'-■: ■■' ;: i j ■| ;! ■J 6/ . ■ ^ ■ ', , • ;;"■;■■.':,;■; :''. ': •' . ,, ■ ('•■■ ; ■ ■ ■ ;.■ ,,. . . : ■, .' ':.': , ■■■■ .... ^ ■ ■ ■. j .' ;■ , i; ;.; ■' ' ' ' " ■ \ ■;'■':: ^[':'-: /'.■: . 1 . . 1 . -i-i- ■ r * ' ■ ''.■''''.'.' " . i ■■,:;..:/ ,. ;;■:;;■: i ■/, '■'■.■■■ '-'.^ [■ ■.:■■:: ■■■;■■--, J . ■;,.■ , . ■. ■■ ■ (,'.,"■■■ ■..'..' ' '■' ■ ■ )Vi ADDKESS OP THE REPUBLICAN COMMITTEE OS ©®mmag^®af®ait^3 - OF PHIIiADELPHIil TO THE mOPLS or THE UNITED STATES^ —»»►♦«©*♦«— PHILADELPHIA: PRINTED BY WILLIAM STAVEf.Y, No. 99, Soutli Secontl Street. 182S. PENNSYLVANIA. ^^•*wfO ^^ 5*'"*"" July 22, 182S. At a meeting of the committee of correspondence, for the city of Philadelphia, appointed by the republican convention which assembled at Harrisburg, on the Sth of January last, the follow- ing resolution was adopted: — " Resolved, That a letter be addressed to James Ronaldson, i^isq. requesting him to favour this committee with copies of any letters, addressed to him by the late presidents, Thomas Jeffer- son and John Adams, in which their opinions of gen. Andrew Jackson were expressed — it being understood that no part of those letters is of a private character." To James Ronaldson, Esq. Hillsburgh Mills, Delaware Co. "PHILADELPHIA, July 22, 1828. " Dear Sir: — You and I remember, that the feelings and fame of Mr. Jeffer- son were as ruthlessly assailed, as those of general Jackson now are; and yet, when Mr. Jefferson passed from amongst us, his traducers joined in the public homage to his virtue: — I trust and believe, that the fame of general Jackson v/ill be rescued, in like manner, from the gripe of calumny. "You and I remember, that the people were told, that, if they elected Mr> Jefferson, he would introduce a French army, demolish the churches, &c. just as we hear it now said, that, if they elect general Jackson, he will raise an anny, and establish a military despotism: but we saw Mr. Jefferson elected, and the people, after his election, in a more free enjoyment of happiness, in- cluding an increase of churches, than they had befin before it: I trust and be- lieve, that we shall see general Jackson also elected, and that he will retire from office, as Mr. Jefferson did, with tlie blessings of his countrymen. " Nevertheless, although such has been our experience, and such are our expectations, we should do all that we can do, to protect him, who protected his country: under this impression, I mentioned to our committee of corres- pondence, that you had two units to add to the testimony, in favour of general Jackson, already before the public — a letter from Mr. Jefferson, and anotlier from Mr. Adams, father of the present President of the United States, com- plimentary to general Jackson: the committee liave authorized me to ask you for copies for publication : I scarcely need say, that there is not a member of /^/ the committee, who would make such a request, if the lettei% were of a pri- vate nature; but that is not the case; you must consider them, as the commit- tee does, in the true sense of the tei-m, public property, especially at a crisis Jike the present. " Yours, truly and respectfully, i "W. J. DUANE." To W. J. Duane, Esq. 8fC. " CEDAR, NEAR NINTH STREET, July 25, 1826. "Deak Sih: — Having on hand undertakings of considerable importance, which required my personal attention in Philadelphia, I have soon received your letter directed to me at Hillsburgh Mills. Your object is to procure co- pies of letters I received from Thomas Jefferson and John Adams, about eight years sijice, which, if 1 did not then show them to you, I mentioned the cir- cumstance of receiving. " I express a doubt'of having at that time shown to you those letters— it has been a practice with me, rarely to show to otliers, letters that have been addressed to me by men, whose characters, actions, and acquirenrients, have gained them particular pre-eminence: it was enough for a plain citizen, like me, to have received those marks of their politeness and respect: and so strong- ly are my feelings attached to past habits, that it will be with reluctance, that, on the present occasion, I shall depart from it, in" the case of the letters to which you allude. *'I have not forgotten the misrepresented facts, the gross falsehoods and calumnies, that were published against the author of the Declaration of Inde- pendence: and I am astonished at the same style of abuse against Andrew Jack- son: we have not yet forgotten the events of the last war; even in the old states, cannon were spiked whilst in