Papers of John Adams, volume 20
I ought to have acknowledged the receipt of your favour1 before this but indeed it is not easy to get letters conveyd to you. if by private hands they often miscarry & the publick conveyance I do not much like.— The National assembly have regulated the post only one sou for a sheet of paper by this means intellects are not taxed & the produce not applied to support pride & Luxury but a free communication of sentiments is encouraged & the citizens & their representatives correspond at no expence not fearing to have too much light.2 may America enjoy the same advantages & preserve every means of communication of knowledge free & open & the Tyrants plea necessity never prevail with them to tax or licence any instrument or means of knowledge; paper pens wax ink or Types & it is the more incumbent on them when they recollect what they owe, to publick schools & Universal reading, emancipation from Tyranny.
your favor came by Captain Bernard who conveyed three Boxes of
Books to Boston tho I have never heard from President Willard of the receipt.3 therefore imagine his letter has
miscarried which should be sorry for as it delays other matters intended for Boston.
The Martyr of humanity we have lost in the plains of Chersome Howard! I sent his Books
of Lazzarettos. & the D of Tuscanys code of criminal
Law to induce some state in America to execute one or more of those plans which having
been considerd half the trouble & expence of an ignorant builder is avoided.4 & this to be done before any publick
calamity of that kind affects them to which from the shameful permitted depredations
of the Africans Pyrates & from your extended coast you are most liable to.
what a Supernatural event has taken place in Europe? your manly exertions, resistance to Despotism & glorious insurrection have occasioned & brought into execution this glorious emancipation of the world, for I cannot limit or contract its bounds, as it is now spreading through all quarters of the globe— we hear & have hopes of mexico but all intelligence is prevented as much as possible from Spain regarding that quarter— we expect confirmation from the west or Jamaica. Truth is abroad & cannot now be long concealed.
could imagination have conceived such a regeneration The hand of providence seems to direct the whole but a few months since & the French nation had no Idea that the welfare & happiness of 30 297 millions of people were of more consequence & importance in the scale of beings than the Pride & Luxury of one man & that man a Tyrant but thanks to heaven this truth is now universally acknowledged & maintained by every Frenchman & from equal representation results equal Laws, civil & religious liberty & where each directs the Sword he wears an equal participation of the blessings of life evincing the unbounded goodness of the author of nature leading the generations of men to scenes of perpetual improvement & of endless being. The assembly have laid open the India company &c but all their glorious acts must be known to you—but the subject runs away with me & I am lost in expectation of the immense good which will follow.5
we have been engaged in endeavouring to repeal the test laws but the church has taken the Alarm & the minister rejoicing has joined the clergy & we have been defeated however the subject never was so well discussed or understood6 & will come with more force sometime hence—but the church does not know its own interest— every day the Aristocratical spirit shows its self & instead of profiting by the French government we are to be more strict & not relinquish or alter any the smallest matter least innovation should ensue from which we & you owe every thing.
I have inclosed some tracts of the times which will inform you of what is going forward here. Foxs speech was excellent—but the question became a matter of party & treated accordingly.7
my best respects to Mrs Adams whom I
remember with affection & should be gratified with a line from her— I have
inscribed one Pamphlet for her as I know her principles.8 Farewell & remember him who esteems you
sincerely & is yours.
I must think the French always had the end in view resentment & rage has had but a small part in their revolution for upon the most candid account [not] 400 persons have lost their lives & some of them notorious aggressors & others by accident the revence was against the enormous oppression of the feudal tenures—& how small a loss to the general good acquired & which will last having knowledge & truth for its basis.
The English will be the last to reform! the French refugees are acting the same part, but more diligent that the Americans did during the contest.
RC (Adams Papers); endorsed: “Mr T. B Hollis. 29
March / ansd. 11 June 1790.”
Of 28 Oct. 1789, above.
To amplify the spread of revolutionary ideas, the French National
Assembly regulated the postal system in 1790 by lowering the cost of receiving mail
and by decreeing that all correspondence was confidential (Martyn Lyons, Reading Culture and Writing Practices in Nineteenth-Century
France, Toronto, 2008, p. 172–173).
For the books that Hollis sent to Joseph Willard for the Harvard
College library, see Hollis’ letter
of 6 June 1789, and note 7, above. JA and Hollis often sent
letters via Capt. Tristram Barnard of the Mary (
AFC
, 9:323).
