vicinage. Of you, then, my neigh- 
 bors, I may ask, in the face of the world, * Whose ox 
 have I taken, or whom have I defrauded 1 Whom have 
 I oppressed, or of whose hand have I received a bribe 
 to blind mine eyes therewith V On your verdict I rest 
 with conscious security. Your wishes for my happiness 
 are received with just sensibility, and I offer sincere 
 prayers for your own welfare and prosperity.' 
 
 Among the numerous testimonials of the public grati- 
 tude elicited on this occasion, the ' valedictory address 
 of the general assembly of Virginia ' is deservedly the 
 most distinguished. It is too rich a document intrinsically, 
 and too proudly associated with the reputation of him 
 whose merits it was intended to commemorate, not to be 
 preserved. It was agreed to by both houses on the 7th 
 of February, 1809. 
 
 * Sir, — The general assembly of your native State 
 cannot close their session, without acknowledging your 
 services in the office which you are just about to lay 
 down, and bidding you a respectful and affectionate 
 farewell. 
 
 'We have to thank you for the model of an adminis- 
 tration conducted on the purest principles of republican- 
 ism ; for pomp and state laid aside ; patronage discard- 
 ed ; internal taxes abolished ; a host of superfluous offi- 
 cers disbanded ; the monarchic maxim that ' a national 
 debt is a national blessing,' renounced, and more than 
 thirty-three millions of our debt discharged; the native 
 right to nearly one hundred millions of acres of our na- 
 tional domain extinguished ; and without the guilt or ca- 
 lamities of conquest, a vast and fertile region added to 
 32* 
 
374 LIFE OF 
 
 our country, far more extensive than her original pos- 
 sessions, bringing along with it the Mississippi and the 
 port of Orleans, the trade of the West to the Pacific 
 ocean, and in the intrinsic value of the land itself, a 
 source of permanent and almost inexhaustible revenue. 
 These are points in your adminisfration which the his- 
 torian will not fail to seize, to expand, and teach pos- 
 terity to dwell upon with delight. Nor will he forget 
 our peace with the civilized world, preserved through a 
 season of uncommon difficulty and trial ; the good will 
 cultivated with the unfortunate aborigines of our coun- 
 try, and the civilization humanely extended among them ; 
 the lesson taught the inhabitants of the coast of Barbary, 
 that we have the means of chastising their piratical en- 
 croachments, and awing them into justice ; and that 
 theme, on which, above all others, the historic genius 
 will hang with rapture, the liberty of speech and of the 
 press, preserved inviolate, without which genius and 
 science are given to man in vain. 
 
 ' In the principles on which you have administered the 
 government, we see only the continuation and maturity 
 of the same virtues and abilities, which drew upon you 
 in your youth the resentment of Dunmore. From the 
 first brilliant and happy moment of your resistance to 
 foreign tyranny, until the present day, we mark with 
 pleasure and with gratitude the same uniform, consistent 
 character, the same warm and devoted attachment to 
 liberty and the republic, the same Roman love of your 
 country, her rights, her peace, her honor, her pros- 
 perity. 
 
 ' How blessed will be the retirement into which you 
 are about to go ! How deservedly blessed will it be ! For 
 you carry with you the richest of all rewards, the recol- 
 lection of a life well spent in the service of your coun- 
 try, and proofs the most decisive, of the love, the grati- 
 tude, the veneration of your countrymen. 
 
 ' That your retirement may be as happy as your life 
 has been virtuous and useful ; that our youth may see, 
 in the blissful close of your days, an additional induce- 
 ment to form themselves on your model, is the devout 
 and earnest prayer of your fellow-citizens who compose 
 the general assembly of Virginia.' 
 
THOMAS JEFFERSON. 375 
 
 Thus terminated the pohtical career of one who had 
 been a principal agent of two revolutions, and an eye- 
 witness of a third ; of one who, from his entrance into 
 manhood, had continued the advocate of principles, 
 which, first discarded, next endured, then embraced, had 
 eventually swayed the destinies of his country through 
 the perilous and successive convulsions of transforma- 
 tion from a monarchical to a free structure of govern- 
 ment, and of deliverance from the fatal catastrophe of a 
 counter-revolution, in the last extremities of exhaustion, 
 despair, and self-abandonment ; who had lived to see 
 the energies of those principles so extensively transfused 
 into the very sycophants of the tyrants of the old world, 
 temporal and spiritual, as that the earth was every where 
 shaking under their feet ; and who, at last, enjoyed the 
 satisfaction of seeing his name become the synonym of 
 political orthodoxy at home, and the watch-word of the 
 aspirants for its attainment, in all parts of the civilized 
 world. 
 
 ' Bright are the memories link'd with thee, 
 
 Boast of a glory-hallowed land, 
 
 Hope of the valiant and the free.' 
 
 Thus had he performed his distinguished course, and 
 thus, full of years and covered with glory, he was ready 
 as to all political affairs, to utter his favorite invocation : 
 Nunc di?nittas, Domine — ' Lord, now lettest thou thy 
 servant depart in peace.' 
 
376 XIFE OF 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 In repairing with so much eagerness to the shades of 
 his native mountains, it seems not to have entered the 
 mind of Mr Jefferson to relax his efforts for the benefit 
 of mankind, but to divert them into another channel. 
 His whole life, he was in the habit of remarking, had 
 been at war with his natural taste, feelings and wishes. 
 Circumstances had led him along, step by step, the path 
 he had trodden. 
 
 His was not the retirement of one who sought refuge 
 from the pangs of disappointed ambition, and the world's 
 mockery of them, in the resource of oblivion and stoical 
 insensibility ; or who coveted repose from the turbulence 
 of the scene, to indulge in indolence. No. his was the 
 voluntary seclusion of one, ' who,' as it has been beauti- 
 fully said, ' had well filled a noble part in public life, 
 from which he was prepared and anxious to withdraw ; 
 who sought retirement to gratify warm affections, and to 
 enjoy his well earned fame ; who desired to turn those 
 thoughts which had been necessarily restrained and 
 limited, to the investigation of all the sources of human 
 happiness and enjoyment ; who felt himself surrounded, 
 in his fellow citizens, by a circle of affectionate friends, 
 and had not to attribute to a rude expulsion from the 
 theatre of ambition, his sincere devotion to the pursuits 
 of agriculture and philosophy ; and who, receiving to the 
 last moment of his existence continued proofs of admi- 
 ration and regard, which penetrated his remote retire- 
 ment, devoted the remainder of his days to record those 
 
THOMAS JEFFERSON. 377 
 
 various reflections for which the materials had been col- 
 lected and treasured up, unknown to himself, on the long 
 and various voyage of his life.' 
 
 In the possession of undecayed intellectual powers, 
 and a physical strength unsubdued by the labors which 
 « the history of a wonderful era had made incumbent on 
 him,' he devoted the remnant of his days to unlocking all 
 the store-houses of knowledge, and dispensing their treas- 
 ures to the generation who had succeeded him on the 
 theatre of public affairs ; and to laying the foundations 
 for the still greater extension of science by the estab- 
 lishment of a seminary of learning which sheuld rival 
 the institutions of Cambridge and Oxford. 
 
 To give a few choice selections from his cabinet, de- 
 velopino- the opinions of the Monticellian philosopher, 
 on questions interesting and important to mankind, and 
 which have not yet been brought into special review ; 
 his observations on the distinguished characters with 
 whom he acted or came in contact, in the course of his 
 career ; on the parties and political occurrences of the 
 passing day ; his daily occupations and habits of Imng 
 — all expressed in the freedom of private and unrestrain- 
 ed confidence, seems the most satisfactory method of 
 supplying that portion of his history, for which the ma- 
 terials are of too abstract a nature to be adapted to his- 
 torical narrative. The quotations must be necessarily 
 limit*ed, but possess great interest and value. 
 
 The constitution — popular rights.— ' Some men 
 look at constitutions with sanctimonious reverence, and 
 deem them like the ark of the covenant, too sacred to 
 be touched. They ascribe to the men of the preceding 
 affe a wisdom more than human, and suppose what they 
 did to be beyond amendment. I knew that age well; 
 I belonged to it, and labored with it. It deserved well 
 of its country. It was very like the present, but without 
 the experience of the present; and forty years ol ex- 
 perience in government is worth a century of book read- 
 ing : and this they would say themselves were they to 
 
378 
 
 LIFE OF 
 
 rise from the dead. We had not yet penetrated to the 
 mother principle, that 'governments are republican only 
 in proportion as they embody the will of their people, 
 and execute it.' Hence, our first constitutions had really 
 no leading principle in them. Thouoh we may say with 
 confidence, that the worst of the American constitutions 
 is better than the best Avhich ever existed belbre in 
 any other country, and they are wonderiully perfect for 
 a first essay, yet every human essay nmst have defects. 
 it will remain therefore to those now coming- on the 
 stage of public affairs to perfect \\\u\t has been so well 
 begun by those going off it. I am certainly not an ad- 
 vocate for freipient and untried changes in laws and con- 
 stitutions. 1 think moderate imperfections had better be 
 borne with ; because, when once known, we accommo- 
 date ourselves to them, and find i)ractical means of cor- 
 recting their ill effects. But I know , also, that laws and 
 institutions nnist go hand in hand with tlie jn-ogress of 
 the human mind. As that becomes more developed, 
 more enlightened, as new discoveries are made, new 
 truths disclosed, and manners and Opinions change with 
 the change of circunistances, institutions must advance 
 also, and keep pace with the times. We might as well 
 require a man to wear still the coat which fitted him 
 when a boy, as civiliy.ed society to remain ever under the 
 regimen of their barbarous ancestors. It is this prepos- 
 terous idea which has lately deluged' Europe in blood. 
 Their monarchs, instead of wisely yiehling to the gradual 
 changes of circumstances, of favoring progressive ac- 
 commodation to progressive improvement, have cluuii" to 
 
 111 in I ' f^ 
 
 old abuses, entrenched themselves beliiiul steady ht'tbits, 
 and obliged their subjects to seek through blood and vio- 
 lence, rash and ruinous innovations, which, had they been 
 referred to the ])eaceful deliberations and collected wis- 
 dom of the nation, would have been put into acceptable 
 and salutary forms. Let us follow no such examples, 
 nor weakly believe that one generation is not as capable 
 as another of taking care of itself, and of ordering its 
 own atfairs. Let us avail ourselves of our reason and 
 experience, to correct the crude essays of our first and 
 unexperienced, although wise, virtuous, and well mean- 
 ing councils. And, lastly, let us provide in our constitu- 
 
THOMAS JEFFERSON. 379 
 
 tion for its revision at stated periods. What these pe- 
 riods should be, nature herself indicates. By the Euro- 
 pean tables of mortality, of the adults living at any one 
 moment of time, a majority will be dead in about nine- 
 teen years. At the end of that period, then, a nevr ma- 
 jority is come into place ; or, in other words, a new 
 generation. Each generation is as independent of the 
 one preceding, as that was of all which had gone before. 
 It has, then, like them, a right to choose for itself the 
 form of government it believes most promotive of its 
 own happiness ; consequently, to accommodate to the 
 circumstances in which it finds itself, that received from 
 its predecessors : and it is for the peace and good of 
 mankind, that a solemn opportunity of doing this every 
 nineteen or twenty years, should be provided by the con- 
 stitution ; so that it may be handed on, with periodical 
 repairs, from generation to generation, to the end of 
 time, if any thing human can so long endure. It is now 
 forty years since the constitution of Virginia was form- 
 ed. The same tables inform us, that, within that period, 
 two thirds of the adults then living are now dead. Have 
 then the remaining third, even if they had the wish, the 
 right to hold in obedience to their will, and to laws here- 
 tofore made by them, the other two thirds, who, with 
 themselves, compose the present mass of adults 1 If they 
 have not, who has ? The dead ? But the dead have no 
 rights. They are nothing ; and nothing cannot own 
 something. Where there is no substance, there can be 
 no accident. This corporeal globe and every thing upon 
 it, belong to its present corporeal inhabitants, during their 
 generation. They alone have a right to direct what is the 
 concern of themselves alon«, and to declare the law of 
 that direction : and this declaration can only be made 
 by their majority. That majority, then, has a right to 
 depute representatives to a convention, and to make the 
 constitution what they think will be best for themselves. 
 * * If this avenue be shut to the call of sufferance, it 
 will make itself heard through that of force, and we shall 
 go on, as other nations are doing, in the endless circle 
 of oppression, rebellion, reformation ; and oppression, 
 rebellion, reformation, again ; and so on, for ever.' 
 
380 LIFE OP 
 
 Relative powers of the general and State gov- 
 ernments. — ' With respect to our State and federal 
 governments, I do not think their relations correctly un- 
 derstood by foreigners. They generally suppose the 
 former subordinate to the latter. But this is not the 
 case. They are co-ordinate departments of one simple 
 and integral whole. To the State governments are re- 
 served all legislation and administration, in affairs which 
 concern their own citizens only, and to the federal 
 government is given whatever concerns foreigners, or 
 the citizens of other States ; these functions alone being 
 made federal. The one is the domestic, the other the 
 foreign branch of the same government ; neither having 
 control over the other, but within its own department. 
 There are one or two exceptions only to this partition 
 of power. But you may ask, if the two departments 
 shouM claim each the same subject of power, where is 
 the common umpire to decide ultimately between them ? 
 In cases of little importance or urgency, the prudence of 
 both parties will keep them aloof from the questionable 
 ground : but if it can neither be avoided nor compromis- 
 ed, a convention of the States must be called, to ascribe 
 the doubtful power to that department which they may 
 think best.' 
 
 Relative powers of each branch in the general 
 GOVERNMENT. — You sccm to think it devolved on the 
 judges to decide on the validity of the sedition law. But 
 nothing in the constitution has given them a right to de- 
 cide for the executive, more than to the executive to de- 
 cide for them. Both magistracies are equally independ- 
 ent in the sphere of action assigned to them. The judges, 
 believing the law constitutional, had a right to pass a 
 sentence of fine and imprisonment ; because the power 
 was placed in their hands by the constitution. But the 
 executive, believing the law to be unconstitutional, were 
 bound to remit the execution of it ; because that power 
 has been confided to them by the constitution. That in- 
 strument meant that its co-ordinate branches should be 
 checks on each other. But the opinion which gives to 
 the judges the right to decide what laws are constitu- 
 tional, and what not, not only for themselves in their 
 own sphere of action, but for the legislature and execu- 
 
THOMAS JEFFERSON. 381 
 
 live also in their spheres, would make the judiciary a 
 despotic branch.' 
 