the course of transportation to the fron- tier — pilotboats were in the service of the enemy, carrying intelligence— nay, American vessels sailed from our own ports, freighted with provisions, to sup- ply and refresh the enemy's war-ships, whilst cruising on our own coast. At New Orleans, when a powerful fleet and a well organized army were close to that city, matters were just as bad: men are only men — our good form of go- vernment has not made them all patriots: The general, to vt?hom was confided the defence of New Orleans, has now imputed to him as crimes, the very acts that were essential to the preservation of the lives of the men, and the honour of the women; as to the property, it also was saved, but is not worth mention- ing where the two others were at stake. "The misrepresented facts and caricatured biogi-aphy of Andrew Jackson, that have been given to the public, recal to memory a lively recollection of the cruelty and injustice done to Thomas Jefferson: and all this against general Jackson, because the Pkople have thought projjcr to vote for him to be Presi- dent. It is the injustice of abusing general Jackson, because ihe people will vote for him to be President of the United States, and the great and general respect his person, his character, and his conduct were held in, until it was propo.sed to make him President, tliat influence my conduct on the pi-esent occasion: I think this system of abuse renders it necessary to bring forth proofs of what was said, and thought, of Andrew Jackson, at a period when his acts were well known, and his motives understood, by men like Thomas Jeff"erson and John Adams, and when his virtues and actions neither excited envy, nor alarmed ambition. "You shall have the letters you ask for, and you have my reason for giving them to the public. , . ,• ,, • ^ " It is not on the present occasion, requisite to mention the circumstances, which srave rise to the correspondence, further than. to state, that Mr. W.l ham Rush had made for me a bust of general .Tackson, and that meeting with an Italian, who was an expert worker in Plaister of Pans, he was employed to make some casts from the bust, and I took the liberty of sending them to different srentlemen, and public institutions; amongst the former were Mr. Jefferson and Mr. Adams; in every case, a due regard was paid to the teelings of those they were sent to, and the act was performed under the impression, that the present would receive a welcome. "That vou, and all, who are employed in rescuing character from calumny, may have' the satisfaction of seeing your labours crowned with success, is the earnest desire of " Your friend, , "JAMES RONALDSON." At a meeting of the committee of correspondence, July 25, 1S2S, the following resolution was adopted: — Resolved, That the thanks of the committee be tendered to Mr. Ronaldson, for his prompt compliance with their request in relation to the letters of the late presidents Jefferson and Adams: that the letter addressed to Mr. Ronaldson, and his reply, be published: and that the letters of the late Presidents be published, with an appropriate address to the people. To " Mr. James Ronaldson, Philadelphia. "MoNTicELLo, Feb. 7, '20. «a thank you, dear sir, for the present of the bust of general Jackson: he holds a high place in my esteem, as an undeviating patriot, and a military character, who has deserved well ot his country. I shall give his bust a place in my mo.st honourable suite, with those of Washington, Franklin, Fayette, &c. Its value is moreover heightened, as from the hand of an artist, oi whom our country has a high and just estimation. "To the political part of your letter, I cannot answer; my health is so entirely gone, with little prospect of its return, that I am obliged to withdraw my attention from every thing beyond the walls of my chamber, and particularly from politics: I leave these to the generation now on the stage, who will, I am sure, govern as wisely as their predecessors: I iaeX safe under their wing, anda!)le now to contribute nothing but my prayers for my coun- try, which comprehends them, you, and every thing else dear to 6 me. Unable to write but with pain and difficulty, I must here conclude with my friendly and respectful salutations. "TH: JEFFERSON." To ^^ James Ronaldson, Esq. Philadelphia. "MoNTEZiLLO, February 23d, 1S20. " Sir:— "I have received your favour of the 16th, and lose not a mo- ment to acknowledge my obligations for it. I have been attentive to the actions and character of General Jackson, and