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Topic: The American Revolution and Constitution

THE UNION. 1 - James Madison, The Writings, vol. 6 (1790-1802) [1906]

Edition used:

The Writings of James Madison, comprising his Public Papers and his Private Correspondence, including his numerous letters and documents now for the first time printed, ed. Gaillard Hunt (New York: G.P. Putnam’s Sons, 1900). Vol. 6.

Part of: The Writings of James Madison, 9 vols.

About Liberty Fund:

Liberty Fund, Inc. is a private, educational foundation established to encourage the study of the ideal of a society of free and responsible individuals.


THE UNION.1

Who are its real Friends?

Not those who charge others with not being its friends, whilst their own conduct is wantonly multiplying its enemies.

Not those who favor measures, which by pampering the spirit of speculation within and without the government, disgust the best friends of the Union.

Not those who promote unnecessary accumulations of the debt of the Union, instead of the best means of discharging it as fast as possible; thereby encreasing the causes of corruption in the government, and the pretexts for new taxes under its authority, the former undermining the confidence, the latter alienating the affection of the people.

Not those who study, by arbitrary interpretations and insidious precedents, to pervert the limited government of the Union, into a government of unlimited discretion, contrary to the will and subversive of the authority of the people.

Not those who avow or betray principles of monarchy and aristocracy, in opposition to the republican principles of the Union, and the republican spirit of the people; or who espouse a system of measures more accommodated to the depraved examples of those hereditary forms, than to the true genius of our own.

Not those, in a word, who would force on the people the melancholy duty of chusing between the loss of the Union, and the loss of what the union was meant to secure.

The real Friends to the Union are those,

Who are friends to the authority of the people, the sole foundation on which the Union rests.

Who are friends to liberty, the great end, for which the Union was formed.

Who are friends to the limited and republican system of government, the means provided by that authority, for the attaining of that end.

Who are enemies to every public measure that might smooth the way to hereditary government, for resisting the tyrannies of which the Union was first planned, and for more effectually excluding which, it was put into its present form.

Who considering a public debt as injurious to the interests of the people, and baneful to the virtue of the government, are enemies to every contrivance for unnecessarily increasing its amount, or protracting its duration, or extending its influence.

In a word, those are the real friends to the Union, who are friends to that republican policy throughout, which is the only cement for the Union of a republican people; in opposition to a spirit of usurpation and monarchy, which is the menstruum most capable of dissolving it.1

[1 ]From The National Gazette, April 2, 1792

[1 ]

TO JAMES MADISON.

Apl 17th 1792.

Hond Sir

Col. Wadsworth2 of Connecticut wishes to procure a Barrel or half Barrel of the best Peach Brandy, & I have undertaken to use my efforts for the purpose. If it can be got at all it is probably in our neighbourhood. I recollect particularly that Col. Geo. Taylor had some that we thought good & which is perhapsto be obtained. If that or any better can be had I shall be glad that one of my brothers would take the trouble of engaging it & having it forwarded. The older the better provided the quality be excellent. If age be wanting, the quality should be such as will be made excellent by age. To secure it against fraud, it is desired that the cask be cased with an outer one; the cask itself to be of wood that will give it no ill taste. The price will not be considered so much as the character of the spirits, it being for the use of the gentleman himself—If no brandy be on hand that will do, perhaps the ensuing fall if the peaches be not destroyed, may supply the defect. In that case it might be well to speak in time to some person & have a barrel distilled with special care for the purpose. The brandy is to be shipped from Fredericksburg addressed to Watson & Greenleaf at New York—for Col. Wadsworth Mr Maury or Mr. Glassell will forward it if sent to either of them. I have nothing to add to the papers enclosed having written a few days ago, & being now in haste.

Yr affec son.—Mad. MSS.

SUBSTANCE OF A CONVERSATION WITH THE PRESIDENT, 5TH MAY, 1792.



