Adams Family Correspondence, volume 13
th1798
I have received your two kind favours this week of June 29 &
July 2d as Hot a day as I ever experienced.1 I was therefore upon that and the succeeding day
unfit for any exertion, and thought it would be impossible for me to go through the
fatigues of the 4th without a Change of weather which fortunately took place on twesday
afternoon, otherways it must have proved fatal to the Young troops, when many of them
had fainted the morg’ before at their excercise— the day was however Propitious, and the
exhibitions truly Military and Patriotic. good order and strictest dissipline were
attended to & tho the various companies dinned in different places & parties,
not a disguised man appeard amongst them all. they serenaded us at various parts of the
Evening & night, but all was harmony— I should however except from the Number a company of 15 republican Blews
as they were call’d all of whom partook of Liberty and equality—2 the city was quiet, tho thousands were gatherd
in our street & a pass allowd only for the troops who with Some difficulty could
keep a passage open—
I rejoice in the firm & decided conduct of the Legislature of my Native state, whose Patriotism shews it self by more than words. I take pride in belonging to it. with less than half the Numbers of Nyork, Boston appears in front, not in the Background whilst 70 thousand dollors are repeated, & repeated, and the labouring oar can scarcly stem the tide, Boston rides triumphant upon the wave— I have been astonishd at the Langour of Nyork, so much exposed, and so much to lose—yet torpid, unfealing as dutch men, with a Representation in Congress which is a disgrace to the state, and made still worse by their late Election—3
two Printers in the city every day libelling the President and the
177 Government. Burk who could not find food in Boston,
and who was driven from his own Country for sedition, is now employd in publishing the
Time Peice which Freaneu could no longer carry on— this wretch in a paper of this week,
says in the most Possitive language, that the Letters sent to Congress by the President
as from mr Gerry, were altogether a forgery palmd upon the publick to answer his
particular views—4 you see the concert
between the Printers. Bache asserted a similar falshood, and was arrested in concequence
of it as Burk will be— I hope a similiar prossecution will take place in Boston if the
Chronical ventures upon so dareing an outrage— as you take Fennos paper, you will see,
in that of July the 6th a peice signd Themistocles with an extract from Burks time
peace—5 the peice which I allude to,
and for which a prossecution is orderd, is still worse than that. yet the Bill to punish
sedition sent down from the senate will be hard fought in the House, and will have the
old french faction opposed to it.6 the
Bill you see for declaring the Treaties void past by a majority of ten— these Antis are
possesst by the devil; or they could not at such a time as the present make such a stand
against the voice of Reason Religion Property, all that is dear and valuable to Man, and
without which Human Nature is more savage than the Beasts of the field— Let Russel print
the peice under the signature of Themistocles. the more these wretches are seen, the
more they must be detested. that wretch is a hireling of France to defame the
Government. we shall see who will be his bale—7 the President will immediatly Revoke all the
Exequators of the consuls.8 the amendment
to the Constitution of the us proposed is a good one I wish it may succeed— a Leiut is this day Nominated for this cruize only for the
Constitution, the other to fill it when he returns. a Sailing Master has never been yet
recommended, nor does the President know whom to appoint—9
I hope Congress will rise next week, but I cannot absolutely say— I
have written to dr Welch—.10 Many
applications reachd here for the Loan office after the place was filld— I am glad you
approve the appointment, as you must I trust of Commander in Chief tho some were
exerting every power and faculty for Col H——n the President decided without
communication, and sent in the nomination of the old General, without the least
intimation what his own mind will be. he sends the Secretary of War on Monday with the
commission You can hardly conceive what a powerfull interest is made for H——n11 I am surprizd at the want of knowledge of Human
Nature— that man 178 would in my mind become a second Buonaparty if he
was possessd of equal power yet my opinion is singular. what is the sentiment your way
would any man there like he should have been made Commander in Chief? that he will make
an able and active officers I have not a doubt, and will do in his place— oh how many
passion are sit at work by ambition, by an asspiring Genious— virtue virtue, how little
consideration is paid to it in these days— “these are the old opinions of which” Burk
complains.12 What I have written of
H——n is between ourselves, and in confidence. I should like to learn the opinions of
others. What is Knox’s what is Lincolns? would they have advocated his being first—13
I hope Washington will not decline— he must not, he cannot— our good Friend Mr Sewall
has been very timid this Session. how few of the sons of Men, are qualified for bold
decisive action when danger threatens? a very upright honest man and an able one—varnun.
pray do not let our state have one Black sheep amongst the flock—
My kind and affectionate Regards to mrs Smith and to the Children from Your / Friend
RC (MHi:Smith-Carter Family Papers).
For Smith’s 2 July letter to AA, see AA to Smith, 26 June, note 4, above.
A company of Republican Blues dined together on the night of 4
July, offering toasts to Thomas Jefferson, America as “an asylum to those who fly from
despotic tyranny,” and “Peace to the universe and happiness to man” (Philadelphia Aurora General Advertiser, 7 July).
The 1798 New York congressional elections resulted in the
election of six Democratic-Republicans and four Federalists, a loss of two Federalist
seats in the 6th Congress (Philadelphia Carey’s United States’
Recorder, 21 June;
Biog. Dir. Cong.
).
