Adams Family Correspondence, volume 13
th.June. 1798.
Your barrels & Trunk, for which you inclos’d me a Bill of
Loading some days since arriv’d safe Yesterday.—1 I hope the business of Congress will permit
you soon to leave Philaa. before the extreme hot weather
comes on.— Our House of Rep. Yesterday pass’d a Resolution, Unanimously, to instruct our Sen. & Rep. in Congress, to propose an
amendment to the Constitution of the United States, excluding all but Native Citizens
& those who were here, at the declaration of Independence, from being eligable as
Pres. Vice. Pres. Senator or Rep. in Congress. I wish such an Amendment might be
propos’d to the several States this Session. most of the Legislatures will meet in the
Fall & if it meets the approbation of 2/3ds. it might
the next Session of Congress be adopted.—2
we have placed at the disposal of the Governor, $50.000. in case
of any emergency before the next session of the Genl.
Court. this with $50.000. appropriated for Military Stores, &c will put us in a
more respectable state than for some Years past.—3
An Amendment was propos’d by the Member from Cambridge, on the
Resolu. I have mention’d, “to exclude all those Americans who were in Arms & joind
the British.” this proposal recd. but one Vote besides his
own. the Question was taken by Yeas, & Nays, before it was taken this Genn & a few others slipt out of the House, & did not
leave a single Nay.—4
Mrs. S. & our children are well
she joins me in Affectionate regards—
Yr H Sert
m.Smith.
Boston, tho’ not the first, in
proposing to [. . .] Ships, have shown their attachment to the Govt by subscribing $104.000 in 12 hours for this purpose.
Deacon Phillips subscribd. $10,000.—5 by this post, I have forward’d, an application
from Cap. Eben. Kent for a Commiss. in the Provisional
Army. he serv’d with reputation the last warr & wishes to be of service in
case the Country is in Danger. he is Brother to Mrs. Evans
& Grandson of our Aunt Kent. he will make a faithful,
good Officer.—6
RC (Adams Papers); addressed: “Mrs. Adams /
Philadelphia”; internal address: “Mrs. Adams.”; endorsed:
“Mr smith / July June 2[9th]”; notation: “per
Post.” Some loss of text where the seal was removed.
See AA to Smith, 9 June, above.
The Mass. General Court on 29 June passed a resolution that
called on Congress to require that all elected federal officers have a minimum of
fourteen years naturalization at the time of their election. By the end of the year,
all of the New England state legislatures as well as that of New York had passed
similar resolutions (Mass., Acts and Laws
, 1798–1799, p. 211–212; Suffield,
Conn., Impartial Herald, 18 Sept., 20 Nov.; Philadelphia
Gazette of the United States, 21 Nov.; October 1798. At the General Assembly … of the State of
Rhode-Island, Newport, R.I., 1799, p. 14–15, Evans, No. 36220; A Journal
of the Proceedings of the Honorable Senate of the State of New-Hampshire … Nov.
1798, Portsmouth, N.H., 1799, p. 64–66, Evans, No. 35881).
On 20 June the Mass. General Court authorized the expenditure of
$50,000 for the purchase and mounting of cannon for defense of the coast (Mass., Acts
and Laws
, 1798–1799, p. 182–183).
That is, Dr. Aaron Hill.
The Boston subscription to build a warship for the federal
government opened on 27 June and by the evening of the 29th had raised over $100,000.
William Phillips (1750–1827), a Boston merchant and benefactor of Phillips Academy in
Andover, Mass., provided the largest single contribution to the subscription effort
(Leiner, Millions for Defense
, p. 94;
DAB
).
Capt. Ebenezer Kent was brother to Huldah Kent Evans (1763–1846).
No application to JA for an appointment has been found, nor did Kent
receive a commission (vols. 7:50, 10:360; L.
Vernon Briggs, Genealogies of the Different Families Bearing
the Name of Kent in the United States, Boston, 1898, p. 53).
d1798
The extreem heat of yesterday & the no less prospet of it this
day, is beyond any thing I ever experienced in my Life the Glasses were at 90 in the
Shade yesterday. tomorrow will be the 4 July, when if possible I must see thousands. I
know not how it will be possible to get through. live here I cannot an other week unless
a Change takes place in the weather you had as good be in an oven the bricks are so Hot.
I can only say to you that yesterday the President Nominated Gen’ll Washington to be commander in chief of the Army to be raised, and as soon as
the Senate pass upen it, the Secretary of war will be sent express to announce it to
him.1 His Country calls. no Man can do
so much for it in that Line. “The knowledge that he lives” is a Bulwark.2 it will unite all Parties in the Country. it
will give weight force and energy to the People—& it will dismay our Enemies— I
cannot think that he will decline the station—
Mr soper from Braintree was here yesterday, & he disclosed my whole secret about my building the President had a hearty laugh & says he is sorry it was not carried clear along. he is affraid it is upon too Small a Scale, so tell the dr we shall not incur any blame
I inclose you the paper of this day.3 you will see how Politicks are. tis so Hot I cannot think or write more than yours / as ever
RC (MWA:Abigail Adams Letters); addressed: “Mrs Mary Cranch / Quincy—”; endorsed
by Richard Cranch: “Letter from Mrs / A. Adams July 3 /
1798.”
On 2 July JA nominated George Washington to be
commander in chief “of all the armies raised, or to be raised,” and the Senate
confirmed the nomination unanimously the following day. In his letter to Washington of
7 July, which was carried to Mount Vernon by James McHenry, JA apologized
for taking the step but insisted that he needed Washington’s advice in managing the
nation’s defense (U.S. Senate, Exec. Jour.
, 5th Cong., 2d sess., p. 284; Washington, Papers, Retirement Series
, 2:389).
AA was quoting from JA’s inaugural
address (
Amer. State Papers, Foreign Relations
, 1:39).
Enclosure not found. AA may have sent the
Philadelphia Gazette of the United States, which had the
most extensive political coverage of that day’s Philadelphia newspapers, including the
House of Representatives’ debate on the defense of American shipping against French
depredations and addresses to JA from North Carolina and Vermont.