In consequence of a note this morning from the President, requesting me to call on him I did so; when he opened the conversation by observing, that having some time ago communicated to me his intention of retiring from public life on the expiration of his four years, he wished to advise with me on the mode and time most proper for making known that intention. He had he said spoken with no one yet on those particular points, and took this opportunity of mentioning them to me, that I might consider the matter, and give him my opinion, before the adjournment of Congress, or my departure from Philadelphia. He had he said forborne to communicate his intentions to any other persons whatever, but Mr. Jefferson, Col. Hamilton, General Knox, and myself, and of late to Mr. Randolph. Col. Hamilton and Genl. Knox he observed were extremely importunate that he should relinquish his purpose, and had made pressing representations to induce him to it Mr. Jefferson had expressed his wishes to the like effect. He had not however persuaded himself that his continuance in Public life could be of so much necessity or importance as was conceived, and his disinclination to it was becoming every day more & more fixed, so that he wished to make up his mind as soon as possible on the points he had mentioned. What he desired was to prefer that mode which would be most remote from the appearance of arrogantly presuming on his re-election in case he should not withdraw himself, and such a time as would be most convenient to the Public in making the choice of his successor. It had he said at first occurred to him, that the commencement of the ensuing Session of Congress would furnish him with an apt occasion for introducing the intimation, but besides the lateness of the day, he was apprehensive that it might possibly produce some notice in the reply of Congress that might entangle him in farther explanations.I replied that I would revolve the subject as he desired and communicate the result before my leaving Philada but that I could not but yet hope there would be no necessity at this time for his decision on the two points he had stated. I told him that when he did me the honor to mention the resolution he had taken, I had forborne to do more than briefly express my apprehensions that it would give a surprize and shock to the public mind, being restrained from enlarging on the subject by an unwillingness to express sentiments sufficiently known to him; or to urge objections to a determination, which if absolute, it might look like affectation to oppose; that the aspect which things had been latterly assuming, seemed however to impose the task on all who had the opportunity of urging a continuance of his public services; and that under such an impression I held it a duty, not indeed to express my wishes which would be superfluous, but to offer my opinion that his retiring at the present juncture might have effects that ought not to be hazarded; that I was not unaware of the urgency of his inclination; or of the peculiar motives he might feel to withdraw himself from a situation into which it was so well known to myself he had entered with a scrupulous reluctance; that I well recollected the embarrassments under which his mind labored in deciding the question on which he had consulted me, whether it could be his duty to accept his present station after having taken a final leave of public life; and that it was particularly in my recollection that I then entertained & intimated a wish that his acceptance, which appeared to be indispensable, might be known hereafter to have been in no degree the effect of any motive which strangers to his character might suppose, but of the severe sacrifice which his friends knew, he made of his inclinations as a man, to his obligations as a citizen; that I owned I had at that time contemplated, & I believed, suggested as the most unequivocal tho’ not the only proof of his real motive, a voluntary return to private life as soon as the state of the Government would permit, trusting that if any premature casualty should unhappily cut off the possibility of this proof, the evidence known to his friends would in some way or other be saved from oblivion and do justice to his character; that I was not less anxious on the same point now than I was then; and if I did not conceive that reasons of a like kind to those which required him to undertake still required him to retain for some time longer, his present station, or did not presume that the purity of his motives would be sufficiently vindicated, I should be the last of his friends to press, or even to wish, such a determination.

He then entered on a more explicit disclosure of the state of his mind; observing that he could not believe or conceive himself any wise necessary to the successful administration of the Government; that, on the contrary he had from the beginning found himself deficient in many of the essential qualifications, owing to his inexperience in the forms of public business, his unfitness to judge of legal questions, and questions arising out of the Constitution; that others more conversant in such matters would be better able to execute the trust; that he found himself also in the decline of life, his health becoming sensibly more infirm, & perhaps his faculties also; that the fatigues & disagreeableness of his situation were in fact scarcely tolerable to him; that he only uttered his real sentiments when he declared that his inclination would lead him rather to go to his farm, take his spade in his hand, and work for his bread, than remain in his present situation; that it was evident moreover that a spirit of party in the Government was becoming a fresh source of difficulty, and he was afraid was dividing some (alluding to the Secretary of State and Secy of the Treasury) more particularly connected with him in the administration; that there were discontents among the people which were also shewing themselves more & more, & that altho’ the various attacks against public men & measures had not in general been pointed at him, yet in some instances it had been visible that he was the indirect object, and it was probable the evidence would grow stronger and stronger that his return to private life was consistent with every public consideration, and, consequently that he was justified in giving way to his inclination for it.