 ' If this opinion be sound, then indeed is our constitu- 
 tion a complete feh de se. For intending to establish 
 three departments, co-ordinate and independent, that 
 they might check and balance one another, it has given, 
 according to this opinion, to one of them alone, the right 
 to prescribe rules for the government of the others, and 
 to that one too, which is unelected by, and independent 
 of the nation. For experience has already shown that 
 the impeachment it has provided is not even a scare- 
 crow ; that such opinions as the one you combat, sent 
 cautiously out, as you observe also, by detachment, not 
 belonging to the case often, but sought for out of it, as 
 if to rally the public opinion beforehand to their views, 
 and to indicate the line they are to walk in, have been 
 so quietly passed over as never to have excited animad- 
 version, even in a speech of any one of the body entrust- 
 ed with impeachment. The constitution, on this hypo- 
 thesis, is a mere thing of wax in the hands of the judi- 
 ciary, which they may twist and shape into any form 
 they please. It should be remembered, as an axiom of 
 eternal truth in politics, that whatever power in any gov- 
 ernment is independent, is absolute also ; in theory on- 
 ly, at first, while the spirit of the people is up, but in 
 practice, as fast as that relaxes. Independence can be 
 trusted no where but with the people in mass. They 
 are inherently independent of all but moral law.' 
 
 Internal improvement, constructive interpreta- 
 tions, &DC. — 'You will have learned that an act for in- 
 ternal improvement, after passing both houses, was neg- 
 atived by the president [1817.] The act was founded, 
 avowedly, on the principle that the phrase in the consti- 
 tution, which authorises Congress 'to levy taxes, to pay 
 the debts, and provide for the general welfare,' was an 
 extension of the powers specifically enumerated to what- 
 ever would promote the general welfare ; and this, you 
 know, was the federal doctrine. Whereas, our tenet 
 ever was, and, indeed, it is almost the only land-mark 
 which now divides the federalists from the republicans, 
 that Congress had not unlimited powers to provide for 
 ' the general welfare, but were restrained to those specifi- 
 33 
 
38*2 LIFE OF 
 
 cally enumerated; and that, as it was never meant they 
 should provide for that welfare but by the exercise of the 
 enumerated powers, so it could not have been meant 
 they should raise money for purposes which the enumer- 
 ation did not place under their action : consequently, 
 that the specification of powers is a limitation of the 
 purposes for which they may raise money. I think the 
 passage and rejection of this bill a fortunate incident. 
 Every State will certainly concede the power ; and this 
 will be a national confirmation of the grounds of appeal 
 to them, and will settle for ever the meaning of this 
 phrase,- which, by a mere grammatical quibble, has 
 countenanced the general government in a claim of uni- 
 versal power.' 
 
 Domestic Manufactures. — ' I have now thirty five 
 spindles a going, a hand carding-machine, and looms 
 with the flying shuttle, for the supply of my own farms, 
 which will never be relinquished in my time. The con- 
 tinuance of the war will fix the habit generally, and out of 
 the evils of impressment and of the orders of council, a 
 great blessing for us will grow. I have not formerly 
 been an advocate for great manufactories. I doubted 
 whether our labor, employed in agriculture, and aided 
 by the spontaneous energies of the earth, would not pro- 
 cure us more than we could make ourselves of other ne- 
 cessaries. But other considerations entering into the 
 question, have settled my doubts.' 
 
 ' You tell me I am quoted by those who wish to con- 
 tinue our dependance on England for our manufactures. 
 There was a time when I might have been so quoted 
 with more candor. But within the thirty years which 
 have since elapsed, how are circumstances changed ! 
 We were then in peace ; our independent place among 
 nations was acknowledged. A commerce which ofi'ered 
 the raw material, in exchange for the same material af- 
 ter receiving the last touch of industry, was worthy of 
 welcome to all nations. It was expected, that those es- 
 pecially to whom manufacturing industry was impor- 
 tant, would cherish the friendship of such customers by 
 every favor, and particularly cultivate their peace by 
 every act of justice and friendship. Under this prospect, 
 
THOMAS JEFFERSON. 
 
 383 
 
 the question seemed legitimate, whether, with such an 
 immensity of unimproved land, courting the hand of 
 husbandry, tlie industry of agriculture, or that of manu- 
 facturers, would add most to the national wealth. And the 
 doubt on the utility of the American manufactures was en- 
 tertained on this consideration, chiefly, that to the labor 
 of the husbandman, a vast addition is made by the spon- 
 taneous energies of the earth on which it is employed. 
 For one grain of wheat committed to the earth, she ren- 
 ders twenty, thirty, and even hfty fold ; whereas to the 
 labor of the manufacturer nothing is added. Pounds of 
 flax, in his hands, on the contrary, yield but penny 
 weights of lace. This exchange, too, laborious as it 
 might seem, what a field did it promise for the occupation 
 of the ocean ; what a nursery for that class of citizens 
 who were to exercise and maintain our equal rights on 
 that element ! This was the state of things in 1785, 
 when the Notes on Virginia were first published ; when, 
 the ocean being, open to all nations, and their common 
 right in it acknowledged and exercised under regula- 
 tions sanctioned by the assent and usage of all, it was 
 thought that the doubt might claim some consideration. 
 We have since experienced, what we did not then be- 
 lieve, that there exist both profligacy and power enough 
 to exclude us from the field of interchange with other 
 nations. That to be independent for the comforts of 
 life, we must fabricate them ourselves. We must now 
 place the manufacturer by the side of the agriculturist. 
 The former question is suppressed, or rather assumes a 
 new form. The grand inquiry now is, Shall we make 
 our own comforts, or go without them at the will of a 
 foreign nation ? He, therefore, who is now against do- 
 mestic manufacture, must be for reducing us either to 
 dependance on that foreign nation, or to be clothed in 
 skins, and to live like wild beasts in dens and caverns. 
 I am not one of these. Experience has taught me that 
 manufactures are now as necessary to our independence 
 as to our comfort.' 
 
 Laboring classes, agriculture. — 'These circum- 
 stances have long since produced an overcharge in the 
 class of competitors for learned occupation, and great 
 distress among the supernumerary candidates ; and the 
 
384 LIFE OF 
 
 more, as their habits of life have disqualified them for 
 re-entering into the laborious class. The evil cannot be 
 suddenly, nor perhaps ever entirely cured : nor should I 
 presume to say by what means it may be cured. Doubt- 
 less there are many engines which the nation might bring 
 to bear on this object. Public opinion and public encour- 
 agement are among these. The class principally defec- 
 tive is that of agriculture. It is the first in utility, and 
 ought to be the first in respect. The same artificial 
 means which have been used to produce a competition 
 in learning, may be equally successful in restoring agri- 
 culture to its primary dignity in the eyes of men. It is 
 a science of the very first order. It counts among its 
 handmaids the most respectable sciences, such as che- 
 mistry, natural philosophy, mechanics, mathematics gen- 
 erally, natural history, botany. In every college and 
 university, a professorship of agriculture, and the class 
 of its students, might be honored as the first. Young 
 men closing their academical education with this, as the 
 crown of all other sciences, fascinated with its solid 
 charms, and at a time when they are to choose an occu- 
 pation, instead of crowding the other classes, M^ould re- 
 turn to the farms of their fathers, their own, or those of 
 others, and replenish and invigorate a calling, now lan- 
 guishing under contempt and oppression. The charita- 
 ble schools, instead of storing their pupils with a lore 
 which the present slate of society does not call for, con- 
 verted into schools of agriculture, might restore them to 
 that branch, qualified to enrich and honor themselves, 
 and to increase the productions of the nation instead of 
 consuming them. A gradual abolition of the useless 
 offices, so much accumulated in all governments, might 
 close this drain also from the labors of the field, and 
 lessen the burthens imposed on them. By these, and the 
 better means which will occur to others, the surcharge 
 of the learned, might in time be drawn off to recruit the 
 laboring class of citizens, the sum of industry be in- 
 creased, and that of misery diminished.' 
 
 National Bank. — ' From a passage in the letter of 
 the president, I observe an idea of establishing a branch 
 bank of the IJnited States in New Orleans. This insti- 
 tution is one of the most deadly hostility existing, against 
 
THOMAS JEFFERSON.. 385 
 
 the principles and form of our constitution. The nation 
 is, at this time, so strong and united in its sentiments, 
 that it cannot be shaken at this moment. But suppose a 
 series of untoward events should occur, sufficient to bring 
 into doubt the competency of a republican government 
 to meet a crisis of great danger, or to unhinge the con- 
 fidence of the people in the public functionaries ; an 
 institution like this, penetrating by its branches every 
 part of the union, acting by command and in phalanx, 
 may, in a critical moment, upset the government. I 
 deem no government safe which is under the vassalage 
 of any self-constituted authorities, or any other autho- 
 rity than that of the nation, or its regular functionaries. 
 What an obstruction could not this hank of the United 
 States, with all its branch banks, be in time of war ? It 
 might dictate to us the peace we should accept, or with- 
 draw its aids. Ought we then to give farther growth to 
 an institution so powerful, so hostile ? That it is so 
 hostile we know, 1. from a knowledge of the principles 
 of the persons composing the body of directors in every 
 bank, principal or branch ; and those of most of the 
 stock-holders; 2. from their opposition to the measures 
 and principles of the government, and to the election of 
 those friendly to them : and, 3. from the sentiments of 
 the newspapers they support. Now, while we are strong, 
 it is the greatest duty we owe to the safety of our consti- 
 tution, to bring this powerful enemy to a perfect subor- 
 dination under its authorities. The first measure would 
 be to reduce them to an equal footing only with other 
 banks, as to the favors of the government. But, in order 
 to be able to meet a general combination of the banks 
 against us, in a critical emergency, could we not make 
 a beginning towards an independent use of our own 
 money, towards holding our own bank in all the deposits 
 where it is received, and letting the Treasurer give his 
 draft or note for payment at any particular place, which, 
 in a well conducted government, ought to have as much 
 credit as any private draft, or bank note, or bill, and 
 would give us the same facilities which w^e derive from 
 the banks 1 I pray you to turn this subject in your 
 mind, and give it the benefit of your knowledge of d^^. 
 33* 
 
386 LIFE OF 
 
 tails ; whereas, I have only very general views of the 
 subject.' 
 
 Political parties. — ' I know too well the weakness 
 and uncertainty of human reason, to wonder at its dif- 
 ferent results. Both of our political parties, at least the 
 honest part of them, agree conscientiously in the same 
 object, the public good : but they differ essentially in 
 what they deem the means of promoting that good. 
 One side believes it best done by one composition of the 
 governing powers ; the other, by a different one. One 
 fears most the ignorance of the people ; the olher, the 
 selfishness of rulers independent of them. Which is 
 right, time and experience will prove. We think that 
 one side of this experiment has been long enough tried, 
 and proved not to promote the good of the many : and 
 that the other has not been fairly and sufficiently tried. 
 Our opponents think the reverse. With whichever opi- 
 nion the body of .the nation concurs, that must prevail. 
 My anxieties on this subject will never carry me beyond 
 the use of fair and honorable means of truth and reason ; 
 nor have they ever lessened my esteem for moral worth, 
 nor alienated my affections from a single friend, who did 
 not first withdraw himself. Wherever this has happened, 
 I confess I have not been insensible to it : yet have ever 
 kept myself open to a return of their justice.' 
 
 'The fact is, that at the formation of our government, 
 many had formed their political opinions on European 
 writings and practices, believing the experience of old 
 countries, and especially of England, abusive as it was, 
 to be a safer guide than mere theory. The doctrines of 
 Europe were, that men in numerous associations cannot 
 be restrained within the limits of order and justice, but 
 by forces physical and moral, wielded over them by 
 authorities independent of their will. Hence their or- 
 ganization of kings, hereditary nobles, and priests. Still 
 farther to constrain the brute force of the people, they 
 deem it necessary to keep them down by hard labor, 
 poverty, and ignorance, and to take from them, as from 
 bees, so much of their earnings, as that unremitting labor 
 shall be necessary to obtain a sufficient surplus barely to 
 sustain a scanty and miserable life. And these earnings 
 they apply to maintain their privileged orders in splen- 
 
THOMAS JEFFERSON. 387 
 
 dor and idleness, to fascinate the eyes of the people, and 
 excite in them a humble adoration and submission, as 
 to an order of superior beings.' 
 
 Sovereigns of Europe. — ' When I observed, how- 
 ever, that the king of England was a cipher, I did not 
 mean to confine the observation to the mere individual 
 now on that throne. The practice of kings marrying 
 only into the families of kings, has been that of Europe 
 for some centuries. Now, take any race of animals, con- 
 fine them in idleness and inaction, whether in a sty, a 
 stable, or a state-room, pamper them with high diet, 
 gratify all their sexual appetites, immerse them in sen- 
 sualities, nourish their passions, let every thing bend 
 before them, and banish whatever might lead them to 
 think, and in a few generations they become all body, 
 and no mind : and this, too, by a law of nature, by that 
 very law by which we are in the constant practice of 
 changing the characters and propensities of the animals 
 we raise for our own purposes. Such is the regimen in 
 raising kings, and in this way they have gone on for cen- 
 turies. While in Europe, I often amused myself with 
 contemplating the characters of the then reigning sove- 
 reigns of Europe. Louis the XVI was a fool, of my 
 own knowledge, and in despite of the answers made for 
 him at his trial. The king of Spain was a fool, and of 
 Naples the same. They passed their lives in hunting, 
 and dispatched two couriers a week, one thousand miles, 
 to let each other know what game they had killed the 
 preceding days. The king of Sardinia was a fool. All 
 these were Bourbons. The Queen of Portugal, a Bra- 
 ganza, was an idiot by nature. And so was the king of 
 Denmark. Their sons, as regents, exercised the powers 
 of government. The king of Prussia, successor to the 
 great Frederick, was a mere hog in body as well as in 
 mind. Gustavus of Sweden, and Joseph of Austria, 
 were really crazy, and George of England you know 
 was in a straight waistcoat. There remained, then, none 
 but old Catherine, who had been too lately picked up to 
 have lost her common sense. In this state Bonaparte 
 found Europe ; and it was this state of its rulers which 
 lost it with scarce a struggle. These animals had be- 
 come without mind and powerless ; and so will every 
 
388 
 
 LIFE OF 
 
 hereditary monEirch be after a few generations. Alex- 
 ander, the grandson of Catherine, is as yet an exception. 
 He is able to hold his own. But he is only of tbe third 
 generation. His race is not yet worn out. And so 
 endeth the book of kings, from all of whom the Lord 
 deliver us, and have you, my friend, and all such good 
 men and true, in his holy keejDing.' 
 