British prison reformer John Howard died on 20 Jan. 1790 in
Kherson, Ukraine (vol. 18:95;
DNB
).
Just a few days after Hollis wrote this letter, the National
Assembly abolished the French East India Company’s long monopoly in favor of free
trade (Morris, Papers
, 9:339).
Here, Hollis wrote “understood or discussed,” then numbered the words to identify his intended order.
Between March 1787 and March 1790, the British Parliament debated
three motions to repeal the Test and Corporation Acts, in an effort to broaden civil
liberties to dissenters. Whig statesman Charles James Fox led the third attempt, which
was defeated owing to opposition from William Pitt and Edmund Burke. Hollis likely
enclosed a copy of the two speeches that Fox gave on 2 March to the House of Commons,
which were widely praised despite the motion’s loss (G. M. Ditchfield, “The
Parliamentary Struggle over the Repeal of the Test and Corporation Acts, 1787–1790,”
English Historical Review, 89:551, 561, 567–569 [July
1974]).
The pamphlet has not been identified, but AA replied
to Hollis on 6 Sept., describing Richmond Hill and sharing family news. She summed up
the political scene, observing: “That peace is in our borders, and plenty in our
dwellings; and we earnestly pray that the kindling flames of war, which appear to be
bursting out in Europe, may by no means be extended to this rising nation” (
AFC
, 9:99–101).
th.1790.
You may easily conceive how much I was pleased, & flattered
by your very friendly & confidential letter of the 6th
instant.1
At the beginning of the war, he who could advance principles the most agreable to popular pride, & the most destructive to all energetic government, was the best Whig & the greatest Patriot. Many of these, who rose into high rank at that time, were not superior as Politicians to the Levellers & King Jesus-men in the times of Cromwell.2 As we have improved in the science of Government, they have lost their popularity. You have named several of them in your letter, not one of whom has escaped the lash of our political Satirists, & lost his influence with the intelligent part of the community by adherence to his original principles of Democracy.
I agree that the strongest Envy
against You lies in the Breasts of the two Men You mentioned, who could not bear your
elevation above them— Each of them probably flattered his own vanity with an
expectation of the Rank of V. P.—Hancock particularly, after his grand manoeuvre of
limping forth,
to propose nonsensical amendments to the Convention of Massachusetts, supposed himself almost sure of the appointment—not knowing that the whole affair was planned & conducted as a political measure by men of more discernment than himself. These two Gentlemen have undoubtedly exerted all their influence to render You unpopular, & to some of their dependants, I am told You are indebted for an attack in metre, intended for a Satire, published some time since at the Southward— But their influence is so diminished, that they have been wholly unsuccessful in the New England States, beyond the circle of their immediate connections—
The real opposition is more to your principles, than your
Person—& this prevails most in the Southern States. The People in the Southern
States are half an age behind us in the knowlege of Policy & the true principles
of Government— Aristocratical in their habits & feelings, they are absurdly
advocates for a pure Democracy— They must certainly in time become more enlightened,
and I hope, especially that the Antient Dominion may
improve as She grows older.
The clamour about your Birth, as it has no foundation, has never made any impression in New England—but You are a Witness how frequently it has been echoed in the Southern Papers.
I believe You may thank New England for the penurious grant of
your Salary— But I have no reason to believe that any personal insult was intended—
High Salaries are always a subject of popular clamour in New England— The Votes of our
Senators & Delegates on that question were calculated on motives of Self interest,
to preserve their own popularity— And after all, the uneasiness on account of the high Salaries & wages granted at the last session was
very general among us, & the clamour exceedingly loud, till it was quashed at once
by the President’s Tour thro’ New England, & absorbed in the bombastic enthusiasm
of our public addresses.
I doubt with You, whether any Man but Washington could at present support the Constitution— But were he dead, I am sure none who has been thought of as your Rival, could support it while You were living & neglected. Jefferson is little known at the Northward, & it would be impossible to persuade our Great Men in New England that he is greater or wiser than themselves. We have an high opinion of Maddison’s abilities, tho’ it has lately been lessened by his advocating an impossible scheme of discrimation among the public Creditors—4 To suppose he did not perceive this impossibility would detract from our esteem of his talents— If he did perceive it, we can only ascribe his conduct to the desire of increasing his popularity in 300 his own State, or to motives of envy against the Secretary— But we have never thought of him for V. P.—
Mr. Jay is the only Man, who
possesses in any considerable degree the general confidence of the Northern States, or
is talked of among us as qualified for that Office— But no Party could be formed
against You in his favour among us.