I was led by this explanation to remark to him, that however novel or difficult the business might have been to him, it could not be doubted that with the aid of the official opinions & informations within his command his judgment must have been as competent in all cases, as that of any one who could have been put in his place, and in many cases certainly more so; that in the great point of conciliating and uniting all parties under a Govt which had excited such violent controversies & divisions, it was well known that his services had been in a manner essential; that with respect to the spirit of party that was taking place under the operations of the Govt. I was sensible of its existence but considered that as an argument for his remaining, rather than retiring, until the public opinion, the character of the Govt., and the course of its administration shd be better decided, which could not fail to happen in a short time, especially under his auspices; that the existing parties did not appear to be so formidable to the Govt as some had represented; that in one party there might be a few who retaining their original disaffection to the Govt might still wish to destroy it, but that they would lose their weight with their associates, by betraying any such hostile purposes; that altho’ it was pretty certain that the other were in general unfriendly to republican Govt and probably aimed at a gradual approximation of ours to a mixed monarchy, yet the public sentiment was so strongly opposed to their views, and so rapidly manifesting itself, that the party could not long be expected to retain a dangerous influence; that it might reasonably be hoped therefore that the conciliating influence of a temperate & wise administration would before another term of four years should run out, give such a tone & firmness to the Government as would secure it against danger from either of these descriptions of enemies; that altho’ I would not allow myself to believe but that the Govt would be safely administered by any successor elected by the people, yet it was not to be denied that in the present unsettled condition of our young Government, it was to be feared that no successor would answer all the purposes to be expected from the continuance of the present chief magistrate, that the option evidently lay between a few characters; Mr. Adams, Mr. Jay, & Mr. Jefferson were most likely to be brought into view; that with respect to Mr. Jefferson his extreme repugnance to public life & anxiety to exchange it for his farm & his philosophy made it doubtful with his friends whether it would be possible to obtain his own consent, and if obtained, whether local prejudices in the Northern States, with the views of Pennsylvania in relation to the seat of Govt, would not be a bar to his appointment. With respect to Mr. Adams, his monarchical principles, which he had not concealed, with his late conduct on the representation bill, had produced such a settled dislike among republicans every where, & particularly in the Southern States, that he seemed to be out of the question. It would not be in the power of those who might be friendly to his private character & willing to trust him in a public one, notwithstanding his political principles to make head against the torrent. With respect to Mr. Jay his election would be extremely dissatisfactory on several accounts. By many he was believed to entertain the same obnoxious principles with Mr. Adams, & at the same time would be less open and therefore more successful in propagating them. By others (a pretty numerous class) he was disliked & distrusted, as being thought to have espoused the claims of British Creditors at the expence of the reasonable pretensions of his fellow Citizens in debt to them. Among the Western people, to whom his negotiations for ceding the Mississippi to Spain were generally known, he was considered as their most dangerous enemy & held in peculiar distrust & disesteem. In this state of our prospects which was rendered more striking by a variety of temporary circumstances, I could not forbear thinking that altho’ his retirement might not be fatal to the public good, yet a postponement of it was another sacrifice exacted by his patriotism.

Without appearing to be any wise satisfied with what I had urged he turned the conversation to other subjects; & when I was withdrawing repeated his request that I would think of the points he had mentioned to me, & let him have my ideas on them before the adjournment. I told him I would do so, but still hoped his decision on the main question would supersede for the present all such incidental questions.

Wednesday Evening, May 9, 1792.

Understanding that the President was to set out the ensuing morning for Mount Vernon, I called on him to let him know that as far as I had formed an opinion on the subject he had mentioned to me, it was in favor of a direct address of notification to the public in time for its proper effect on the election, which I thought might be put into such a form as would avoid every appearance of presumption or indelicacy, and seemed to be absolutely required by his situation. I observed that no other mode deserving consideration had occurred, except the one he had thought of & rejected, which seemed to me liable to the objections that had weighed with him. I added that if on farther reflection I shd. view the subject in any new lights, I would make it the subject of a letter tho’ I retained my hopes that it would not yet be necessary for him to come to any opinion on it. He begged that I would do so, and also suggest any matters that might occur as proper to be included in what he might say to Congress at the opening of their next Session; passing over the idea of his relinquishing his purpose of retiring in a manner that did not indicate the slightest assent to it.