 Portraiture of Washington. — ' You say that in 
 taking General Washington on your shoulders, to bear 
 him harmless through the federal coalition, you encounter 
 a perilous topic. I do not think so. You have given 
 the genuine history of the course of his mind through 
 the trying scenes in which it was engaged, and of the 
 seductions by which it was deceived, but not depraved. 
 I think I knew General Washington intimately and 
 thoroughly ; and were I called on to delineate his char- 
 acter, it should be in terms like these. 
 
 * His mind was great and powerful, without being of 
 the very first order ; his penetration strong, though not 
 so acute as that of a Newton, Bacon, or Locke ; and as 
 far as he saw, no judgment was ever sounder. It was 
 slow in operation, being little aided by invention or 
 imagination, but sure in conclusion. Hence the com- 
 mon remark of his officers, of the advantaoe he derived 
 from councils of war, where, hearing all suggestions, he 
 selected whatever was best ; and certainly no general 
 ever planned his battles more judiciously. But if de- 
 ranged during the course of the action, if any member 
 o^ his plan was dislocated by sudden circumstances, he 
 was slow in a re-adjustment. The consequence was, 
 that he often failed in the field, and rarely against an 
 enemy in station, as at Boston and York. He was inca- 
 pable of fear, meeting personal dangers with the calmest 
 unconcern. Perhaps the strongest feature in his charac- 
 ter was prudence, never acting until every circumstance, 
 every consideration, was maturely weighed ; refraining 
 if he saw a doubt, but, when once decided, going through 
 with his purpose, whatever obstacles opposed. His in- 
 tegrity was most pure, his justice the most inflexible I 
 have ever known, no motives of interest or consanguinity, 
 of friendship or hatred, being able to bias his decision. 
 He was, indeed, in every sense of the words, a wise, a 
 
THOMAS JEFr'ERSON. 889 
 
 good, and a great man* His teitipei" was naturally irri- 
 table and high-toned ; but reflection and resolution bgjd 
 obtained a firm and habitual ascendancy over it. If ever, 
 however, it broke its bonds, he was most tremendous in 
 his wrath. In his expenses he was honorable, but exact; 
 liberal in contributions to whatever promised utility ; but 
 frowning and unyielding on all visionary projects, and 
 all unworthy calls on his charity. His heart was not 
 warm in its affections ; but he exactly calculated every 
 man's value, and gave him a solid esteem proportioned 
 to it. His person, you know, was fine, his stature exactly 
 what one would wish ; his deportment easy, erect, and 
 noble ; the best horseman of his age, and the most grace- 
 ful figure that could be seen on horseback. Although in 
 the circle of his friends, where he might be unreserved 
 with safety, he took a free share in conversation, his col- 
 loquial talents were not above mediocrity, possessing 
 neither copiousness of ideas, nor fluency of words. In 
 public, when called on for a sudden opinion, he was un- 
 ready, short, and embarrassed. Yet he wrote readily, 
 rather diffusely, in an easy and correct style. This he 
 had acquired by conversation with the world, for his 
 education was merely reading, writing, and common 
 arithmetic, to which he added surveying at a later day. 
 His time was employed in action chiefly, reading little, 
 and that only in agriculture and English history. His 
 correspondence became necessarily extensive, and, with 
 journalizing his agricultural proceedings, occupied most 
 of his leisure hours within doors. On the whole, his 
 character was, in its mass, perfect; in nothing bad, in 
 few points indifferent; and it may truly be said^ that 
 never did nature and fortune combine more perfectly to 
 make a man great, and to place him in the same constel- 
 lation with whatever worthies have merited from man an 
 everlasting remembrance. For his was the singular des- 
 tiny and merit, of leading the armies of his country suc- 
 cessfully through an arduous war, for the establishment 
 of its independence ; of conducting its councils through 
 the birth of a government, new in its forms and princi- 
 ples, until it had settled down into a quiet and orderly 
 train ; and of scrupulously obeying the laws through 
 the whole of his career, civil and military, of which the 
 history of the world furnishes no other example.' 
 
390 LIFE OF 
 
 Religious. — ' The result of your fifty or sixty years 
 of religious reading in the four words^ " Be just and 
 good," is that in which all our inquiries must end ; as the 
 riddles of ail the priesthoods end in four more, " Ubi pa- 
 nts, ihi deus.''^ What all agree in, is probably right, what 
 no two agree in, most probably wrong. One of our fan- 
 coloring biographers, who paints small men as very great, 
 inquired of me lately, with real afTection too, whether he 
 might consider as authentic, the change in my religion 
 much spoken of in some circles. Now this supposed 
 that they knew what had been my religion before, tak- 
 ing for it the word of their priests, whom I certainly 
 never made the confidants of my creed. My answer 
 was, " Say nothing of my rehgion. It is known to my 
 God and myself alone. Its evidence before the world is 
 to be sought in my life ; if that has been honest and du^ 
 tiful to society^ the religion which has regulated it cannot 
 be a bad one." ' 
 
 On the loss of friends. — ' When you and I look 
 back on the country over which we have passed, what a 
 field of slaughter does it exhibit. Where are all the 
 friends who entered it with us, under all the inspiring 
 energies of health and hope 1 As if pursued by the 
 havoc of war, they are strewed by the way, some earlier, 
 some later, and scarce a few stragglers remain to count 
 the numbers fallen, and to mark yet, by their own fall, 
 the last footsteps of their party. Is it a desirable thing 
 to bear up through the heat of the action to witness the 
 death of all our companions, and merely be the last vic- 
 tim 1 I doubt it. We have, however, the traveller's 
 consolation. Every step shortens the distance we have 
 to go ; the end of our journey is in sight, the bed where- 
 in we are to rest, and to rise in the midst of the friends 
 we have lost. " We sorrow not, then, as others who have 
 no hope ;" but look forward to the day which " joins us 
 to the great majority." But whatever is to be our des- 
 tiny, wisdom, as well as duty, dictates that we should 
 acquiesce in the will of Him whose it is to give and take 
 away, and be contented in the enjoyment of those who 
 are still permitted to be with us. Of those connected by 
 blood, the number does not depend on us. But friends 
 we have, if we have merited them. Those of our earli- 
 
THOMAS JEFFERSON. 391 
 
 est years stand nearest in our affections. But in this too, 
 you and I have been unhicky. Of our college friends 
 (and they are the dearest) how few have stood with us 
 in the great political questions which have agitated our 
 country ; and these were of a nature to justify agitation. 
 I did not believe the Lilliputian fetters of that day strong 
 enough to have bound so many.' 
 
 Advice on the studies of young men. — ' Moral phi- 
 losophy. I think it lost time to attend lectures on this 
 branch. He who made us would have been a pitiful 
 bungler, if he had made the rules of our moral conduct a 
 matter of science. For one man of science, there are 
 thousands who are not. What would have become of 
 them ? Man was destined for society. His morality 
 therefore, was to be formed to this object. He was en- 
 dowed with a sense of right and wrong, merely relative 
 to this. This sense is as much a part of his nature, as 
 the sense of hearing, seeing, feeling ; it is the true foun- 
 dation of morality, and not the to kalon, truth, &c, as 
 fanciful writers have imagined. The moral sense, or 
 conscience, is as much a part of man, as his leg or arm. 
 It is given to all human beings, in a stronger or weaker 
 degree, as force of members is given them in a greater 
 or less degree. It may be strengthened by exercise, as 
 may any particular limb of the body. This sense is sub- 
 mitted, indeed, in some degree, to the guidance of rea- 
 son ; but it is a small stock which is required for this ; 
 even a less one than what we call common sense. State 
 a moral case to a ploughman, and to a professor. The 
 former will decide it as well, and often better than the 
 latter, because he has not been led astray by artificial 
 rules. In this branch, therefore, read good books, be- 
 cause they will encourage, as well as direct your feelings. 
 Read the books mentioned in the enclosed paper : and, 
 above all things, lose no occasion of exercising your dis- 
 positions to be grateful, to be generous, to be charitable, 
 to be humane, to be true, just, firm, orderly, courageous, 
 &.C. Consider every act of this kind, as an exercise 
 which will strengthen your moral faculties, and increase 
 your worth.' 
 
 Travelling. — ' This makes men wiser, but less happy. 
 
892 LIFE OF 
 
 When men of sober age travel, they gather knowledge, 
 which they may apply usefully for their country ; but 
 they are subject ever after to recollections mixed with 
 regret ; their affections are weakened by being extended 
 over more objects; and they learn new habits, which 
 cannot be gratified when they return home. Young 
 men who travel are exposed to all these inconveniences 
 in a higher degree, to others still more serious, and do 
 not acquire that wisdom for which a previous foundation 
 is requisite, by repeated and just observations at home. 
 The glare of pomp and pleasure is analogous to the mo- 
 tion of the blood ; it absorbs ail their affection and at- 
 tention ; they are torn from it as from the only good in 
 this world, and return to their home as to a place of 
 exile and condemnation. Their eyes are forever turned 
 back to the object they have lost, and its recollection poi- 
 sons the residue of their lives. Their first and most de- 
 licate passions are hackneyed on unworthy objects here, , 
 and they carry home the dregs, insufficient to make 
 themselves or any body else happy. Add to this, that a 
 habit of idleness, an inability to apply themselves to busi- 
 ness is acquired, and renders them useless to themselves 
 and their country. These observations are founded in 
 experience. There is no place where your pursuit of 
 knowledge will be so little obstructed by foreign objects, 
 as in your own country, nor any, wherein the virtues of 
 the heart will be less exposed to be weakened. Be good, 
 be learned, and be industrious, and you will not want the 
 aid of travelling, to render you precious to your country, 
 dear to your friends, happy within yourself. I repeat 
 my advice, to take a great deal of exercise and on foot. 
 Health is the first requisite after morality.' * 
 
 Rules for the regulation of moral conduct. - — 
 ' This letter will, to yow, be as one from the dead. The 
 writer will be in the grave before you can weigh its 
 councils. Your affectionate and excellent father has re- 
 quested that 1 would address to you something which 
 might possibly have a favorable influence on the course 
 of life you have to run, and I too, as a namesake, feel an 
 
 * Addressed to Peter Carr. 
 
THOMAS JEFFERSON. 393 
 
 interest in that course. Few words will be necessary, 
 with good dispositions on your part. Adore God. Re- 
 verence and cherish your parents. Love your neighbor 
 as yourself, and your country more than yourself. Be 
 just. Be true. Murmur not at the ways of Providence. 
 So shall the life, into which you have entered, be the 
 portal to one of eternal and ineffable bliss. And if to the 
 dead it is permitted to take care for the things of this 
 world, every action of your life will be under my regard. 
 Farewell.'* 
 
 ' The Portrait of a Good Man, hy the most sublime of Poets, 
 for your imitation. 
 
 LoRD^ who's the happy man that may to thy blest courts repair, 
 
 Not stranger like to visit them, but to inhabit there ? 
 
 'Tis he, whose every thought and deed by rules of virtue moves ; 
 
 Whose generous tongue disdains to speak the thing his heart dis- 
 proves. 
 
 Who never did a slander forge, his neighbor's fame to wound ; 
 
 Nor hearken to a false report, by malice whispered round. 
 
 Who vice, in all its pomp and power, can treat with just neglect; 
 
 And piety, though clothed in rags, religiously respect. 
 
 Who to his plighted vows and trust has ever firmly stood ; 
 
 And though he promise to his loss, he makes his promise good. 
 
 Whose soul in usury disdains his treasure to employ ; 
 
 Whom no rewards can ever bribe the guiltless to destroy. 
 
 The man, who, b}'' his steady course, has happiness insured, 
 
 When earth's foundations shake, shall stand, by Providence se- 
 cured.' 
 
 ' A Decalogue of Canons for observation in practical life. 
 