There is no uneasiness to the danger or even to the unpopularity of the Government from your continuance in Office, but there would arise the greatest confusion from your resignation, which for that reason, I am sure You cannot seriously think of.
th.1790
Thus far I had written when I had the honour to receive Yours
of the 2d instant—and having been obliged to attend a
fortnight’s session of our Court, & severely handled at the same time by a
second turn of the Influenza, which is now universal in Hartford, I have had no
leisure for an earlier answer.5
My Mother was Grandaughter to the Revd. Solomon Stoddard of Northhampton, Brother to the Col. Stoddard You
mention. That family seem not to have preserved their former importance; nor to
equal in present respectability my Paternal connections, who first rose to public
consequence within about forty Years.
I believe there was some inaccuracy in the expressions I used
relative to the affair of the Treaty of Peace. You ask me if I know the History of
that negociation— I can only inform You how it has been stated by Report—That the
negociations were ready to be opened before your arrival at Paris from the
Hague—That the French Court were opposed to every measure, which could tend to the
strength, or aggrandizement of the States, & wished to hold us dependent on
themselves—That Franklyn was disposed to give way to their demands—& that Mr. Jay was under the greatest embarassment—That on your
arrival the scene changed—That You ventured on a separate negociation with the
English Ambassador, & procured Terms, which the French Court were obliged to
ratify much against their wills—That the whole merit of this negociation must be
ascribed to Yourself & Mr. Jay—That notwithstanding
your success some Members in Congress clamoured, that You had gone beyond, or
contrary to, your Instructions, taken too bold a step, risqued the displeasure of
the French Court &c.—
I fancy by your hints the general outlines of this story are not far out of the way— I hope You will complete the history of your foreign 301 negotiations, which must throw the greatest light on the Account of the American Revolution.
The King of Prussia, by your extract, seems perfectly acquainted with the character of French Politics—& perhaps of the Politics of all Courts, who have any—
The Ballance, as adjusted by Congress, between the Legislative & Executive Powers cannot be given up without eventual ruin to the Government. Without the power of Removal, the President is in fact a Cypher— Washington perhaps during his Day might support himself by his personal influence— But a future President must preserve his importance, only by courting the Legislature, & caballing in the Senate or house of Representatives.
As to the advantages to be derived from some appearance of
Splendor in the American Court, it is undoubtedly true, that a Medium must be
observed— A parsimonious economy, & democratic plainness is as much to be
avoided, as the affectation of pageantry & magnificence. Perhaps we have begun
rather below the true medium; but should the Government be supported for a few
years, & increase in credit & resources, a sufficient degree of pomp &
splendor would naturally be introduced. I conceive there is little danger on this
point, & would only observe that it is often better policy to reduce things
silently & gradually to their proper situation, especially when they tend
towards it by their natural bias, than to give any alarm to the prejudices of
mankind by telling them openly what measures may be eventually necessary. To give an
instance by way of explanation— Had your real Sentiments, principles & designs
relative to the contest with Great Britain in the year 1774, been known throughout
America, they would at that period have occasioned an universal alarm. When I
returned to Connecticut in that year, it might have been naturally expected, that I
should endeavour to show my own consequence by retailing the doctrines &
opinions, I had learned in your political school. But I perceived at once that the
world were not ripe for the subject, & I durst not lisp a syllable about War or Independence, though
I knew You had not the least expectation of a favorable issue of the Contest on any
other terms. When questioned a thousand times on the subject, I was obliged to
return evasive answers, & make my acquaintance believe that the Patriots in
Boston had entire faith & credit in the efficacy of Petitions &
Non-importation agreements.
That Mankind are easily imposed on by show & appearance is undoubtedly true, & it may be necessary to government to take 302 advantage of that weakness—but it may not be politic to tell the People that they ought to be imposed upon, & that we assume that appearance for the purpose of Imposition. A Conjurer or Juggler must not explain how he performs his tricks—& to his art, the science of politics is often too nearly allied.