Friday, May 25, 1792.

I met the President on the road returning from Mount Vernon to Philada, when he handed me the letter dated at the latter place on the 20th of May,1 the copy of the answer to which on the 21st of June is annexed.—Mad. MSS.

COPY OF A LETTER TO PRESIDENT WASHINGTON.

Orange June 21, 1792.

Dear Sir

Having been left to myself for some days past, I have made use of the opportunity for bestowing on your letter of the 20th Ult, handed to me on the road, the attention which its important contents claimed. The questions which it presents for consideration are—1. at what time a notification of your purpose to retire will be most convenient? 2. what mode will be most eligible? 3. whether a valedictory address will be requisite or advisable? 4. if either, whether it would be more properly annexed to the notification or postponed to your actual retirement.

1. The answer to the first question involves two points: first the expediency of delaying the notification; secondly the propriety of making it before the choice of electors takes place, that the people may make the choice with an eye to the circumstances under which the trust is to be executed. On the first point, the reasons for as much delay as possible are too obvious to need recital. The second, depending on the times fixed in the several States which must be within 34 days preceding the first wednesday in December, requires that the notification should be in time to pervade every part of the Union, by the beginning of November. Allowing six weeks for this purpose, the middle of September, or perhaps a little earlier would seem a convenient date for the act.

2. With regard to the mode, none better occurs than a simple publication in the newspapers. If it were proper to address it through the medium of the general Legislature, there will be no opportunity. Nor does the change of situation seem to admit a recurrence to the State Govts, which were the channels used for the former valedictory address. A direct address to the people who are your only constituents can be made I think with most propriety, thro’ the independent channel of the press, thro’ which they are as a constituent Body usually addressed.

3. On the third question I think there can be no doubt that such an address is rendered proper in itself by the peculiarity & importance of the circumstances which mark your situation; and advisable by the salutary & operative lessons of which it may be made the vehicle. The precedent at your military exit might also subject an omission now to conjectures & interpretations which it would not be well to leave room for.

4. The remaining question is less easily decided. Advantages & objections lie on both sides of the alternative. The occasion on which you are necessarily addressing the people evidently introduces, most easily & most delicately, any voluntary observations that are meditated. In another view a farewell address before the final moment of departure is liable to the appearance of being premature & awkward. On the opposite side of the alternative however a postponement will beget a dryness & an abridgement in the first address little corresponding with the feelings which the occasion would naturally produce both in the author & the objects of it; and tho’ not liable to the above objection, would require a resumption of the subject apparently more forced, and on which the impressions having been anticipated & familiarized, and the public mind diverted perhaps to other scenes, a second address would be received with less sensibility & effect than if incorporated with the impressions incident to the original one. It is possible too that previous to the close of the term, circumstances might intervene in relation to public affairs, or the succession to the Presidency which would be more embarrassing, if existing at the time of a valedictory appeal to the public, than if unknown at the time of that delicate measure.

On the whole my judgment leans to the propriety of blending the acts together; and the more so as the crisis which will terminate your public career will still afford an opportunity, if any immediate contingency shd call for a supplement to your farewell observations. But as more correct views of the subject, may produce a different result in your mind, I have endeavored to fit the draught inclosed to either determination. You will readily observe that in executing it, I have arrived at that plainness & modesty of language which you had in view, & which indeed are so peculiarly becoming the character & the occasion; & that I have had, little more to do as to the matter than to follow the very just & comprehensive outline which you had sketched. I flatter myself, however, that in every thing which has depended on me, much improvement will be made before so interesting a paper shall have taken its last form.

Having thus, Sir, complied with your wishes, by proceeding on a supposition that the idea of retiring from public life is to be carried into execution, I must now gratify my own by hoping that a reconsideration of the measure, in all its circumstances and consequences will have produced an acquiescence in one more sacrifice, severe as it may be, to the desires & interests of your country. I forbear to enter into the arguments which plead for it, in my mind, because it would be only repeating what I have already taken the liberty of fully explaining. But I could not conclude such a letter as the present without a repetition of my ardent wishes & hopes that our country may not at this important conjuncture be deprived of the inestimable advantage of having you at the head of its Counsels.

J. M. Jr

[Draught enclosed in the above.]