have read the volume of his biography, and have no hesitation in giving my opinion, that he is one of the greatest military characters that North America has produced. No present of the kind could have been more acceptable to me, than a bust of this great man, to whom we are all so deeply indebted. It is the more pleasing as it is the work of Mr. Rush, a native American, and a name X'cry dear to me. I have not had time, as yet, to send for the precious monument, which I shall preserve with great care for the contemplation of my posterity. "I am, sir, with many tiianks, for your kindness, and polite- ness, your obliged friend, and humble servant, "JOHN ADAMS." TO THE PEOPLE FELLOW CITIZENS.— Although our own happiness is naturally the primary object of our solicitude, there are few of the American people, we presume, who are not anxious, that mankind at large should profit by our example, and become as free as ourselves. We may, indeed, under the influence of self-esteem, which is in- herent in nations as well as individuals, fix a higher estimate upon our condition than reason justifies; but we may be excused, if we regard our republic, in several respects, a model for other states, when we find it so designated by many great and enlightened per- sons in Europe, who have spoken or written upon the condition oi the new world. Raising ourselves, then, above the influences of unworthy passions, is it not our duty to act, seeing that we are objects of scrutiny and example, as if we were not merely under the eyes of men of the present day, but within the observation of posterity? If such is our position, and if such should be our duty, what a spectacle is at present presented in our republic ! Instead of che- rishing the purity, becoming infant institutions, we seem desir- ous to descend to the degradation of Athens and Rome, in the days of their decline! We behold a man, whom the whole peo- ple would go forth to see and honour, as a public benefactor, it' he were not a candidate for their suflrages, proscribed and tra- duced in every way, that the basest passions can devise— because a portion of his countrymen have resolved to confer upon him the highest mark of their gratitude and confidence ! Yes, if Andrew Jackson had not been called, by his country- men, upon the political stage, every one would apply to him the eulogium of the poet upon Cincinnatus — " Of old, the fai-mer left his field. Called by the voice of Rome; To be his country'^s g'uardian shield He left his rural home.; Her foes subdued, her wrongs redrest. No lust of power his soul possest. He cbose a g-iorious doom; Again he grasped the plough, and fame Still sheds a radiance o'er his name." But, when not only without the aid or privity, but against the wishes of those, who may be called trading politician!, the '.■■r, o-v-f-lfiim. "True, indeed. Miiporarics of Franklin and Jefferson exclaim, "True, in( » See Boston Sentinel. Sept. 20, 1798. IS, that ignorance is the nurse of calumny; and true it is, that, thirty years ago, the people were not all equally well informed; but, behold the fate of Franklin and of Jefferson, and see in it the proud evidence of the virtue, as well as of the intelligence, of the American people! Where, now, are their revilers? What history or biography transmits the record of their libels? Far from being degraded in the eyes of their countrymen, or of the world, the fame of the republic itself is preserved in purity, by the honours conferred upon Franklin and Jefferson in life, and which await them from an admiring posterity?" Such is the picture of the past ; it is for the freemen of the present day to fill up their own portrait. If such a reply is worthy of an enlightened people ; if it is honourable to the American character, that slander has not yet blasted the wreaths of civic virtue or military renown, in this repub- lic; if the discomfiture of calumny is a prognostic of politi- cal health and durability; the day approaches, when the virtue and intelligence of the people are again to be tested: the same atrocious proscription, which was directed against Jefferson, is now employed to rob Jackson of his country's gratitude and honours: the same maledictions, which were impiously invoked as a punishment, if the people elected Jefferson, are now as sliame- fully pronounced as preferable to the election of Jackson: but it was a signal proof of the devotion and courage of the people, to fcrust in the mercy of Providence and the exercise of their own- virtue; and it was a high mark