 1. Never put off till to-morrow what you can do to- 
 day. 
 
 2. Never trouble another for what you can do your- 
 self. 
 
 3. Never spend your money before you can have it. 
 
 4. Never buy what you do not want, because it is 
 cheap ; it will be dear to you. 
 
 5. Pride costs us more than hunger, thirst and cold. 
 
 6. We never repent of having eaten too little. 
 
 7. Nothing is troublesome that we do willingly. 
 
 * To T. Jefferson Smith. . 
 34 
 
394 LIFE OP 
 
 8. How much pain have cost us the evils which have 
 never happened. 
 
 9. Take things always by their smooth handle. 
 
 10. When angry, count ten before you speak ; if very 
 angry, a hundred.' 
 
 Habits op living. — ' Your letter came to hand on the 
 1st instant ; and the request of the history of my physi- 
 cal habits would have puzzled me not a little, had it not 
 been for the model with which you accompanied it, of 
 Doctor Rush's answer to a similar inquiry. I live so 
 much like other people, that I might refer to ordinary 
 life as the history of ray own. Like my friend the Doc- 
 tor, I have lived temperately, eating little animal food, 
 and that not as an aliment, so much as a condiment for 
 the vegetables, which constitute my principal diet. I 
 double, however, the Doctor's glass and a half of wine, 
 and even treble it with a friend ; but halve its effect by 
 drinking the weak wines only. The ardent wines I can- 
 not drink, nor do I use ardent spirits in any form. Malt 
 liquors and cider are my table drinks, and my breakfast, 
 like that also of my friend, is of tea and coffee. I have 
 been blest with organs of digestion, which accept and 
 concoct, without ever murmuring, whatever the palate 
 chooses to consign to them, and I have not yet lost a 
 tooth by age. I was a hard student until I entered on 
 the business of life, the duties of which leave no idle time 
 to those disposed to fulfil them ; and now, retired, and at 
 the age of seventy-six, I am again a hard student. In- 
 deed my fondness for reading and study revolts me from 
 the drudgery of letter-writing. And a stiff wrist, the 
 consequence of an early dislocation, makes writing both 
 slow and painful. I am not so regular in my sleep as 
 the Doctor says he was, devoting to it from five to eight 
 hours, according as my company or the book I am read- 
 ing interests me ; and I never go to bed without an hour, 
 or a half hour's previous reading of something moral, 
 whereon to ruminate in the intervals of sleep. But 
 whether I retire to bed early or late, I rise with the sun. 
 I use spectacles at night, but not necessarily in the day, 
 unless in reading small print. My hearing is distinct in 
 particular conversation, but confused when several voices 
 cross each other, which unfits me for the society of the 
 
THOMAS JEFFERSON. 395 
 
 table. I have been more fortunate than my friend in the 
 article of health. So free from catarrhs that I have not 
 had one (in the breast, I mean) on an averag:e of eight 
 or ten years through life. I ascribe this exemption part- 
 ly to the habit of bathing my feet in cold water every 
 morning for sixty years past. A fever of more than 
 twenty-four hours I have not had above two or three 
 times in my life. A periodical headache has afflicted me 
 occasionally, once, perhaps, in six or eight years, for two 
 or three weeks at a time, which seems now to have left 
 me ; and, except on a late occasion of indisposition, I 
 enjoy good health ; too feeble, indeed, to walk much, 
 but riding without fatigue six or eight miles a day, and 
 sometimes thirty or forty. I may end these egotisms, 
 therefore, as I began, by saying that my life has been so 
 much like that of other people, that I might say with 
 Horace, to every one, " Nomine jnutato, narratur fahula 
 de fe." ' 
 
 The limits to which we are confined, are a warning 
 against an extension of the interesting catalogue, or it 
 might be pursued indefinitely. The cabinet of the illus- 
 trious recluse, besides exhibiting a faithful portrait of 
 himself, contains the wisdom of a long life of wonderful 
 experience and opportunities, and opens an inexhausti- 
 ble store of materials for the historian, the philosopher, 
 the moralist, patriot, philanthropist, and statesman. His 
 course of life, while in retirement, was filled with acti- 
 vity, and indulged in those occupations, which were the 
 master passions of every portion of it, reading, science, 
 correspondence, the cultivation of his farm, the endear- 
 ments of family, and delights of social intercourse. He 
 carried into his retirement the same order and severity 
 of system, which had enabled him to surmount the great- 
 est complication of duties in public life. He rose with 
 the sun. From that time to breakfast, and often until 
 noon, he was in his cabinet, chiefly employed in episto- 
 lary correspondence. From breakfast, or noon at latest, 
 to dinner, he was engaged in his work-shops, his garden, 
 or on horseback among his farms. From dinner to dark, 
 
396 LIFE OF 
 
 he gave to society and recreation with his neighbors and 
 friends; and from candle-hght to bed-time, he devoted 
 himself to reading and study. Gradually, as he grew 
 older, he became seized with a canine appetite for read- 
 ing, as he termed it, and he indulged it freely, as prom- 
 ising a relief against the tedium senectutis. His reading was 
 of the most substantial kind. Thucydides, Tacitus, Hor- 
 ace, Newton, and Euclid, were his constant companions. 
 When young, mathematics was his passion. The same 
 returnedTupon him in his old age, but probably with un- 
 equal power. ' Processes, he complained, which he 
 could then read off with the facility of common discourse, 
 now cost him labor and time, and slow investigation.' 
 Yet no one but himself was sensible of any decay in his 
 intellectual energies. He possessed uncommon health, 
 with a constitutional buoyancy unbroken, and improved 
 by the salubrity of his mountain residence ; and his 
 strength, which was yielding under the weight of years, 
 was considerably re-inforceJ by the activity of the course 
 he pursued. ' I talk of ploughs and harrows,' he wrote 
 to a friend, ' of seeding and harvesting, with my neigh- 
 bors, and of politics too, if they choose, with as little re- 
 serve as the rest of my fellow citizens, and feel, at length, 
 the blessing of being free to say and do what I please, 
 without being responsible for it to any mortal.' A part 
 of his occupation was the direction of the studies of young 
 men ; multitudes of whom resorted to him. They locat- 
 ed themselves in the neighboring village of Charlottes- 
 ville, where they were invited to a free access to his 
 library, enjoyed the benefit of his counsel, participated 
 of his hospitality, and made a part of his daily society. 
 ' In advising the course of their reading,' said he, ' I en- 
 deavor to keep their attention fixed on the main objects 
 of all science, the freedom and happiness of man. So 
 that coming to bear a share in the councils and govern- 
 ment of their country, they will keep ever in view" the 
 sole objects of all legitimate government.' 
 
THOMAS JEFFERSON. 
 
 397 
 
 The agricultural operations of Mr Jefferson were con- 
 ducted upon an extensive scale, and consequently engaged 
 a great share of his attention. The domains at Monti- 
 cello, including the adjoining estates, contained about 
 eleven thousand acres, of which about fifteen hundred 
 were cleared. In addition to this, he owned a large es- 
 tate in Bedford county, by right of his wife, from which 
 he raised annually about 40,000 weight of tobacco, 
 and grain sufficient to maintain the plantation. He vis- 
 ited this estate, about seventy miles distant, once every 
 year, which kept him from home six or seven weeks at 
 a time. He had about two hundred negroes on his 
 farms, who required a constant superintendence, more 
 especially, under the peculiar system of agriculture 
 which he pursued. But his choicest labors in this de- 
 partment, were bestowed on that dehghtful and beloved 
 spot, where all his labors were to end, as they had been 
 begun. He had reclaimed its ruggedness, when a very 
 young man, and of its wilderness made a garden ; and 
 now, in his old age, he returned to the farther develop- 
 ment and improvement of its natural beauties. 
 
 MoNTicELLo is dcrivcd from the Italian. It signifies 
 'little mountain,' — modest title for an eminence, rising 
 six hundred feet above the surrounding country, and 
 commanding one of the most extensive and variegated 
 prospects in the world. The base of the mountain, 
 which is washed by the Ravanna, exceeds a mile in di- 
 ameter ; and its sides are encompassed by four parallel 
 roads, sweeping round it at equal distances, and so 
 connected with each other by easy ascents, as to afford, 
 when completed, a level carriage-way of almost seven 
 miles. The whole mountain, with the exception of the 
 summit, is covered with a dense and lofty forest. On 
 the top is an elliptic plain of about ten acres, formed by 
 the hand of art, cutting down the apex of the mountain. 
 This extensive artificial level is laid out in a beautiful 
 lawn, broken only by lofty weeping willows, poplars, 
 34* 
 
398 
 
 LIFE OF 
 
 acacias, cataipas, and other trees of foreign growth, dis- 
 tributed at such distances as not to obstruct the view 
 from the centre in any direction. On the West, stretch- 
 ing away to the North and the South, the prospect is 
 bounded only by the AMeganies, — a hundred miles dis- 
 tant in some parts, — overreaching all the intervening 
 mountains, commanding a view of the Blue Ridge for a 
 hundred and fifty miles, and looking down upon an en- 
 chanting landscape, broad as the eye can compass, of 
 intermingling villages and deserts, forest and cultivation, 
 mountains, valleys, rocks and rivers. On the East is a 
 literal immensity of prospect, bounded only by the hori- 
 zon, in which ' nature seems to sleep in eternal repose.' 
 From this grand point, bringing under the eye a most 
 magnificent panorama, are overlooked, like pigmies, all 
 the neighboring mountains as far as Chesapeake. Hence 
 it was that the youthful philosopher, before the revolu- 
 tion, was wont to scrutinize the motions of the planets, 
 with the revolutions of the celestial sphere ; arid to wit- 
 ness that phenomenon described in his Notes on Virgin- 
 ia, as among the sublimest of nature's operations, the 
 looming of the distant mountains. From this elevated 
 seat he was wont to enjoy those scenes to which he re- 
 verted with so much fondness while in France : 'And 
 our own dear Monticello ; where has nature spread so 
 rich a mantle under the eye ? — mountains, forests, rocks, 
 rivers. With what majesty do we there ride above the 
 storms ! How sublime to look down into the work- 
 house of nature, to see her clouds, hail, snow, rain, thun- 
 der, all fabricated at our feet ! and the glorious sun 
 when rising as if out of a distant water, just gilding the 
 tops of the mountains, and giving life to all nature,' 
 From this proud summit, too, ' the patriot,' in the lan- 
 guage of a visitor, ' could look down, with uninterrupted 
 vision, upon the wide expanse of the world around, for 
 which he considered himself born ; and upwaid, to the 
 open and vaulted heavens which he seemed to approach. 
 
THOMAS JEFFERSON. 399 
 
 as if to keep him continually in mind of his high respon- 
 sibility. It is indeed a prospect in which you see and 
 feel at once, that nothing mean or little could live. It 
 is a scene fit to nourish those great and high-souled 
 principles which formed the elements of his character, 
 and was a most noble and appropriate post for such a 
 sentinel over the rights and liberties of man.' 
 
 In the centre of this eminence rose the magnificent 
 mansion of the patriarch. It was erected and furnished 
 in the days of his afiluence ; and was such a one, in all 
 respects, as became the character and fortune of the 
 man. The main structure is one hundred feet in length, 
 from East to West, and above sixty in depth, from North 
 to South, presenting a front in every direction. The 
 basement story is raised five or six feet above the ground, 
 from which springs the principal story, above twenty 
 feet in height, whereon rests an attic of about eight 
 feet. The whole is surmounted by a lofty dome of twen- 
 ty eight feet in diameter, rising from the centre of the 
 building. The principal front faces the East, and is 
 adorned with a noble portico, balancing a corresponding 
 one on the West. The north and south fronts present 
 arcades or piazzas, under which are cool recesses that 
 open upon a floored terrace, projecting a hundred feet 
 in a straight line, and then another hundred feet at right 
 angles, until terminated by pavilions of two stories high. 
 Under the whole length of these terraces is a range of 
 one story buildings, in which are the oflices requisite 
 for domestic purposes, and the lodgings of the house- 
 hold servants. The exterior of the structure is finished 
 in the Doric order complete, with balustrades on the top 
 of it ; the internal contains specimens of all the diflferent 
 orders, except the composite, which is not introduced. 
 The hall is in the Ionic, the dining room in the Doric, 
 the parlor in the Corinthian, and the dome in the Attic. 
 Improvements and additions, both useful and ornament- 
 al, were continually going on, as they were suggested 
 
400 LIFE OP 
 
 by the taste of the owner. Indeed, the whole building 
 had been almost in a constant state of re-building, from 
 its ante-revolutionary form, which was highly finished, 
 to the present time ; ' and so I hope it will remain dur- 
 ing my life,' said he to a visitor, 'as architecture is my 
 delight, and putting up, and pulling down, one of my 
 favorite amusements.' 
 
 On the declivities of the mountain are arranged the 
 dwellings of artificers and mechanics of every de- 
 scription, and their work shops ; for it was the study 
 of the illustrious proprietor to make himself perfectly in- 
 dependent. He had his carpenter's shop, his black- 
 smith's shop, cabinet shop, <fcc, &c, with a complete 
 suit of manufactories for cottons and woollens, grain 
 mills, sawing mills, and a nail factory conducted by boys. 
 His carriage was made by his own workmen, as were 
 also many articles of his fine furniture. The fabrication 
 with his own hands of curious implements and models, 
 was one of his favorite amusements. 
 
 On entering the mansion by the east front, the visitor 
 is ushered into a spacious and lofty hall, whose hang- 
 ings announce at once the character and ruling passions 
 of the man. On the right, on the left, and around, his 
 eye is struck with objects of science and taste. On one 
 side are specimens of sculpture, in the form of statues 
 and busts, disposed in such order, as to exhibit at one 
 view the historical progress of the art ; from the first 
 rude attempts of the aborigines of our country, to the 
 most finished models of European masters, including 
 a bust of the patriot himself, from the hand of Ca- 
 racci. Among others are noticed the bust of a male 
 arid female sitting in the Indian position, supposed to be 
 very ancient, having lieen ploughed up in Tennessee ; a 
 full length figure of Cleopatra, in a reclining position, 
 after she had applied the asp ; the busts of Voltaire and 
 Turgot, in plaster. His own bust stands on a truncated 
 column, on the pedestal of which are represented the 
 
THOMAS JEFFERSON. 401 
 
 twelve tribes of Israel, and the twelve signs of the Zo- 
 diac. On the other side of the hall are displayed a vast 
 collection of specimens of Indian art, their paintings, 
 engravings, weapons, ornaments, manufactures, statues, 
 and idols; and on another, a profusion of natural curi- 
 osities, prodigies of ancient art, fossil productions of 
 every description, mineral and animal, &c, &c. Among 
 others are particularly noticed a model of the great pyr- 
 amid of Egypt ; the upper and lower jaw bones and 
 tusks of the mammoth, advantageously contrasted with 
 those of an elephant. 
 
 From the hall the visitor enters a spacious saloon, 
 through large folding doors. In this apartment, the 
 walls are covered with the modern productions of the 
 pencil, historical paintings of the most striking subjects 
 from all countries, and all ages ; scriptural paintings, 
 among which are the ascension, the holy family, the 
 scourging of Christ, and the crucifixion ; the portraits of. 
 distinguished characters, both of Europe and America; 
 with engravings, coins, and medallions in endless pro- 
 fusion. Here, and in the other rooms, are the portraits 
 of Bacon, Newton, and Locke ; of Columbus, Vespucius, 
 Cortez, Magellan, Raleigh ; of Franklin, Washington, 
 La Fayette, Adams, Madison, Rittenhouse, Paine, and 
 many other remarkable men. Here, too, are the busts 
 of Alexander and Napoleon, placed on pedestals upon 
 each side of the door of entrance. 
 
 The whole of the southern wing is occupied by the 
 library, cabinet, and chamber of Mr Jefterson. The li- 
 brary is divided into three apartments, opening into each 
 other, the walls of which are covered with books and 
 maps. It contained at one time the greatest private col- 
 lection of books ever known in the United States, and 
 incomparably the most valuable, from the multitude of 
 rare works and the general superiority of the editions. 
 He had been fifty years enriching and perfecting his as- 
 sortment, omitting no pains, opportunities or expense. 
 