The period which will close the appointment with which my fellow-citizens have honored me, being not very distant, and the time actually arrived at which their thoughts must be designating the Citizen who is to administer the Executive Government of the U. S. during the ensuing term, it may be requisite to a more distinct expression of the public voice that I should apprize such of my fellow Citizens as may retain their partiality towards me, that I am not to be numbered among those out of whom a choice is to be made.I beg them to be assured that the resolution which dictates this intimation has not been taken without the strictest regard to the relation which as a dutiful citizen I bear to my country; and that in withdrawing that tender of my service which silence in my situation might imply, I am not influenced by the smallest deficiency of zeal for its future interests, or of grateful respect for its past kindness; but by the fullest persuasion, that such a step is compatible with both.The impressions under which I entered on the present arduous trust were explained on the proper occasion. In discharge of this trust, I can only say, that I have contributed towards the organization & administration of the Government the best exertions of which a very fallible judgment was capable. For any errors which may have flowed from this source, I feel all the regret which an anxiety for the public good can excite; not without the double consolation however arising from a consciousness of their being involuntary, and an experience of the candor which will interpret them. If there were any circumstances which could give value to my inferior qualifications for the trust, these circumstances must have been temporary. In this light was the undertaking viewed when I ventured upon it. Being moreover still farther advanced into the decline of life, I am every day more sensible that the increasing weight of years, renders the private walks of it in the shade of retirement as necessary as they will be acceptable to me. May I be allowed to add, that it will be among the highest as well as the purest enjoyments that can sweeten the remnant of my days, to partake in a private station in the midst of my fellow Citizens, of that benign influence of good laws under a free Government which has been the ultimate object of all our wishes, and in which I confide as the happy reward of our cares & labors. May I be allowed further to add as a consideration far more important, that an early example of rotation in an office of so high & delicate a nature may equally accord with the republican spirit of our constitution & the ideas of liberty & safety entertained by the people.

(If a farewell address is to be added at the expiration of the term, the following paragraph may conclude the present:)

Under these circumstances, a return to my private station according to the purpose with which I quitted it, is the part wch. duty as well as inclination assigns me. In executing it I shall carry with me every tender recollection which gratitude to my fellow Citizens can awaken; and a sensibility to the permanent happiness of my country that will render it the object of my unceasing vows and most fervent supplications.

(Should no further address be intended, the preceding clause may be omitted, & the present address proceed as follows:)

In contemplating the moment at which the curtain is to drop forever on the public scenes of my life, my sensations anticipate & do not permit me to suspend, the deep acknowledgments required by that debt of gratitude which I owe to my beloved country for the many honors it has conferred on me, for the distinguished confidence it has reposed in me, and for the opportunities I have thus enjoyed of testifying my inviolable attachment by the most stedfast services which my faculties could render. All the returns I have now to make will be in those vows which I shall carry with me to my retirement & to my grave, that Heaven may continue to favor the people of the U. S. with the choicest tokens of its beneficence; that their union & brotherly affection may be perpetual; that the free constitution, which is the work of their own hands, may be sacredly maintained; that its administration in every Department may be stamped with wisdom & with virtue, & that this character may be ensured to it by that watchfulness over public servants & public measures which on one hand will be necessary to prevent or correct a degeneracy, and that forbearance on the other, from unfounded or indiscriminate jealousies which would deprive the public of the best services by depriving a conscious integrity of one of the noblest incitements to perform them; that, in fine, the happiness of the people of America under the auspices of liberty may be made compleat, by so careful a preservation & so prudent a use of this blessing as will acquire them the glorious satisfaction of recommending it to the affection, the praise, & the adoption of every nation which is yet a stranger to it.

And may we not dwell with well-grounded hopes on this flattering prospect, when we reflect on the many ties by which the people of America are bound together, & the many proofs they have given of an enlightened judgment and a magnanimous patriotism.

We may all be considered as the children of one common country. We have all been embarked in one common cause. We have all had our share in common sufferings & common successes. The portion of the earth allotted for the Theatre of our fortunes fulfils our most sanguine desires. All its essential interests are the same; whilst the diversities arising from climate, from soil, & from other local & lesser peculiarities, will naturally form a mutual relation of the parts that must give to the whole a more entire independence, than has perhaps fallen to the lot of any other nation.

