Papers of John Adams, volume 20

1 To John Adams from Samuel Barrett, 1 June 1789 Barrett, Samuel Adams, John

From Samuel Barrett

Honored & dear Sir, Boston 1 June 1789

On Advice of my very excellent Friend the honbe Mr Bowdoin I inclose you Copies of my Letter to Major General Knox & his Answer, with a rough Draught of a Letter to his Excellency the President of the United States; requesting you to peruse them & to give me your opinion as to the best Mode of Conducting my intended Application, & if you approve of this mode & see any Prospect of Success to let me know what Alterations are necessary to be made in the Letter that I may perfect it & forward it to you to be presented with such Information as you may think proper to give, as I am a perfect Stranger to the President; but I am persuaded that every Purpose of such a Letter will be better accomplished by your Recommendation alone.1

You Sir will be the earliest acquainted with the Arrangements to be made & can instantly form a Judgment what Place may be suitable for me & what Probability there is of my obtaining it— Your advice & Patronage will be of the first Importance to me, as under the Conduct thereof alone I can ever accomplish my Wishes—& for your Goodness I shall ever esteem myself under the highest Obligations—

I can with Pleasure refer to Governor Bowdoin General Lincoln, Mr Gorham Judge Wendell2 Mr Strong, Mr Dalton, Mr Lowell, Mr Ames, General Knox & Mr Gerry Mr Cranch & to several other Gentlemen, for such Testimonials as may be requisite

I am, / Honored & dear Sir / With the highest Respect / Your very huml Sert

Samuel Barrett

PS. What think you of the Clerkship of the Federal Court, itinerant or domestic?3

With the domestic I might perhaps retain the Office of a Justice of the Peace, & recieve the Benefits of it, without Interference—& both would yield me a competent Support.

The clerkship will probably be in the Gift of the Court; but your Recommendation would give me Favor with the Justices of that Court—

RC and enclosures (Adams Papers).

Samuel Barrett (1739–1798), Harvard 1757, of Boston, had served as a judge of the Mass. Court of Common Pleas since May 1787. Barrett enclosed copies of his 11 May 1789 letter to Gen. Henry Knox, the secretary of war; a 24 May recommendation letter from Knox; and a 1 June Dft of his appeal to George Washington (all Adams Papers). JA replied on 11 June, below, prompting Barrett to revise his request. He petitioned the president a week later, soliciting the clerkship of the U.S. Supreme Court and listing JA among his references. Barrett did not earn a federal post. John Tucker was appointed clerk of the Supreme Court on 3 Feb. 1790 ( Sibley’s Harvard Graduates , 14:135, 140–141; 18:520, 522; Worcester Magazine, 17 May 1787; Washington, Papers, Presidential Series , 3:33–35; Doc. Hist. Supreme Court , 1:158, 160).

Oliver Wendell (1733–1818), Harvard 1753, of Boston, was a Suffolk County probate judge from 1780 to 1788 and served alongside Barrett on the Mass. Court of Common Pleas ( Sibley’s Harvard Graduates , 13:367, 371–372, 373).

For the evolution of the Judiciary Act of 1789 and JA’s thoughts on the president’s appointments, see his letter of [10 July 1789] to Francis Dana, and note 2, below.

From John Adams to James Lovell, 4 June 1789 Adams, John Lovell, James

To James Lovell

My dear Friend— New York June 4th 1789—

By the last post I was favoured with yours of the twenty first of May: Mr Duncan I presume has not come on—neither by his letter or your own am I made acquainted with his Views or the Object of his Wishes— I can only say to him as to all others, that his application must be made to the President and it ought to in writing1 Your testimony in his favr will have weight— I thank you Sir for your blessing—your reason for not writing me, is not a good one—for although I have no spare moments Yet if I had any, should not judge them the proper moments to read or to answer Your Letters— I should devote hours of Buisness and of Pleasure to that service— I have no kind of animosity or antipathy to the Gentleman whose name you mention:2 but I know of no merits or pretensions that he has, which can give him hopes of interfering with your Claims to an Employment long possessed hardly earned, and faithfully executed— I find the personal service which my Office renders indispensable somewhat severe— Setting still in the same place, so many hours of every day, and attending to the Course of proceedings in every step, as it is some thing new to me is somewhat injurious to my health: 3 but I hope to get the better of this inconvenience and when habit shall be formed, to find it pleasant; there is in the Senate much more of a National Spirit than you and I have been accustomed to see in Congress and much more apparent Moderation—3 I wish the Motions of both Houses could be accelerated: but in untried Paths so many Obstructions occur, that time and Patience alone can cure them— I wish to know the spirit of the new Govt in Massachusetts: and am not without hopes it will be sufficiently National: I dont say federal for I think that an improper Word—

I am my dear Sir / Yr sincre Friend & servant

John Adams

LbC (Adams Papers); internal address: “Mr Lovell— Boston—”; APM Reel 115.

For Lovell’s letter of 21 May recommending Robert Duncan for a federal post and JA’s subsequent advice, see vol. 19:426–427.

Lovell was engaged in a bitter public rivalry with Gen. Benjamin Lincoln, then lieutenant governor of Massachusetts, to obtain the Boston and Charlestown collectorship that ended in Lovell’s defeat (vol. 19:412).

Throughout the spring and summer of 1789, members of Congress struggled with their primary task of straightening out the economy. They laid down ways to ensure income, establish credit, and address the states’ wartime debt while acting within the Constitution’s scope. Four bills, all passed by early August, formed the core of the revenue plan: the Tariff Act, the Tonnage Act, the Collection Act, and the Coasting Act. The first pair of laws raised money by implementing a 5 percent duty on imports and established credit by upholding foreign treaties. The next two pieces of legislation enforced the revenue system by organizing regional districts, outlining federal record-keeping methods, drafting inspection standards, and constructing lighthouses. In contrast to the weak economic framework of the Articles of Confederation, the new federal legislation provided a viable infrastructure for raising revenue. There was no direct tax levied on individuals, and no excise tax set on domestic liquor. For a more expansive view of the debates, readers should turn to First Fed. Cong. , vols. 1, 2, 3, 10, 11.