402 LTFE OF • 
 
 While ill Paris he devoted every afternoon he v^^as disen- 
 gaged, for a summer or two, in examining the principal 
 book stores, and putting by every thing which related 
 to America, with whatever was valuable in the sciences. 
 Besides this he had standing orders, during the whole 
 time he was in Europe, in its principal bookmarts, for 
 all such works as could not be found in Paris. After 
 the conflagration of Wasliington in the last war, and 
 the destruction of the library, he sold about ten thousand 
 volumes to the government, ' to replace the devastations 
 of British Vandalism.' Confiding in the honor of Con- 
 gress, he made a tender of them to the government, at 
 their own price. In his cabinet, he is surrounded with 
 several hundred of his favorite authors, lying near at 
 hand, with every accommodation and luxury which ease 
 or taste could suggest. This apartment opened into a 
 green-house, filled with a collection of rare plants ; and 
 he was seldom without some geranium or other plant 
 beside him. Connected with his study were extensive 
 apparatus for mathematical, philosophical, and optical 
 purposes. It was supposed there was no private gentle- 
 man in the world in possession of so perfect and com- 
 plete a scientific, useful, and ornamental a collection as 
 Mr Jefi'erson. 
 
 Such is an imperfect representation of a patriarchal 
 seat and appendages, whose just celebrity has attracted 
 the wayfarer of every land. But who shall describe its 
 great architect and occupant? Let this duty be dis- 
 charged by adopting the record of a distinguished guest : 
 
 * While the visitor was yet lost in the contemplation 
 of these treasures of the arts and sciences, he was start- 
 led by the approach of a strong and sprightly step, and 
 turning with instinctive reverence to the door of entrance, 
 he was met by the tall, and animated, and stately figure 
 of the patriot himself— his countenance beaming with 
 intelligence and benignity, and his outstretched hand, 
 with its strong and cordial pressure, confirming the cour- 
 
THOMAS JEFFERSON. 403 
 
 teous welcome of bis lips. And then came that charm 
 of manner and conversation that passes all description 
 — so cheerful — so unassuming — so free, and easy, and 
 frank, and kind, and gay — that even the young, and 
 overawed, and embarrassed visitor at once forgot bis 
 fears, and felt himself by the side of an old and familiar 
 friend. There was no effort, no ambition in the con- 
 versation of the philosopher. It was as simple and un- 
 pretending as nature itself. And while in this easy man- 
 ner he was pouring out instruction, like light from an 
 inexhaustible solar fountain, he seemed continually to be 
 asking, instead of giving information. The visitor felt 
 himself lifted by the contact, into a new and nobler re- 
 gion of thought, and became surprised at his own buoy- 
 ancy and vigor. He could not, indeed, help being as- 
 tounded, now and then, at those transcendent leaps of 
 the mind, which he saw made without the slightest ex- 
 ertion, and the ease with which this wonderful man 
 played with subjects which he had been in the habit of 
 considering among the argumenta crucis of the intellect. 
 And then there seemed to be no end to his knowledjre. 
 He \vas a thorough master of every subject that was 
 touched. From the details of the humblest mechanic 
 art, up to the highest summit of science, he was perfectly 
 at his ease, and every where at home. There seemed to 
 be no longer any terra incognita of the human under- 
 standing : for, what the visitor had thought so, he now 
 found reduced to a familiar garden walk ; and all this 
 carried off" so lightly, so playfully, so gracefully, so en- 
 gagingly, that he won every heart that approached him, 
 as certainly as he astonished every mind.' 
 
 Although reposing in the bosom of his native moun- 
 tains, and happy in the indulgence of pursuits and en- 
 joyments, from which nothing but revolutionary duties 
 would ever have separated him, his seclusion did not 
 shield him from those annoyances which are inseparable 
 from renown. He was persecuted with a deluge of let- 
 
404 LIFE OF 
 
 ters, of which every mail hrought a fresh accumulation ; 
 not those from his intimate friends, but from strangers 
 and others, ' who,' as he said ' oppressed him, in the 
 most friendly dispositions, with their concerns.' This 
 drew upon him a burden, which formed a great obstacle 
 to the delights of retirement ; for it was a rule with Mr 
 Jefferson, never to omit answering any respectful letter, 
 however obscure the writer, or insignificant the object. 
 Happening on one occasion to turn to his letter-list, his 
 curiosity was excited to ascertain the number received 
 in the course of a single year; and on counting, it ap- 
 peared there were one thousand two hundred and sixty 
 seven, 'many of them requiring answers of elaborate re- 
 search, and all to be answered with due attention and 
 consideration.' Taking an average of this number for 
 a week or a day, and he might well compare his drudge- 
 ry at the writing table to ' the life of a mill-horse, 
 who sees no end to his circle but in death,' or to ' the life 
 of a cabbage, which was a paradise in contrast.' For 
 these intrusions, however, not a murmur escaped from 
 him in public ; and when compelled to allude to them in 
 his letters of friendship, as apologies for his apparent 
 remissness in this department, he would lament them 
 only, as ' the kind indiscretions which were so heavily 
 oppressing the departing hours of life.' 
 
 To his persecutions from this source, was occasionally 
 superadded the treachery of correspondents, in the pub- 
 lication of his letters ; which subjected him to much 
 mortification and uneasiness, when his strongest desire 
 was to die in the good will of all mankind. Conscious 
 of his own singleness and honesty, he habitually trusted 
 his fellow-man ; and though often betrayed, he would 
 never surrender the happiness of this confidence. To 
 the possession of this attribute, are to be ascribed in 
 great part, the firmness and fidelity of that phalanx, 
 which under every pressure of injustice, in every tempest 
 of political dissension, supported him undismayed. He, 
 
THOMAS JEFFERSON. 405 
 
 who SO fondly trusted others, was sure to be trusted him- 
 self. ' Thus am I situated,' he wrote to a friend — ' I re- 
 ceive letters from all quarters, some from known friends, 
 some from those who write like friends on various sub- 
 jects. What am I to do ? Am I to button myself up in 
 Jesuitical reserve, rudely declining any answer, or an- 
 swering in terms so unmeaning, as only to prove my dis- 
 trust ? Must I withdraw myself from all interchange of 
 sentiment with the world ? I cannot do this. It is at 
 war with my habits and temper. I cannot act as if all 
 men were unfaithful, because some are so ; nor believe 
 that all will betray me because some do. I had rather 
 be the victim of occasional infidelities, than relinquish 
 my general confidence in the honesty of man.' 
 
 There is nothing more beautiful in the history of the 
 retirement of this great man, than his exertions to revive 
 the revolutionary aifections between Mr Adams and him- 
 self, which had been interrupted by the intermediate con- 
 flicts of political opinion. They had ceased in expres- 
 sion only, not in their existence or cordiality, on the part 
 of Mr Jefferson, who regarded the discontinuance of 
 friendly correspondence between them, as ' one of the 
 most painful occurrences in his life.' With Mr Adams, 
 they had been afi"ected, though never destroyed, partly 
 by the sanguine cast of his constitution, but principally 
 by the artful and imposing suggestions of busy in- 
 triguers, that Mr Jefferson perhaps participated in the 
 electioneering activity and licentiousness of the contest 
 which was overthrowing his administration. The injus- 
 tice of this imputation is apparent from the fact, that in 
 his most confidential letters he never alluded to Mr 
 Adams with personal disrespect, and even charged the 
 errors of his administration upon his ministers and ad- 
 visers, not upon him. An instance of magnanimity to- 
 wards his competitor, has been recorded of him by a po- 
 litical opponent, who was an eye-witness of the scene. 
 In Virginia, where the opposition to the federal ascen- 
 35 
 
406 LIFE OP 
 
 dency ran high, the younger spirits of the day, catching 
 their tone from the public journals, imputed to Mr Adams, 
 on various occasions, in the presence of Mr Jefferson, a 
 concealed design to overturn the republic, and supply its 
 place with a monarchy on the British model. The an- 
 swer of Mr Jefferson to this charge, will never be for- 
 gotten by those who heard it, of whom there are many 
 still living besides the particular narrator. It was this : 
 ' Gentlemen, you do not know that man : there is not upon 
 this earth a more perfectly honest man than John Adams. 
 Concealment is no part of his character ; of that he is 
 utterly incapable : it is not in his nature to meditate any 
 thing that he would not publish to the world. The mea- 
 sures of the general government are a fair subject for dif- 
 ference of opinion. But do not found your opinions on 
 the notion, that there is the smallest spice of dishonesty, 
 moral or political, in the character of John Adams ; for 
 I know him well, and I repeat it, that a man more per- 
 fectly honest never issued from the hands of his Creator.'* 
 Two or three years after, to wit, in 1804, having had 
 the misfortune to lose a daughter, between whom and 
 Mrs Adams there had been considerable intimacy, she 
 made it the occasion of writing Mr Jefferson a letter of 
 condolence ; in which, with sentiments of concern for 
 the event, she avoided a single expression of friendship 
 towards himself, and even concluded it with the wishes 
 * of her who once took pleasure in subscribing herself 
 your friend,' &:.c. Unpromising as was the complex- 
 ion of this letter, he seized the partial opening which it 
 offered, to make an effort towards removing the clouds 
 from between them. The answer of Mr Jefferson ex- 
 pressed the warmest sensibility for the kindness mani- 
 fested towards his daughter ; went largely into explana- 
 tions of the circumstances which had seemed to draw a 
 line of separation between them ; and breathed fervent 
 
 * Wirt's Eulogy. 
 
THOMAS JEFFERSON. 407 
 
 wishes for a reconciliation with herself and Mr Adams. 
 In conclusion, he said : ' I have thus, my dear madam, 
 opened myself to you without reserve, which I have long 
 wished an opportunity of doing ; and without knowing 
 how it will be received, I feel relief from being unbosom- 
 ed. And I have only now to entreat your forgiveness for 
 this transition from a subject of domestic affliction, to one 
 which seems of a different aspect. But though connect- 
 ed with political events, it has been viewed by me most 
 strongly in its unfortunate bearings on my private friend- 
 ships. The injury these have sustained has been a heavy 
 price for what has never given me equal pleasure. That 
 you both may be favored with health, tranquillity and 
 long life, is the prayer of one who tenders you the assur- 
 ance of his highest consideration and esteem.' This let- 
 ter was followed by a farther correspondence between the 
 parties, from which, soon finding that reconciliation was 
 desperate, he yielded to an intimation in the last letter 
 of Mrs Adams, and ceased from farther explanations. 
 
 Being now retired from all connection with the politi- 
 cal world, with every ground of jealousy removed, his 
 determination, with his hopes, revived to make another 
 effort towards restoring a friendly understanding with 
 his revolutionary colleague. To this end he opened a 
 correspondence with Dr Rush, a mutual friend, upon the 
 subject ; to whom he gave a history of all that had hap- 
 pened between them ; enclosed to him the late unsuccess- 
 ful correspondence ; and expressed his undiminished at- 
 tachment to Mr Adams, with the wish that he would use 
 his endeavors to re-establish ancient dispositions between 
 them. A short time after, two of Mr Jeff'erson's neigh- 
 bors and friends, while on a tour to the northward, fell in 
 company with Mr Adams at Boston, and passed a day 
 with him at Braintree. In the freedom and enthusiasm 
 of the occasion, he spoke out every thing which came 
 uppermost, without reserve ; dwelt particularly upon his 
 own administration, and alluded to his masters, as he 
 
408 LIFE OP 
 
 called his heads of department, representing them as hav- 
 ing acted above his control and often against his opin- 
 ions. Among other topics, he adverted to the unprinci- 
 pled licentiousness of the press against Mr Jefferson, ad- 
 ding, 'I always loved Jefferson, and still love him.' 
 
 The moment Mr Jefferson received this intelligence he 
 again wrote to his friend Rush : 
 
 ' This is enough for me. I only needed this knowl- 
 edge to revive towards him all the affections of the most 
 cordial moments of our lives. Changing a single word 
 only in Dr Franklin's character of him, I knew him to 
 be always an honest man, often a great one, but some- 
 times incorrect and precipitate in his judgments : and it 
 is known to those who have ever heard me speak of Mr 
 Adams, that I have ever done him justice myself, and de- 
 fended him when assailed by others, with the single ex- 
 ception as to his political opinions. But with a man 
 possessing so many other estimable qualities, why should 
 we be dissocialized by mere differences of opinion in pol- 
 itics, in religion, in philosophy, or any thing else. His 
 opinions are as honestly formed as my own. Our differ- 
 ent views of the same subject are the result of a differ- 
 ence in our organization and experience. I never with- 
 drew from the society of any man on this account, al- 
 though many have done it from me ; much less should I 
 do it from one with whom I had gone through, with hand 
 and heart, so many trying scenes. I wish, therefore, but 
 for an apposite occasion to express to Mr Adams my un- 
 changed affections for him. There is an awkwardness 
 which hangs over the resuming a correspondence so long 
 discontinued, unless something could arise which should 
 call for a letter. Time and chance may perhaps gene- 
 rate such an occasion, of which I shall not be wanting in 
 promptitude to avail myself From this fusion of mutual 
 affections, Mrs Adams is of course separated. It will 
 only be necessary that I never name her. In your letters 
 to Mr Adams, you can perhaps, suggest my continued 
 cordiality towards him, and knowing this, should an oc- 
 casion of writing first present itself to him, he will per- 
 haps avail himself of it, as I certainly will, should it first 
 occur to me. No ground for jealousy now existing, he 
 
THOMAS JEFFERSON. 409 
 
 will certainly give fair play to the natural warmth of his 
 heart. Perhaps I may open the way in some letter to 
 my old friend Gerry, who I know is in habits of the 
 greatest intimacy with him. 
 
 ' I have thus, my friend, laid open my heart to you, be- 
 cause you were so kind as to take an interest in healing 
 again revolutionary affections, which have ceased in ex- 
 pression only, but not in their existence. God ever bless 
 you and preserve you in life and health.' 
 
 In the course of another month, these two patriarchs 
 of the revolution were brought together, after a ten years' 
 suspension of all friendly intercommunication. The cor- 
 respondence which passed between them is highly inter- 
 esting. It has been well described, as resembling more 
 than any thing else, one of those conversations in the 
 Elysium of the ancients, which the shades of the depart- 
 ed great were supposed to hold, with regard to the af- 
 fairs of the world they had left. Mr Jefferson's part, or 
 probably the greatest portion of it, has already been giv- 
 en to the world, and would make a volume of itself. A 
 few disjointed fragments, of the personal and desultory 
 kind, taken promiscuously from his letters of different 
 dates, are all that can be expected to enter into this gen- 
 eral view of the correspondence. 
 