The Remarks of Rousseau undoubtedly have force—but would not an Advocate for Democracy observe that by his own stating, his language of signs, & his splendor of robes &c have been employed in all ages as the supports of despotism, & that he is peculiarly unfortunate in his modern examples of the Pope & the Doge of Venice—6
I can witness from my own knowlege of the history of your life,
that You have not done yourself more than Justice in the account of your exertions,
services & sufferings in the public cause— Nor do I believe those services so
much forgotten or disregarded as You seem to suppose— That no strong enthusiasm has
prevailed in your favor is easily accounted for— An able Negotiator may do
infinitely more service to his country, than a General, who fights one successful
battle—but he will not be equally the object of the enthusiasm of momentary praise—
To raise the enthusiasm of the People, our services must not only be useful, but
brilliant—nay ’tis sufficient if they are brilliant, whether importantly useful or
not. As a Writer, You never flattered the passions, or adopted the false opinions of
the multitude, but have exerted your pen to oppose both. Such a writer as Payne,
scribbling to the passions & feelings of the moment, will for that moment be
much more applauded, but must content himself with a temporary & decaying
reputation— His Common Sense cannot now be read without
contempt & disgust.
He who serves the public honestly & faithfully must often serve them against their wills— He must often oppose them, because they will often be wrong—and he must expect the attacks of Envy & at times a general combination to depreciate his merit— From this Washington has not been exempt— A Party both in Congress & the Army at one period almost succeeded in an attempt to deprive him of his Commission, on the pretence of his deficiency in military skill. In the choice of V.P. You had certainly no rival— All that could be done by your enemies was to deprive you of a number of votes. Many of your Friends were duped on that occasion— I will inform You how it was managed in Connecticut. On the day before the Election, Col. Webb7 came on express to Hartford, sent as he said by Col. Hamilton &c, who he assured us had made an exact calculation on the subject, & found that New Jersey were to throw away three Votes, 303 I think, and Connecticut two, & all would be well— I exclaimed against the measure, and insisted that it was all a deception, but what could my single opinion avail against an express, armed with intelligence & calculations— So our Electors threw away two votes, where they were sure they would do no harm.
By the way is our Secretary H. a great Politician, or only a theoretical genius— He has great abilities besure— But I doubt his knowlege of mankind— I have never spoken my sentiments on his report—but I really fear some parts of his plan are too complicated—& perhaps at this period impolitic as well as impracticable—
I am exceedingly anxious for the present situation of the Public— Many things are indeed wrong—and I believe we must suffer many more evils, before our eyes will be opened to apply the proper remedy— Yet if matters should not be precipitated, all will at last come right. This is no time to desert the public— Your exertions were never more wanted. I shall be happy in knowing your opinions on the subjects You mention. I never had any other Master in Politics but Yourself, & am too old to begin in a new school.
I have the honor to be with the greatest Respect / Your most
Obedt. Servt.
RC (Adams Papers); internal address: “The Vice President.”; endorsed: “Mr Trumbul. Ansd. Ap. 25. /
1790.”
An inadvertence. Here and below, Trumbull was replying to JA’s letter of 12 March, above.
As prominent participants in the English Civil War, the Levellers
constituted a political movement that advocated popular sovereignty, greater suffrage,
and religious toleration. At first they backed Oliver Cromwell’s rise, but they broke
with him over questions of parliamentary power. The “King Jesus-Men” were the Fifth
Monarchists, a millenarian sect that flourished in the 1650s and based its doctrine on
overthrowing all regimes in preparation for the return of Jesus Christ (
Cambridge
Modern Hist.
, 4:345; Bernard S. Capp, The Fifth
Monarchy Men: A Study in Seventeenth-Century English Millenarianism, London,
1972, p. 207–208).
Trumbull slightly misquoted Shakespeare, Hamlet, Act 1, scene v, lines 78–79.
For James Madison’s opposition to Alexander Hamilton’s economic plan, see Stephen Higginson’s letter of 1 March 1790, and note 2, above.
Influenza struck the northeastern states between the fall of 1789
and the spring of 1790 (
AFC
, 9:55).
Trumbull referred to Jean Jacques Rousseau, Émile; ou, De l’éducation, Book IV, Amsterdam, 1762.
New York City merchant Samuel Blachley Webb (1753–1807), of
Wethersfield, Conn., served as an aide-de-camp to George Washington during the
Revolutionary War (Washington, Papers, Presidential Series
, 3:276).