of Providential approbation, thai the election of Jefferson opened to the republic its happiest days. Do we seek such a triumph now? If we do, it is at our disposal! Who, at the present day, believes the slanders upon Jeflerson? Yet those slanders were as boldly uttered, and as laboriously vouched, as any that are now circulated against Jackson: who, in 1818, four years after he late war, said or surmised that Jack- son was unworthy of honour or gratitude? wherever he went, he was then hailed with shouts of joy, and by all parties caressed as a patriot, who had added largely to his country's reputation; u'.it, as soon as his countrymen evinced a desire to give him a distinctive mark orgratitude — as soon as his laurels cast a shade upon the pretensions of men, who had intrigued and trafficked, and who had already in fancy the jjresidency in their grasp — the vials of wrath were emptied upon him, with an unsparing hand: and he, who, if not a candidate, would have passed through life with undisputed fame, is assailed with every weapon that envy and malice can wield, because he is emphatically the candidate of the people, and not llie creature of a factioUj or coalition of fictions! 5? 10 Is it not so? Can any man of truth deny the fairness of tins' representation? Who, indeed, thirty years hence, will credit the tales now told Qf Jackson, any more than we now believe the falshoods, told thirty years ago, of Jefferson? Who will, then, believe, that the man, who never wore a sword except when his country was as- sailed, or held it longer than it was necessary for its defence, would draw it to enslave his countrymen? Who will, tJien, be- lieve, that the people of the present age were so debased as to make military usurpation possible? Who will, then, believe^ that he, who encountered death in every shape, to protect the de- fenceless widow and orphan, matron and maid, sought to sacri- fice human beings wantonly? Who will, Men, believe, that Jack- son, whom all the presidents of the republic, Washington, Adams, Jefferson, Madison, Monroe and John Q. Adams, had honoured with confidence or applause, as a patriot, and a great man, w^as a mere " military chieftain?" Who will, then, believe that Jackson had no talents or civil qualifications, when it is known that he held and was offered high civil trusts, under W'ashington, Madison and Monroe, with the full concurrence, in the last instance, of John Q. Adams himself? Who will, then^ believe, that Andrew Jackson was a man governed by passioji, and anxious for commotion, when it is known, that, when his election was defeated by a cabal, February 9, 1S25, a moment at which the best men would naturally feel, if not utter, indig- nation, Andrew Jackson besought his friends to abstain from any manifestation of feeling for him, or discontent at what was done? Who, in 1858, will look back upon the incorruptible in- tegrity and magnanimity of Andrew Jackson, during the events of the winter of 1S24 — 5, without avowing, that he then gather- ed a wreath of glory, which will bloom and flourish, even after the laurels won upon the plain qf Orleans shall cease to dazzle or adorn? If, then, fellow citizens, such will be the sentiments of our successors, thirty years hence, as to Andrew Jackson, is there no solicitude amongst us, as to their sentence upon ourselves? Shall we emulate the virtue of our predecessors, as to Jefferson, or basely consent that Jackson shall be the first victim of a heart- less proscription? Shall the people, who asked him to be their candidate, and made him a mark for every rufRan hand to strike at, slumber when he is assailed ? Are we willing to tell the world, that like the Athenians in their ingratitude to the victor of Marathon, we have lost all sense of national obligation and personal feeling? Do not suppose that we doubt your virtue, or undei'-rate your 11 intelligence; let it not be thought, that we apprehend discom- fiture: no! you have expressed your sense of the bargains of 1825, in tones not loud but deep; you have stript the party of Mr. Adams, of all the powers, which time and the constitution enabled you to take away; you have presented to the world an administration at variance with yourselves and the councils of tlie republic; you have chastised at the polls the blow aimed at your liberties in the capitol; and you will reduce the slanderers of Jackson, to the doom which befel the traducers of Jetferson! But, it is not enough, that this should be done; the purity of our institutions, reverence for their