 * A letter from you calls up recollections very dear to 
 my mind. It carries me back to the times when, beset 
 with difficulties and dangers, we were fellow laborers iq 
 the same .cause, struggling for what is -most valuable to 
 man, his right of self-government. Laboring always at 
 the same oar, with some wave ever ahead threatening to 
 overwhelm us, and yet passing harmless under our bark, 
 we knew not how we rode through the storm with heart 
 and hand, and made a happy port. Still we did not ex- 
 pect to be without rubs and difficulties ; and we have 
 had them. First the detention of the western posts : 
 then the coalition of Pilnitz, outlawing our commerce 
 with France, and the British enforcement of the out- 
 lawry. In your day, French depredations : in mine, 
 English, and the Berlin and Milan decrees : now, the 
 35* 
 
410 LIFE OF 
 
 English orders of council, and the piracies they autho- 
 rise. When these shall he over, it will be the impress- 
 ment of our seamen, or something else : and so we have 
 gone on, and so we shall go on, puzzled and prospering 
 beyond example in the history of man. And I do be- 
 lieve we shall continue to grow, to multiply and pros- 
 per, until we exhibit an association, powerful, wise* 
 and happy, beyond what has yet been seen by men.' 
 
 ' I have thus stated my opinion on a point on which 
 we differ, not M'ith a view to controversy, for we are 
 both too old to change opinions which are the result of 
 a long life of enquiry and reflection ; but on the sug- 
 gestion of a former letter of yours, that we ought not to 
 die before we have explained ourselv^ to each other. 
 We acted in perfect harmony, through a long and peril- 
 ous contest for our liberty and independence. A con- 
 stitution has been acquired, which, though neither of us 
 thinks perfect, yet both consider as competent to render 
 our fellow citizens the happiest and the securest on 
 whom the sun has ever shone. If we do not think ex- 
 actly alike as to its imperfections, it matters little to 
 our country, which, after devoting to it long lives of dis- 
 interested labor, we have delivered over to our succes- 
 sors in life, who will be able to take care of it and of 
 themselves.' 
 
 *I learned with great regret the serious illness men- 
 tioned in your letter ; and I hope Mr Rives will be able 
 to tell me you are entirely restored. But our machines 
 have now been running seventy or eighty years, and we 
 must expect that, worn as they are, here a pivot, there 
 a wheel, now a pinion, next a spring, will be giving way ; 
 and however we may tinker them up for a while, all will, 
 at length surcease motion. Our watches, with works of 
 brass and steel, wear out within that period. Shall you 
 and I last to see the course the seven-fold wonders of 
 the times will take 7 The Attila of the age dethronedj 
 the ruthless destroyer of ten millions of the human 
 race, whose thirst for blood appeared unquenchable, the 
 great oppressor of the rights and liberties of the world, 
 shut up within the circuit of a little island of the Medi- 
 terranean, and dwindling to the condition of a humble 
 
THOMAS JEFFERSON. 411 
 
 and degraded pensioner on the bounty of those he has 
 most injured. How miserably, how meanly, has he 
 closed his inflated career ? What a sample of the ba- 
 thos -will his history present ! He should have perished 
 on the swords of his enemies under the walls of Paris.' 
 
 ' You ask, if I would agree to live ray seventy or 
 rather seventy-three years over again ? To which I say, 
 yea. I think with you, that it is a good world on the 
 whole ; that it has been framed on a principle of benevo- 
 lence, and more pleasure th^n pain dealt out to us. 
 There are. indeed, (who might say nay) gloomy and hy- 
 pochondriac minds, inhabitants of diseased bodies, dis- 
 gusted with the present, and despairing of the future ; 
 always counting that the worst will happen, because it 
 may happen. To these I say, how much pain have cost 
 us the evils which have never happened ! My tempera- 
 ment is sanguine. I steer my bark with Hope in the 
 head, leaving Fear astern. My hopes, indeed, some- 
 times fail ; but not oftener than the forebodings of the 
 gloomy. There are, I acknowledge, even in the hap- 
 piest life, some terrible convulsions, heavy set-olFs against 
 the opposite page of the account. I have often wonder- 
 ed for what good end the sensations of grief could be 
 intended. All our other passions, within proper bounds, 
 have a useful object. And the perfection of the moral 
 character is, not in a stoical apathy, so hypocritically 
 vaunted, and so untruly too, because impossible, but in 
 a just equilibrium of all the passions. I wish the patho- 
 logists then would tell us what is the use of grief in the 
 economy, and of what good it is the cause, proximate or 
 remote.' 
 
 * The public papers, my dear friend, announce the 
 fatal event of which your letter of October the 20th, had 
 given me ominous foreboding. Tried myself in the 
 school of affliction, by the loss of every form of connec- 
 tion which can rive the human heart, I know well and 
 feel what you have lost, what you have suffered, are suf- 
 fering, and have yet to endure. The same trials have 
 taught me that, .for ills so immeasurable, time and 
 silence are the only medicine. I will not, therefore, by 
 useless condolences, open afresh the sluices of your 
 
412 LIFE OF 
 
 grief, nor, although mingling sincerely mj tears with 
 yours, will I say a word more where words are vain, 
 but that it is of some comfort to us both, that the term is 
 not very distant, at which we are to deposit in the same 
 cerement our sorrows and suffering bodies, and to ascend 
 in essence to an ecstatic meeting with the friends we have 
 loved and lost, and whom we shall still love, and never 
 lose again. God bless you, and support you under your 
 heavy affliction.' 
 
 'Putting aside these things, however for the present, 
 I write this letter as due to a friendship coeval with our 
 government, and now attempted to be poisoned,* when 
 too late in life to be replaced by new affections. I had 
 for some time observed, in tlie public papers, dark hints 
 and mysterious inuendoes of a correspondence of yours 
 with a friend, to whom you had opened your bosom with- 
 out reserve, and which was to be made public by that 
 friend or his representative. And now it is said to be 
 actually published. It has not yet reached us, but ex- 
 tracts have been given, and such as seemed most likely 
 to draw a curtain of separation between you and myself. 
 Were there no other motive than that of indignation 
 against the author of this outrage on private confidence, 
 whose shaft seems to have been aimed at yourself more 
 particularly, this would make it the duty of every honor- 
 able mind to disappoint that aim, by opposing to its 
 impression a seven-fold shield of apathy and insensi- 
 bility. With me, however, no such armor is needed. 
 The circumstances of the times in which we have hap- 
 pened to live, and the partiality of our friends at a par- 
 ticular period, placed us in a state of apparent opposi- 
 tion, which some might suppose to be personal also : 
 and there might not be wanting those who wished to 
 make it so, by filling our ears with malignant falsehoods, 
 by dressing up hideous phantoms of their own creation, 
 presenting them to you under my name, to me under 
 yours, and endeavoring to instil into our minds things 
 concerning each other the most destitute of truth. And 
 if there had been, at any time, a moment when we were 
 off ©ur guard, and in a temper to let the whispers of 
 
 * Alluding to the Cunningham Correspondence. 
 
THOMAS JEFFERSON. 413 
 
 these people make us forget what we had known of each 
 other for so many years, and years of so much trial, yet 
 all men, wiio have attended to the workings of the hu- 
 man mind, who have seen the false colors under which 
 passion sometimes dresses the actions and motives of 
 others, have seen also those jiassions subsiding with time 
 and reflection, dissipating like mists before the rising 
 sun, and restoring to us the sight of all things in their 
 true shape and colors. It would be strange, indeed, if, 
 at our years, we were to go an age back to hunt imagi- 
 nary or forgotten facts, to disturb the repose of affec- 
 tions so sweetening to the evening of our lives. Be as- 
 sured, my dear Sir, that I am incapable of receiving the 
 slightest impression from the effort now made to plant 
 thorns on the pillow of age, worth, and wisdom, and to 
 sow tares between friends who have been such for near 
 half a century. Beseeching you, then, not to suffer 
 your mind to be disquieted by this wicked attempt to 
 poison its peace, and praying you to throw it by among 
 the things which have never happened, I add sincere as- 
 surances of my unabated and constant attachments 
 friendship and respect.' 
 
 But the cultivation of the affections and the delights 
 of philosophical and agricultural occupation, were sub- 
 jects which engaged only a subordinate share of the at- 
 tention of Mr Jefferson, One other enterprise of public 
 utility, which it was reserved for him to accomplish, 
 constituted the engrossing topic of his mind, from the 
 moment of his return to private life, to the hour of his 
 death. This was the establishment of the University of 
 Virginia. Having assisted in achieving for his country 
 the blessings of civil and religious liberty, he considered 
 the work but half completed, without securing to pos- 
 terity tlie means of preserving that condition of moral 
 culture on which the perpetuation of those blessings de- 
 pends. It was one of the first axioms established in his 
 mind, that the liberties of a nation could never be safe 
 but in the hands of the people, and that too of the people 
 with a certain degree of instruction, A system of edu- 
 
414 
 
 LIFE OF 
 
 cation, therefore, which should reach every description 
 of citizens, as it was the earliest, so it was the latest of 
 public concerns in which he permitted himself to take an 
 interest. 
 
 The opinions of Mr Jefferson on the subjuct of edu- 
 cation were given in detail, while the revised code of 
 Virginia was under consideration ; of which the ' bill for 
 the general diffusion of knowledge,' drafted by him, 
 was a distinguishing feature. The system marked out 
 in that bill, proposed three distinct grades of instruction ; 
 which may be explained by adopting a single expression 
 of the author, — ' to give the highest degrees of education 
 to the higher degrees of genius, and to all degrees of it, 
 so much as may enable them to read and understand 
 what is going on in the world, and to keep their part of 
 it going on right.' No part of this system had been car- 
 ried into effect by the legislature, except that proposing 
 the elementary grade of instruction ; and the intention 
 of this was completely defeated by the option given to 
 the county courts.* The university composed the ulti- 
 mate grade of the system, and was the one which pecu- 
 liarly enlisted the zeal of the founder, without however 
 subtracting from his devotion to the whole scheme. In 
 
 To promote this object of elementary instruction, money was 
 appropriated by the legislature for the support of free schools 
 throughout the State. Men in easy circumstances, and able to 
 send their children to better schools would not accept this pri- 
 vilege ; and those, who might have considered such a privilege 
 desirable under different circumstances, would not accept for theii' 
 own children, what their more wealthy neighbors considered too 
 unworthy for theirs ; and it took the character of a legislative 
 bounty which none but mean persons or paupers would improve, 
 and soon became wholly neglected by all. — In many if not in all 
 parts of New England, free schools, from the same cause which so 
 effectually put them down in Virginia, are falling into disrepute, 
 viz. — the increasing inequality in the condition of the people, and 
 the disposition of the rich to embrace for their children better op- 
 portunities for improvement than is afforded to all at the public ex- 
 pens^s 
 
THOMAS JEFFERSON. 415 
 
 this institution, like those of the university rank in Eu- 
 rope, it was his intention to have taught every branch 
 of science, useful to mankind, and in its highest degree; 
 with such a classification of the sciences into particular 
 groups, as to require so many professors only as might 
 bring them within the views of a just economy. 
 
 The plan of the university was original with Mr Jef- 
 ferson — the offspring of his genius, aided by his exten- 
 sive observations while in Europe. The university of 
 Virginia is emphatically his work. His was the first- 
 conception, having been started by him more than forty 
 years ago ; his, the subsequent impulse which brought it 
 to maturity ; his, the whole scheme of its studies, organ- 
 ization and government ; and his the architecture of its 
 buildings, in which he improved the occasion to present 
 a specimen of each of the orders of the art, founded on 
 Grecian and Roman models. He did this last with a 
 view to inspire the youth who resorted thither, with ' the 
 imposing associations of antiquity,' and to retrieve, as 
 far as he could, the character of his country from that 
 pointed sarcasm in his Notes on Virginia, that ' the gen- . 
 ius of architecture seems to have shed its maledictions 
 over this land.' Being located within four miles ofMon- 
 ticello, he superintended its erection daily, and with the 
 purest satisfaction. The plan of the building embraced : 
 1st. Pavilions^ arranged on either side of a lawn, inde- 
 finite in length, to contain each a lecture room, and pri- 
 vate apartments sufficient to accommodate a professor 
 and his family. 2d. A range of Dormitories, connecting 
 the pavilions, of one story high, sufficient each for the 
 accommodation of two students only — as the most ad- 
 vantageous to morals, order and uninterrupted study, — 
 with a passage under cover from the weather, giving a 
 communication along the whole range. 3d. Hotels, for 
 the dieting of the students, to contain each a single room 
 for a refectory, and accommodations sufficient for the ten- 
 ants charged with this department. 4th. A Rotunda, or 
 
416 LIFE OP 
 
 large circular building, in which were rooms for religious 
 worship, under such regulations as the visitors should 
 prescribe ; for public examinations, for a library, for 
 schools of music, drawing and other purposes. The 
 principal novelties in the scheme of its studies, were a 
 professorship of the principles of government, ' to be 
 founded in the rights of man,' to use the language of the 
 originator ; a professorship of agriculture ; one of modern 
 languages, among which the Anglo-Saxon was inclu- 
 ded, that the learner might imbibe with their language, 
 their free principles of government ; and the absence of 
 a professorship of divinity, ' to give fair play to the cul- 
 tivation of reason,' as well as to avoid the constitutional 
 objection against a public establishment of any religious 
 instruction. A rector and board of visitors, appointed 
 by the legislature, composed the government of the insti- 
 tution ; and their first meeting was in August, 1818, at 
 Rockfish Gap, on the Blue Ridge, at which Mr Jefferson 
 presided, and drafted the first annual report to the legis- 
 lature. He was also appointed rector of the university, 
 in which office he continued until his death, when he was 
 succeeded by Mr Madison. The establishment went in- 
 to operation in the spring of 1825, and is now in a flour- 
 ishing condition. 
 