John Daly Burk took over the editorship of the New York Time Piece from Philip Freneau on 13 June. On 2 July, in an
article reporting on the 16 April letter from Elbridge Gerry to JA, for
which see AA to Smith, 26 June,
and note 2, above, Burk expressed his belief that portions of the letter were “a
F—adapted to promote certain ends in this country.” As a result, on 6 July, Burk was
arrested on a common law charge of seditious libel and released on $4,000 bail with
sureties provided by leading New York Democratic-Republicans. The Time Piece briefly continued publication following Burk’s
arrest but closed by the end of August. The case against Burk was ultimately dismissed
when, under a settlement facilitated by Aaron Burr, Burk agreed to leave the United
States (Smith, Freedom’s Fetters
, p. 206, 210–211, 212,
216–218).
The Philadelphia Gazette of the United
States, 6 July, reprinted an article from the New York Commercial Advertiser, 3 July, by Themistocles in which the author claimed to
have heard Burk applaud a supposed French invasion of Ireland and express a hope that
the French would invade the United States as well. Themistocles quoted an article from
the New York Time Piece, 27 June, criticizing
JA as a “mock Monarch, with his court
composed of tories and speculators.”
While the House of Representatives had originally desired an
omnibus alien and sedition bill, the Senate chose to take up the matters separately.
James Lloyd of Maryland introduced a bill on 26 June that not only would “define and
punish the crime of sedition” but also would expand the definition of treason to
include actions taken in peace-time. Lloyd’s bill made any statement accusing
government officials of malevolent 179 motives or
defending the actions of the French government punishable. Senate Federalists,
concerned about stirring sympathy for Democratic-Republicans, removed the language on
treason and France. The bill passed along party lines on 4 July. The following day,
the House debated amendments and the constitutionality of the bill. Robert Goodloe
Harper proposed further limiting the Senate bill by making truth a defense and adding
intent as an element of the crime. The Democratic-Republicans argued that the bill
both violated the Constitution and was unnecessary because the public could judge the
accuracy of what the press published. The resulting joint bill marked a significant
expansion of the law of seditious libel. On 10 July it passed the House, 44 to 41,
with only four votes coming from the South. The bill, which included a provision that
it would expire at the end of JA’s term as president, received his
signature on 14 July (Elkins and
McKitrick, Age of Federalism
, p. 592–593; Smith, Freedom’s Fetters
, p. 106–112, 125–126, 128–130, 142–144).
The article by Themistocles did not appear in the Boston Columbian Centinel but was reprinted in the Salem Gazette, 17 July.
After Congress voided the treaties with France, JA
wrote to Timothy Pickering on 7 July (LbC, APM Reel 117) requesting guidance on preparing
letters and a proclamation that would revoke the government’s recognition of all the
French consuls in the United States. The exequaturs of the consul general, Philippe
André Joseph de Létombe; vice consuls, Jean Antoine Bernard de Rozier and Louis
Arcambal; and consul, Theodore Charles Mozard, were subsequently revoked on 13 July
(Philadelphia Gazette, 14 July).
JA nominated Patrick Fletcher (d. 1800) on 7 July to
serve as first lieutenant on the frigate Constitution
until the return of Edward Preble. Preble was nominated in April but was in the West
Indies serving as captain of the merchant ship Dauphin.
He was delayed in returning, however, when the Dauphin
was captured by a French privateer and taken into Havana. When Preble finally returned
to Boston in mid-November, he asked for a further delay in order to arrange his
private affairs. By the time he was ready to serve in Jan. 1799, he was ordered
instead to take command of the 14-gun brig Pickering.
Charles Swain served as sailing master on the Constitution (U.S. Senate,
Exec. Jour.
, 5th Cong., 2d sess., p. 268, 285;
Christopher McKee, Edward Preble: A Naval Biography,
1761–1807, Annapolis, Md., 1972, p. 50–52, 56–57; General Register of the United States Navy and Marine Corps, ed. Thomas H. S.
Hamersly, Washington, D.C., 1882, p. 255, 693).
AA’s letter to Thomas Welsh has not been found but was dated 7 July 1798. Welsh’s reply is at 15 July, below.
A number of Federalists pushed for a more active role for
Alexander Hamilton as the crisis with France deepened. In April Harper discussed with
JA the possibility of Hamilton’s taking over as secretary of war from
James McHenry. With the establishment of the provisional army, Pickering tried to
convince JA to nominate Hamilton as commander in chief and failing that
as George Washington’s second (Hamilton, Papers
, 21:449; Washington, Papers, Retirement Series
, 2:386–387; Kohn, Eagle and Sword
,
p. 230–233). See also AA to AA2, 19
July, and note 3, below.
AA was quoting the extract Themistocles included in
his criticism of Burk, for which see note 5, above. Burk claimed that JA
had been “jostled into the chief magistracy by the
ominous combination of old Tories with old opinions, and old
Whigs with new.”
Smith in his 13 July reply to AA (Adams Papers) wrote, “None of the persons you
mention wou’d have advocated H. being first.” Henry Knox was indignant that Hamilton
was given a higher rank than his in the provisional army when the nominations were
made in July. In a 29 July letter to Washington, Knox wrote, “I flattered myself with
your esteem and respect in a military point of view. But I find that others greatly my
juniors in rank, have been, upon a scale of comparison, preferred before me.” Knox
ultimately refused to serve under Hamilton (Washington, Papers, Retirement
Series
, 2:469–472, 3:178; Kohn, Eagle and Sword
,
p. 243).