To confirm these motives to an affectionate & permanent Union & to secure the great objects of it, we have established a common Government, which being free in its principles, being founded in our own choice, being intended as the guardian of our common rights & the patron of our common interests, & wisely containing within itself a provision for its own amendment as experience may point out its errors, seems to promise everything that can be expected from such an institution; and if supported by wise counsels, by virtuous conduct, & by mutual & friendly allowances, must approach as near to perfection as any human work can aspire, & nearer than any which the annals of mankind have recorded.

With these wishes & hopes I shall make my exit from civil life, and I have taken the same liberty of expressing them which I formerly used in offering the sentiments which were suggested by my exit from military life. If, in either instance I have presumed more than I ought on the indulgence of my fellow citizens, they will be too generous to ascribe it to any other cause, than the extreme solicitude which I am bound to feel, & which I can never cease to feel, for their liberty their prosperity & their happiness1 —Mad. MSS.

TO EDMUND RANDOLPH.

Orange Septr 13, 1792.

My dear friend

Your favor of the 12 Ult having arrived during an excursion into Albemarle, I did not receive it till my return on yesterday. I lose not a moment in thanking you for it, particularly for the very friendly paragraph in the publication in Fenno’s paper. As I do not get his paper here, it was by accident I first saw this extraordinary manouvre of calumny, the quarter, the motive, and the object of which speak of themselves. As it respects Mr. Jefferson I have no doubt that it will be of service both to him & the public, if it should lead to such an investigation of his political opinions and character as may be expected. With respect to myself the consequence in a public view, is of little account. In any view, there could not have been a charge founded on a grosser perversion of facts, & consequently against which I could feel myself more invulnerable.

That I wished & recommended Mr. Freneau to be appd. to his present Clerkship is certain. But the Department of State was not the only, nor as I recollect the first one to which I mentioned his name & character. I was governed in these recommendations by an acquaintance of long standing, by a respect for his talents, & by a knowledge of his merit & sufferings in the course of the revolution. Had I been less abstemious in my practice from solicitations in behalf of my friends, I should probably have been more early in thinking of Mr. F. The truth is, that my application when made did not originate with myself. It was suggested by another Gentleman1 who could feel no motive but a disposition to patronize merit, & who wished me to co-operate with him. That with others of Mr. Freneau’s particular acquaintances I wished & advised him to establish a press at Philada instead of one meditated by him in N Jersey, is also certain, I advised the change because I thought his interest would be advanced by it, & because as a friend I was desirous that his interest should be advanced. This was my primary & governing motive. That as a consequential one, I entertained hopes that a free paper meant for general circulation, and edited by a man of genius of republican principles, & a friend to the Constitution, would be some antidote to the doctrines & discourses circulated in favour of Monarchy and Aristocracy & would be an acceptable vehicle of public information in many places not sufficiently supplied with it, this also is a certain truth; but it is a truth which I never could be tempted to conceal, or wish to be concealed. If there be a temptation in the case, it would be to make a merit of it.

But that the establishment of Mr. F’s press was wished in order to sap the Constitution, and that I forwarded the measure, or that my agency negociated it by an illicit or improper connection between the functions of a translating Clerk in a public office, & those of an Editor of a Gazette, these are charges which ought to be as impotent as they are malicious. The first is surely incredible, if any charge could be so; & the second is I hope at least improbable, & not to be credited, until unequivocal proof shall be substituted for anonymous & virulent assertions.

When I first saw the publication I was half disposed to meet it with a note to the printer, with my name subscribed. I was thrown into suspense however by reflecting that as I was not named, & was only incidentally brought into view, such a step might be precipitate, if not improper, in case the principal should not concur in such a mode of vindication. 2. that I was not enough acquainted with the turn the thing might take, and the light in which it might be viewed on the spot. 3. that in a case the least doubtful, prudence would not rush into the newspapers. These considerations have been since sanctioned by the opinion of two or three judicious & neutral friends whom I have consulted. The part finally proper however remains to be decided and on that I shall always be thankful for the ideas of my friends most in a condition to judge.1 —Mad. MSS.

[1 ]

TO JAMES MADISON.

Apl 17th 1792.