 The weight of opposition which this institution encoun- 
 tered, through every stage of its progress, were such as 
 would have been insurmountable to any person possess- 
 ing less perseverance, or less ascendency of personal 
 character than Mr Jefferson. Besides the ordinary cir- 
 cumstances of resistance, common to every enterprise of 
 the kind in this country, it was met at the outset by a 
 combination of religious jealousies, probably never equal- 
 *led. Hostile as they were in every other point, to one 
 another, all the religious sects in the State cordially co- 
 operated in the effort to frustrate an institution which, 
 from the circumstance of its favoring no particular school 
 of divinity to the exclusion of another, was presumed to 
 
THOMAS JEFFERSON. 417 
 
 be inimical to all religion. These antipathies, with the 
 host of sectional rivalries, the steady counteraction of 
 William and Mary, and the tardy pace of the pubhc pat- 
 ronage, produced an array of difficulties which was ob- 
 served to cloud the brow of Mr Jefferson with an anxiety 
 to which he was a stranger under the most afflicting oc- 
 currences of his political career. Yet he never despair- 
 ed, resolving to ' die in the last ditch rather than give 
 way.' After an exhortation to one of his colleagues of 
 the visitation, to exert all his faculties to allay the op- 
 position, and arouse the legislature to a sense of their 
 distresses, he says : 
 
 ' I have brooded, perhaps with fondness, over this es- 
 tablishment, as it held up to me the hope of continuing 
 to be useful while I continued to live. I had believed 
 that the course and circumstances of my life had placed 
 within my power some services favorable to the outset of 
 the institution. But this may be egotism ; pardonable, 
 perhaps, when I express a consciousness that my col- 
 leagues and successors will do as well, whatever the leg- 
 islature shall enable them to do.' 
 
 Again he writes to another friend of the university in 
 the legislature : 
 
 ' When I retired from the administration of public af- 
 fairs, I thought I saw some evidence that I retired with a 
 good degree of public favor, and that my conduct in of- 
 fice had been considered by the one party at least, with 
 approbation, and with acquiescence by the other. But 
 the attempt, in which I have embarked so earnestly, 
 to procure an improvement in the mo<ral condition of 
 my native State, although, perhaps, in other States it 
 may have strengthened good dispositions, has assuredly 
 weakened them in our own. The attempt ran foul of so 
 many local interests, of so many personal views, and so 
 much ignorance, and I have been considered as so par- 
 ticularly its promoter, that I see evidently a great change 
 of sentiment towards myself. I cannot doubt its having 
 dissatisfied with myself a respectable minority, if not a 
 majority of the house of delegates. I feel it deeply and 
 36 
 
418 LIFE OP 
 
 very discouragingly ; yet I shall not give way. I have 
 ever found in my progress through life, that acting for 
 the public, if we do always what is right, the approba- 
 tion denied in the beginning will surely follow us in the 
 end. It is from posterity we are to expect renumera- 
 tion, for the sacrifices we are making for their service of 
 time, quiet, and good will.' 
 
 At another time he bursts forth in a letter to one of 
 his colleagues, in a strain of despondency mingled with 
 supplication, strongly portraying the difficulties in the 
 way, and the solicitude which he felt for the result : 
 
 ' But the gloomiest of all prospects, is in the desertion 
 of the best friends of the institution, for desertion I must 
 call it. I know not the necessities which may force this 
 on you. General Cocke, you say, will explain them to 
 me ; but I cannot conceive them, nor persuade myself 
 they are uncontrollable. I have ever hoped, that your- 
 self, General Breckenridge, and Mr Johnson, would 
 stand at your posts in the legislature, until every thing 
 was effected, and the institution opened. If it is so dif- 
 ficult to get along with all the energy and influence of 
 our present colleagues in the legislature, how can we 
 expect to proceed at all, reducing our moving power? 
 I know well your devotion to your country, and your fore- 
 sight of the awful scenes coming on her, sooner or later. 
 With this foresight, what service can we ever render her 
 equal to this 1 What object of our lives can we propose 
 so important 1 What interest of our own which ought 
 not to be postponed to this 1 Health, time, labor, on what 
 in the single life which nature has given us, can these be 
 better bestowed than on this immortal boon to our coun- 
 try 1 The exertions and the mortifications are tempora- 
 ry ; the benefit eternal. If any member of our college 
 of visitors could justifiably withdraw from this sacred 
 duty, it would be myself, who quadragenis stipendiisjam- 
 dudumperactis^ have neither vigor of body nor mind left 
 to keep the field : but I will die in the last ditch, and so 
 I hope you will, my friend, as well as our firm-breasted 
 brothers and colleagues, Mr Johnson and General Breck- 
 enridge. Nature will not give you a second life where- 
 in to atone for the omissions of this. Pray then, dear 
 
-• THOMAS JEFFERSON. 419 
 
 and very dear sir, do not think of deserting us, but view 
 the sacrifices which seem to stand in jour way, as the 
 lesser duties, and such as ought to be postponed to this, 
 the greatest of all. Continue with us in these holy la- 
 bors, until, having seen their accomplishment, we may 
 say with old Simeon, " Nunc dimittas, Domine.^'' ' 
 
 The enthusiasm with which the patriarch embarked in 
 this great undertaking, arose in a principal degree from 
 its contemplated bearing on the future destinies of his 
 country in a political sense. He intended it as a school 
 for the future politicians and statesmen of the republic 
 in whose service he had worn out his life. The illustri- 
 ous man who succeeded him in its rectorship, has said : 
 ' This temple dedicated to science and liberty, was, after 
 Mr Jefferson's retirement from the political sphere, the 
 object nearest his heart, and so continued to the end of 
 his life. His devotion to it was intense, and his exer- 
 tions unceasing. It bears the stamp of his genius, and 
 will be a noble monument to his fame. His general view 
 was to make it a nursery of republican patriots, as well as 
 genuine scholars.' 
 
 The satisfaction with which he reflected on the suc- 
 cess of his labors, is expressed with a noble pride in a 
 personal communication to the legislature, a little be- 
 fore his death, wrung from him by the pressing hand of 
 poverty. 
 
 ' The effect,' says he, ' of this institution on the future 
 fame, fortune, and prosperity of our country, can as yet 
 be seen but at a distance. But a hundred well educa- 
 ted youths, which it will turn out annually, and ere 
 long, will fill all its offices with men of superior qualifi- 
 cations, will raise it from its humble state to an emi- 
 nence among its associates which it has never yet 
 known ; no, not in its brightest days. That institution 
 is now qualified to raise its yoMth to an order of science 
 unequalled in any other State; and this superiority will 
 be the greater from the free range of mind encouraged 
 there, and the restraint imposed at other seminaries by 
 
420 LIFE OF 
 
 the shackles of a domineering- hierarchy, and a bigoted 
 adhesion to ancient habits. Those now on the theatre 
 of affairs will enjoy the ineffable happiness of seeing 
 themselves succeeded by sons of a grade of science be- 
 yond their own ken. Our sister States will also be re- 
 pairing to the same fountains of instruction, will bring 
 hither their genius to be kindled at our fire, and will 
 carry back the fraternal affections which, nourished by 
 the same Alma Mater, will knit us to them by the in- 
 dissoluble bonds of early personal friendships. The 
 good old dominion, the blessed mother of us all, will 
 then raise her head with pride among the nations, will 
 present to them that splendor of genius which she has 
 ever possessed, but has too long suffered to rest uncul- 
 tivated and unknown, and will become a centre of ral- 
 liance to the States whose youths she has instructed, 
 and, as it were, adopted. I claim some share in the 
 merits of this great work of regeneration. My whole 
 labors, now for many years, have been devoted to it, 
 and I stand pledged to follow it up through the remnant 
 of life remaining to me.' 
 
 Such were the concluding labors of one who had 
 numbered more than four score years, and devoted sixty 
 of them uninterruptedly to the service of his country. 
 Long after the most of those who were his original ad- 
 herents or opponents had disappeared from the world, 
 he continued the champion of the same political doc- 
 trines which he espoused in the fire of youth ; nay, upon 
 the verge of the grave he stood, as it were, the embodied 
 spirit of the revolution, in all its purity and power, 
 nourishing with its wholesome influence the acting gene- 
 ration of his country, and distrilSuting its revolutionary 
 energies among the nations of the earth which still 
 slumbered in despotism. 
 
 Why should we attempt coolly to particularize the dis- 
 tinguishing features of a public character, whose de- 
 velopments in the aggregate were so extraordinary, and 
 have given so powerful and lasting a direction to the 
 current of human thought 1 Adopting a humble imita- 
 
THOMAS JEFFERSON. 421 
 
 lion of his delineation of general Washington, may it 
 not be summarily represented as 'in the mass perfect, 
 in many points unrivalled, in nothing bad, in few points 
 indifferent.' 
 
 His heart was most fervent in its aiFections ; and as 
 confiding as innocence itself, never harboring a suspi- 
 cion of the depository of its trust, and, what is more 
 uncommon, as tenacious as it was ardent and confiding, 
 holding on to its object without abatement under every vi- 
 cissitude. His friendships were indissoluble, those con- 
 tracted earliest continuing the same through life. His 
 justice was severe, sacrificing the claims of the closest 
 ties of aff'ection, to avoid the contamination of dishonor. 
 His temper was proverbially even, serene, and buoyant ; 
 thrusting fear always aside, and cherishing habitually 
 the fond incitements of hope. Of domestic life he was 
 at once the adorer and the idol, ever anxious to forego 
 honors and emoluments for its enjoyment ; and such 
 was the influence of his aftection upon those around him, 
 that he was almost worshipped by his family. He de- 
 lighted in the society of children, with whom he was 
 accustomed in his old age, to practise feats of agility 
 which few could imitate. Being taken by surprise on 
 one of these occasions, by the entrance of a stranger, he 
 grasped his hand, and smiling, said: 'I will make no 
 other apology than the good Henry the Fourth did, 
 when he was caught by an ambassador playing horse 
 and riding one of his children on his back, by asking, 
 are you a father ? — if you are, no apology is necessary.' 
 His powers of conversation Avere of the highest order ; 
 and made him the soul and centre of the social circle. 
 Of the warmth of his social dispositions, the range of 
 his private correspondence affords the most convincing 
 proofs. Even in the angry period of '98, so memorable 
 for its dissocializing spirit, he wrote to a distinguished 
 political opponent : — 'I feel extraordinary gratification 
 in addressing this letter to you, with whom shades of 
 36* 
 
422 LIFE OF 
 
 difference in political sentiment have not prevented the 
 interchange of good opinion, nor cut off the friendly- 
 offices of society and good correspondence. This poli- 
 tical tolerance is the more valued by me, who consider 
 social harmony as the first of human felicities, and the 
 happiest moments those which are given to the effusions 
 of the heart.' 
 
 But the most interesting fragment of this nature, is 
 found in a letter of friendship while in France, of which 
 the following are extracts : 
 
 ' I hope in God, no circumstance may ever make 
 either seek an asylum from grief! With what sincere 
 syfhpalhy I would open every cell of my heart, to re- 
 ceive the effusion of their woes ! I would pour my tears 
 into their wounds ; and if a drop of balm could be found 
 on the top of the Cordilleras, or at the remotest sources 
 of the 'Missouri, I would go thither myself to seek and 
 to bring it. Deeply practised in the school of affliction, 
 the human heart knows no joy which I have not lost, 
 no sorrow of which I have not dr|nk ! Fortune can 
 present no grief of unknown form to me ! Who, then,' 
 can so softly bind up the wound of another, as he who 
 has felt the same wound himself?' 
 
 ' And what more sublime delight, than to mingle 
 tears with one whom the hand of Heaven hath smitten! 
 to watch over the bed of sickness, and to beguile its 
 tedious and its painful moments ! to share our bread 
 with one to wh©m misfortune has left none ! This world 
 abounds indeed with misery : to lighten its burthen, we 
 must divide it with one another. But let us now try 
 the virtue of your mathematical balance, and as you 
 have put into one scale the burthens of friendship, let 
 me put its comforts into the other. When languishing 
 then under disease, how grateful is the solace of our 
 friends ! how are we penetrated with their assiduities 
 and attentions ! how much are we supported by their 
 encouragements and kind offices ! When Heaven has 
 taken from us some object of our love, how sweet is it 
 to have a bosom whereon to "recline our heads, and into 
 which we may pour the torrent of our tears ! Grief, 
 
THOMAS JEFFERSON. 423 
 
 with such a comfort is ahnost a luxury ! In a life where 
 we are perpetually exposed to want and accident, yours 
 is a wonderful proposition, to insulate ourselves, to re- 
 tire from all aid, and to wrap ourselves in the mantle of 
 self-sufficiency ! For assuredly nobody will care for 
 him, who cares for nobody. But friendship is precious, 
 not ojily in the shade, but in the sunshine of life ; and 
 thanks to a benevolent arrangement of things, the greater 
 part of life is sunshine. * * Let the gloomy monk, 
 sequestered from the world, seek unsocial pleasures in 
 the bottom of his cell ! Let the sublimated philosopher 
 grasp visionary happiness, while pursuing phantoms 
 dressed in the garb of truth ! Their supreme wisdom is 
 supreme folly : and they mistake for happiness the mere 
 absence of pain. Had they ever felt the solid pleasure 
 of one generous spasm of the heart, they would exchange 
 for it all the frigid speculations of their lives, which 
 you have been vaunting in such elevated terms. Be- 
 lieve me, then, my friend, that that is a miserable arith- 
 metic, which could estimate friendship at nothing, or at 
 less than nothing.' 
 
 Owing in part, if not altogether to a general pressure 
 upon the landed interest in Virginia, which had been felt 
 for several preceding years, the affairs of Mr Jefferson 
 became embarrassed, and in February, 1826, an act pass- 
 ed the legislature of Virginia to dispose of his estates by 
 means of a lottery. The scheme of the lottery embrac- 
 ed three great prizes, to wit, the Monticello estate, valued 
 at 71,000 dollars ; the Shadwell mills adjoining it, valued 
 at 30,000; and the Albemarle estate, at 11,500. The 
 Bedford tract was not thrown in, because, being derived 
 from his wife, Mr Jefferson had only a life estate in it, 
 with power to convey it to their descendants in such por- 
 tions as he chose. Otherwise this estate would have 
 gone in with the rest. 
 