founders, tenderness for our descendants, and our own honour and pride, all demand, that the example should be signal: else, what must be our shame and our fate ! If we barely frighten the vampyre from one victim, it will seek, and glut itself with the blood of others; one ferocious fac- tion will succeed another, sacrificing, as in Rome, the most pub- lic-spirited citizens, and leaving to the people the mere dregs of liberty ! We have told you, fellow citizens, that Andrew Jackson had received the confidence of Washington, Madison and Monroe, and the applause and encomiums of Jefferson and the elder Mr. Adams: it must also, be known to you, that the present presi- dent himself, when secretary of state, was the able and success- ful defender of Andrew Jackson, against all the accusations, in relation to the Seminole war and the occupation of Florida, which are now revived by Mr. Adams' partizans; nay, even af- ter Mr. J. Q. Adams was chosen president, and of course fore- saw another struggle with general Jackson, he extolled him — not, fellow citizens, as a mere soldier, but as a man " of wiiose worthy talents, and services, no one entertained a higher or Hiore respectful sense, than" Mr. Adams himself — as a man " whose name was closely associated with the glory of his coun- try." Great encomiums, indeed, pronounced by a rival, and strongly contrasted with the calumnious aspersions now flung at general Jackson by Mr. Adams' partisans ! encomiums, which we could gladly attribute to a generous and noble spirit, did we not know that present proscription is guided by the intimate associates of Mr. Adams himself. We will not now, however, contrast the deliberate declarations of Mr. J. Q. Adams with the intemperate language of his parti- zans, in relation to the character and conduct of General Jackson; at another moment we shall execute that duty: but we now lay before you the dispassionate opinions of the late presidents Tho- mas Jefferson and John Adams, expressed when the conduct and capacity of general Jackson were the objects of their scrutiny as well as of public fame. A- 12 As to the sentiments of Thomas Jefferson, respecting general Jackson, they have been long known to his countrymen: Mr. Jefferson considered him the most fit person to be put J" nomi- nation by the republican party, after the restoration of the dy- nasty of 1798: he declared '' General Jackson is a clear-headed, strong-minded man, and has more of the Roman in him than any man now living:" in the letter which we now lay before you, he calls general Jackson "an undeviating patriot' as well as a <'high military character," holding a high place in his esteem, with Washington, Franklin, Fayette, &c. To the letter of Mr. John Adams, however, as the sentiments of that gentleman are now for the first time made known to the people, we ask particular regard: Mr. Adams says not only that he had read the biography of general Jackson, but that he had been "attentive to his actions and character;" that he consider- ed him " one of the greatest military characters that ^ortli Ame- rica h^'d produced ;" that « no present of the kind could be more acceptable, than the bust of this GREAT MAN, to whom we Ire^all so deeply indebted;" and that he would " preserve the FRECIOtJS MONUMENT with CarO, FOR THE CONTEMPLATION OF HIS POSTERITY." , ,. i ^„ ^f +V,o .Such, fellow-citizens, is the emphatic language of the father of the present president: could any eulogium be more honourable? Could Mr. Adams have had any "^^tive to pronounce such an encomium, but his own regard for meri? Would M^^^ .\dams have pronounced it unless he considered t^^ applause fully deserved? Was he not a man, ^vho rarely eulogized, and wh J closely scanned the acts and motives of public characters? Such are the portraits of Gen. J^^:!^^"' ^^^^^^^^".'^.^^^ were drawn from the life, with the pencil of truth by the t,;M> distinguished individuals, who, although long separated on earth, soon after departed in company to heaven . Contemplate those portraits closely; compare them w Jh the vile caricatures, which a consciousness of their own deprajity enables so many to paint in colours characteristic only ot them^ selves; and say, whether the reputation of ^be^epub c n t^^, eyes of the world, does not demand a f^S"^l/^"^""f.f X/ vour sense of the beautv of the one, and the infamy of the other. Joseph Worrell, Wm. Duncan, Wm. Boyd, SPP ?^. i^.;'^ Henry Toland, John VVurts, Wm. J. DuANE, Wm. J. Leiper, Ch. S. Coxe, My 26, 182? 'l^H- M. PF.TTIT. o O 9 O 3 p.