Hond Sir

Col. Wadsworth2 of Connecticut wishes to procure a Barrel or half Barrel of the best Peach Brandy, & I have undertaken to use my efforts for the purpose. If it can be got at all it is probably in our neighbourhood. I recollect particularly that Col. Geo. Taylor had some that we thought good & which is perhapsto be obtained. If that or any better can be had I shall be glad that one of my brothers would take the trouble of engaging it & having it forwarded. The older the better provided the quality be excellent. If age be wanting, the quality should be such as will be made excellent by age. To secure it against fraud, it is desired that the cask be cased with an outer one; the cask itself to be of wood that will give it no ill taste. The price will not be considered so much as the character of the spirits, it being for the use of the gentleman himself—If no brandy be on hand that will do, perhaps the ensuing fall if the peaches be not destroyed, may supply the defect. In that case it might be well to speak in time to some person & have a barrel distilled with special care for the purpose. The brandy is to be shipped from Fredericksburg addressed to Watson & Greenleaf at New York—for Col. Wadsworth Mr Maury or Mr. Glassell will forward it if sent to either of them. I have nothing to add to the papers enclosed having written a few days ago, & being now in haste.

Yr affec son.—Mad. MSS.

SUBSTANCE OF A CONVERSATION WITH THE PRESIDENT, 5TH MAY, 1792.



In consequence of a note this morning from the President, requesting me to call on him I did so; when he opened the conversation by observing, that having some time ago communicated to me his intention of retiring from public life on the expiration of his four years, he wished to advise with me on the mode and time most proper for making known that intention. He had he said spoken with no one yet on those particular points, and took this opportunity of mentioning them to me, that I might consider the matter, and give him my opinion, before the adjournment of Congress, or my departure from Philadelphia. He had he said forborne to communicate his intentions to any other persons whatever, but Mr. Jefferson, Col. Hamilton, General Knox, and myself, and of late to Mr. Randolph. Col. Hamilton and Genl. Knox he observed were extremely importunate that he should relinquish his purpose, and had made pressing representations to induce him to it Mr. Jefferson had expressed his wishes to the like effect. He had not however persuaded himself that his continuance in Public life could be of so much necessity or importance as was conceived, and his disinclination to it was becoming every day more & more fixed, so that he wished to make up his mind as soon as possible on the points he had mentioned. What he desired was to prefer that mode which would be most remote from the appearance of arrogantly presuming on his re-election in case he should not withdraw himself, and such a time as would be most convenient to the Public in making the choice of his successor. It had he said at first occurred to him, that the commencement of the ensuing Session of Congress would furnish him with an apt occasion for introducing the intimation, but besides the lateness of the day, he was apprehensive that it might possibly produce some notice in the reply of Congress that might entangle him in farther explanations.I replied that I would revolve the subject as he desired and communicate the result before my leaving Philada but that I could not but yet hope there would be no necessity at this time for his decision on the two points he had stated. I told him that when he did me the honor to mention the resolution he had taken, I had forborne to do more than briefly express my apprehensions that it would give a surprize and shock to the public mind, being restrained from enlarging on the subject by an unwillingness to express sentiments sufficiently known to him; or to urge objections to a determination, which if absolute, it might look like affectation to oppose; that the aspect which things had been latterly assuming, seemed however to impose the task on all who had the opportunity of urging a continuance of his public services; and that under such an impression I held it a duty, not indeed to express my wishes which would be superfluous, but to offer my opinion that his retiring at the present juncture might have effects that ought not to be hazarded; that I was not unaware of the urgency of his inclination; or of the peculiar motives he might feel to withdraw himself from a situation into which it was so well known to myself he had entered with a scrupulous reluctance; that I well recollected the embarrassments under which his mind labored in deciding the question on which he had consulted me, whether it could be his duty to accept his present station after having taken a final leave of public life; and that it was particularly in my recollection that I then entertained & intimated a wish that his acceptance, which appeared to be indispensable, might be known hereafter to have been in no degree the effect of any motive which strangers to his character might suppose, but of the severe sacrifice which his friends knew, he made of his inclinations as a man, to his obligations as a citizen; that I owned I had at that time contemplated, & I believed, suggested as the most unequivocal tho’ not the only proof of his real motive, a voluntary return to private life as soon as the state of the Government would permit, trusting that if any premature casualty should unhappily cut off the possibility of this proof, the evidence known to his friends would in some way or other be saved from oblivion and do justice to his character; that I was not less anxious on the same point now than I was then; and if I did not conceive that reasons of a like kind to those which required him to undertake still required him to retain for some time longer, his present station, or did not presume that the purity of his motives would be sufficiently vindicated, I should be the last of his friends to press, or even to wish, such a determination.