 Simultaneously with the proceedings in the Virginia 
 legislature, and as soon as it became known that Mr Jef- 
 ferson was in a state of pecuniary distress, a spontane- 
 ous feeling of gratitude burst forth in every section of 
 
424 LIFE OF 
 
 the union. The paltry expedient of a lottery was con- 
 sidered too cold and calculating' a remedy for a case 
 which addressed itself to all the nobler sympathies of the 
 human heart. Public meetings were called in all the 
 considerable cities of the union, at which feeling and 
 high spirited resolutions were passed, and subscriptions 
 opened, which were as suddenly filled with contributions 
 to the relief of the suffering apostle of human liberty. 
 The legislature of Louisiana, actuated by a peculiar 
 sense of gratitude to the author of their admission into 
 the republic, immediately passed an act appropriating 
 ten thousand dollars to be placed at his disposal. The 
 legislature of South Carolina, it is believed, did the same. 
 Various schemes were proposed, in different places, in 
 all which the leading object appeared to be, how to be- 
 stow their bounty so as to give least pain to the delicacy 
 of his feelings. 
 
 But Mr Jefferson lived to derive very little benefit from 
 these voluntary offerings of a grateful people, and none 
 from the legislative provision of his native State. His 
 health had been impaired by a too free use of the hot 
 spring bath in 1818. From that time his indisposition 
 steadily increased until the spring of 1826, when it at- 
 tained a troublesome and alarming violence, giving cer- 
 tain indications of a gradual approach of dissolution. 
 Of the issue he seemed perfectly aware. On the 
 5th of June, he observed to a friend that ' he doubted his 
 weathering the present summer.' On the 24th of June, 
 his disorder and weakness having reached a distressing 
 point, he yielded to the entreaties of his family and saw 
 his physician, Eh' Dungleson of the university. On 
 this occasion he warned a friend who came to see him on 
 private business, that ' there was no time to be lost ;' and 
 expressed with regret his only apprehension, that 'he 
 could not hold out to see the blessed Fourth of July ;' 
 that he had called in a physician, and to gratify his fam- 
 ily, would follow his prescriptions, but that it would prove 
 
THOMAS JEFFERSON. 
 
 425 
 
 unavailing — 'the machine had worn out and would go 
 on no longer.' On the same day, he addressed that most 
 remarkable letter to the mayor of Washington, copies of 
 which, elegantly printed and framed, adorn the mantel- 
 pieces of many of the private dwellings in that city, and 
 the walls of its public edifices. This was the last letter 
 he ever wrote, and surely none was better fitted to be the 
 last. 
 
 * Respected Sir, — The kind invitation I receive from 
 you, on the part of the citizens of the city of Washing- 
 ton, to be present with them at their celebration on the 
 fiftieth anniversary of American independence, as one 
 of the surviving signers of an instrument pregnant with 
 our own, and the fate of the world, is most flattering to 
 myself, and heightened by the honorable accompaniment 
 proposed for the comfort of such a journey. It adds 
 sensibly to the sufterings of sickness, to be deprived by 
 it of a personal participation in the rejoicings of that 
 day. But acquiescence is a duty, under circumstances 
 not placed among those we are permitted to control. I 
 should indeed, with peculiar delight, have met and ex- 
 changed there congratulations personally with the small 
 band, the remnant of that host of worthies, who joined 
 with us on that day, in the bold and doubtful election we 
 were to make for our country, between submission or the 
 sword ; and to have enjoyed with them the consolatory 
 fact, that our fellow-citizens, after half a century of ex- 
 perience and prosperity, continue to approve the choice 
 we made. May it be to the world, what I believe it will 
 be (to some parts sooner, to others later, but finally to 
 all,) the siijnal of arousino- men to burst the chains under 
 which monkish ignorance and superstition had persuaded 
 them to bind themselves, and to assume the blessings and 
 security of self-government. That form which we have 
 substituted, restores the free right to the unbounded ex- 
 ercise of reason and freedom of opinion. All eyes are 
 opened, or opening, to the rights of man. The general 
 spread of the light of science has already laid open to 
 every view the palpable truth, that the mass of mankind 
 has not been born with saddles on their backs, nor a fa- 
 vored few booted and spurred, ready to ride them legiti- 
 
426 LIFE OF 
 
 mately, by the grace of God. These are grounds of 
 hope for others. For ourselves, let the annual return of 
 this day for ever refresh our recollections of these rights, 
 and an undiminished devotion to them. 
 
 ' I will ask permission here to express the pleasure 
 with which I should have met my ancient neighbors of 
 the city of Washington and its vicinities, with whom I 
 passed so many years of a pleasing social intercourse ; 
 an intercourse which so much relieved the anxieties of 
 the public cares, and left impressions so deeply engraved 
 in my affections as never to be forgotten. With my re- 
 gret that ill health forbids me the gratification of an ac- 
 ceptance, be pleased to receive for yourself, and those 
 for whom you write, the assurance of my highest respect 
 and friendly attachments.' 
 
 On the 28th of June, a friend from a distance visited 
 him on private business, and has left an affecting account 
 of his interview. ' As I approached the house,' says he, 
 ' the anxiety and distress visible in the countenance of 
 the servants, increased the gloom of my own forebodings, 
 and I entered it under no little agitation. After the ob- 
 ject of my call was made known to Mrs Randolph, she 
 told me that although her father had been expecting to 
 see me, he was then too unwell to receive any one. It 
 was but too evident, that the fears of his daughter over- 
 balanced her hopes ; and while sympathising in her dis- 
 tress, I could not help sighing to think that, although 
 separated from him only by a thin wall, I was never 
 more to behold the venerable man, who had entered all 
 the walks of politics and philosophy, and in all was fore- 
 most — and to whom the past, present and all future 
 ages are, and will be so much indebted. However, Mrs 
 Randolph having left me, to attend to her father, soon 
 returned, and observed that she had taken it for granted 
 that he could not see me ; but upon her casually men- 
 tioning my arrival, he had desired I should be invited in- 
 to his chamber. My emotions at approaching Jeffersori's 
 dying bed, I cannot describe. You remember the alcove 
 
THOMAS JEFFERSON. 427 
 
 in which he slept. There he was extended — feeble, 
 prostrate ; but the fine and clear expression of his coun- 
 tenance not at all obscured. At the first glance he re- 
 cognized me, and his hand and voice at once saluted me. 
 The energy of his grasp, and the spirit of his conversa- 
 tion, were such as to make me hope he would yet rally 
 — and that the superiority of mind over matter in 
 his composition, would preserve him yet longer. He re- 
 gretted that I should find him so helpless, talked of the 
 freshet then prevailing in James River, and said he had 
 never known a more destructive one. He soon, howev- 
 er, passed to the university, expatiated on its future utility, 
 commended the professors, and expressed satisfaction at 
 the progress of the students. A sword was suspended 
 at the foot of his bed, which he told me was presented to 
 him by an Arabian chief, and that the blade was a true 
 Damascus. At this time he became so cheerful as to 
 smile, even to laughing, at a remark I made. He al- 
 luded to the probability of his death, as a man would to 
 the prospect of being caught in a shower, as an event 
 not to be desired, but not to be feared. Upon proposing 
 to withdraw, I observed that I would call to see him 
 again. He said, ' well do, but you will dine here to-day.' 
 To this I replied, ' I proposed deferring that pleasure 
 ^ until he got better.' He waved his hand and shook his 
 head with some impatience, saying, emphatically, ' you 
 must dine here, my sickness makes no difference.' I 
 consented, left him, and never saw him more.' 
 
 During the four or five days remaining to him, his de- 
 cay was gradual, but visible. Of this no one was more 
 conscious than himself; yet he retained to the last mo- 
 ment of his existence, the same serene, decisive, and 
 cheerful temper, which had marked his eventful history. 
 He often recurred with spirit and animation to the uni- 
 versity, and expressed his hope that ' the State would not 
 now abandon it.' He spoke of the changes which he 
 feared would be made in it ; of his probable successor 
 
428 LIFE OF 
 
 as Rector ; of the services he had rendered to his native 
 State ; and counselled and advised as to his private af- 
 fairs. Upon being- unusually ill for a short time, he ob- 
 served very cheerfully, 'Well, Doctor, a few hours more 
 and the struggle will be over.' He called in his family, 
 and conversed calmly and separately with each of them. 
 To his daughter he presented a small morocco case 
 which he requested her to open immediately after his 
 decease. On opening the case it was found to contain 
 an elegant and affectionate strain of poetry 'on the vir- 
 tues of his dutiful and incomparable daughter.' When 
 the 3d of July arrived, upon enquiring with some solici- 
 tude the day of the month, he expressed a fervent de- 
 sire to live till the next day, that ' he might breathe the 
 air of the fiftieth anniversary, when he would joyfully 
 sing, with old Simeon, '''■Nunc Dij?iittas, Domine." ' In 
 the few short intervals of delirium which occurred, his 
 mind relapsed to the age of the revolution, with all the 
 enthusiasm of that period. He talked, in broken sen- 
 tences, of the committees of safety, and the rest of that 
 great machinery, which he imagined to be still in mo- 
 tion. One of his exclamations was, ' Warn the com- 
 mittee to be on their guard,' and he instantly rose in his 
 bed, with the help of his attendants, and went through 
 the act of writing a hurried note. But his reason was 
 almost constantly in her seat, when the great topics on 
 which he dwelt, were the happiness of his only and be- 
 loved child, the University of Virginia, and the advent of 
 the approaching anniversary. 
 
 When the morning of that day came, he appeared to 
 be thoroughly impressed that he should not live through 
 it, land only expressed a desire that he might survive un- 
 til mid-day. He seemed perfectly at ease, and ready 
 to die. When the Doctor entered his room, he said, 
 * Well, Doctor, you see I am here yet.' His disorder 
 being checked, a friend expressed a hope of amendment. 
 His reply was, ' that the powers of nature were too much 
 
THOMAS JEFFERSON. 429 
 
 exhausted to be rallied.' To a member of his family who 
 remarked that he was better, and that the Doctor thought 
 so, he listened with evident impatience, and said, 'Do 
 not imagine for a moment that / feel the smallest solic- 
 itude as to the result.' He then calmly gave directions 
 for his funeral, forbidding all pomp and parade ; — 
 being answered by a hope that it would be long ere the 
 occasion would require their observance, he asked, with 
 a smile, * Do you think I fear to die V A few moments 
 after, he called his family and friends around his bed- 
 side, and uttered distinctly the following sentence t ' I 
 have done for my country, and for all mankind, all that 
 I could do, and I now resign my soul, without fear, to 
 my God, — my daughter to my country.' These were the 
 last words he articulated — his last solemn declaration 
 to the world — his dying will and testament, bequeath- 
 ing his most precious gifts, to his God and his country. 
 All that was heard from him afterwards, was a hurried 
 repetition, in indistinct and scarcely audible accents, of 
 his favorite ejaculation. Nunc Dimittas, Domine — Nunc 
 Dimiftas, Domine, He sunk away imperceptibly, and 
 breathed his last, without a struggle or a murmur, at ten 
 minutes before one o'clock, on the great Jubilee of 
 American liberty — the day, and hour too, on which the 
 Declaration of Independence received its final reading, 
 and the day, and hour, on which he prayed to Heaven 
 that he might be permitted to depart. 
 
 Was not the hand of God most affectingly displayed 
 in this event, as if to add another to the multiplied 
 proofs of His special superintendence over this happy 
 country 1 On the anniversary of a day the most dis- 
 tinguished in the annals of mankind — on its fiftieth an- 
 niversary, and in merciful fulfilment of his last earthly 
 prayer, he closed his eyes. Few of the miracles record- 
 ed in the sacred writings, are more conspicuous or im- 
 posing. Mark again — the extraordinary protraction of 
 physical existence manifested in the last moments ofMr 
 37 
 
430 LIFE OF 
 
 Jefferson, as if to render the coincidence more striking- 
 ly and beautifully complete. At eight o'clock, P. M. 
 on the 3d of July, his physician pronounced that he 
 might be expected to die in any quarter of an hour from 
 that time. Yet he lived seventeen hours longer, with- 
 out any evident pain or suffering, or restlessness ; with 
 sensibility, consciousness, and intelhgence for much more 
 than twelve hours of the time ; and at last gradually 
 subsided into inanimation like a lamp which had shone 
 throughout a long dark night, spreading far and wide 
 its beneficent rays, yet still lingering to usher in the 
 broad day light upon mankind. 
 
 Never was this nation more profoundly impressed 
 than by the occurrence of this event. Instead of be- 
 ing viewed in the light of a calamity, there was not a 
 heart which did not feel a mournful pleasure at the 
 miraculous beauty of such a death. All business was 
 suspended, as the intelligence spread through the coun- 
 try ; the minute guns were fired, the bells sounded a 
 funeral note, the flags of the shipping fell half mast, and 
 every demonstration of profound feeling was displayed. 
 But five hours afterward, on the same day, died John 
 Adams. In the same mighty spirit, also, with the last 
 words, ' Independence forever ^^ and ' Jefferson survives."* 
 
 The extraordinary coincidence in the death of these 
 great men, is without a parallel in the records of history. 
 Were any doubts harbored of their sincere devotion to 
 their country while living, they must surely be dissipa- 
 ted forever by the time and manner of their death. One, 
 the author of the Declaration of Independence, the other 
 its great champion and defender on the floor of Con- 
 gress, and both the only two survivors of the committee 
 appointed to prepare that instrument, — another and 
 powerful confirmation was thus added, that ' Heaven it- 
 self mingled visibly in the jubilee celebration of Ameri- 
 can Liberty, hallowing anew the day by a double apoth- 
 
THOMAS JEFFERSON. 
 
 431 
 
 eosis.' They were great and glorious in their lives ; in 
 death they were not divided. It was indeed a fit occa- 
 sion for the deepest public feeling. Happening singly, 
 each of these events was felt as supernatural ; happen- 
 ing together, the astonishment which they occasioned, 
 was general and almost overwhelming. 
 
 In a private memorandum, found among some other 
 obituary papers of Mr Jefferson, was the suggestion that 
 in case any memorial of him should ever be thought of, 
 a small granite obelisk should be erected, with the follow- 
 ing inscription : 
 
 HERE LIES BURIED, 
 
 THOMAS JEFFERSON, 
 
 AUTHOR OF THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE, 
 OF THE STATUTES OF VIRGINIA FOR RELIGIOUS FREEDOM, AND 
 * FATHER OF THE UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA. 
 
 Volumes of panegyric could never convey so adequate 
 an idea of unpretending greatness, as is contained in this 
 brief and modest epitome of all the splendid achieve- 
 ments of a long, an arduous, and incessantly useful life. 
 
 THE END. 
 
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