He then entered on a more explicit disclosure of the state of his mind; observing that he could not believe or conceive himself any wise necessary to the successful administration of the Government; that, on the contrary he had from the beginning found himself deficient in many of the essential qualifications, owing to his inexperience in the forms of public business, his unfitness to judge of legal questions, and questions arising out of the Constitution; that others more conversant in such matters would be better able to execute the trust; that he found himself also in the decline of life, his health becoming sensibly more infirm, & perhaps his faculties also; that the fatigues & disagreeableness of his situation were in fact scarcely tolerable to him; that he only uttered his real sentiments when he declared that his inclination would lead him rather to go to his farm, take his spade in his hand, and work for his bread, than remain in his present situation; that it was evident moreover that a spirit of party in the Government was becoming a fresh source of difficulty, and he was afraid was dividing some (alluding to the Secretary of State and Secy of the Treasury) more particularly connected with him in the administration; that there were discontents among the people which were also shewing themselves more & more, & that altho’ the various attacks against public men & measures had not in general been pointed at him, yet in some instances it had been visible that he was the indirect object, and it was probable the evidence would grow stronger and stronger that his return to private life was consistent with every public consideration, and, consequently that he was justified in giving way to his inclination for it.

I was led by this explanation to remark to him, that however novel or difficult the business might have been to him, it could not be doubted that with the aid of the official opinions & informations within his command his judgment must have been as competent in all cases, as that of any one who could have been put in his place, and in many cases certainly more so; that in the great point of conciliating and uniting all parties under a Govt which had excited such violent controversies & divisions, it was well known that his services had been in a manner essential; that with respect to the spirit of party that was taking place under the operations of the Govt. I was sensible of its existence but considered that as an argument for his remaining, rather than retiring, until the public opinion, the character of the Govt., and the course of its administration shd be better decided, which could not fail to happen in a short time, especially under his auspices; that the existing parties did not appear to be so formidable to the Govt as some had represented; that in one party there might be a few who retaining their original disaffection to the Govt might still wish to destroy it, but that they would lose their weight with their associates, by betraying any such hostile purposes; that altho’ it was pretty certain that the other were in general unfriendly to republican Govt and probably aimed at a gradual approximation of ours to a mixed monarchy, yet the public sentiment was so strongly opposed to their views, and so rapidly manifesting itself, that the party could not long be expected to retain a dangerous influence; that it might reasonably be hoped therefore that the conciliating influence of a temperate & wise administration would before another term of four years should run out, give such a tone & firmness to the Government as would secure it against danger from either of these descriptions of enemies; that altho’ I would not allow myself to believe but that the Govt would be safely administered by any successor elected by the people, yet it was not to be denied that in the present unsettled condition of our young Government, it was to be feared that no successor would answer all the purposes to be expected from the continuance of the present chief magistrate, that the option evidently lay between a few characters; Mr. Adams, Mr. Jay, & Mr. Jefferson were most likely to be brought into view; that with respect to Mr. Jefferson his extreme repugnance to public life & anxiety to exchange it for his farm & his philosophy made it doubtful with his friends whether it would be possible to obtain his own consent, and if obtained, whether local prejudices in the Northern States, with the views of Pennsylvania in relation to the seat of Govt, would not be a bar to his appointment. With respect to Mr. Adams, his monarchical principles, which he had not concealed, with his late conduct on the representation bill, had produced such a settled dislike among republicans every where, & particularly in the Southern States, that he seemed to be out of the question. It would not be in the power of those who might be friendly to his private character & willing to trust him in a public one, notwithstanding his political principles to make head against the torrent. With respect to Mr. Jay his election would be extremely dissatisfactory on several accounts. By many he was believed to entertain the same obnoxious principles with Mr. Adams, & at the same time would be less open and therefore more successful in propagating them. By others (a pretty numerous class) he was disliked & distrusted, as being thought to have espoused the claims of British Creditors at the expence of the reasonable pretensions of his fellow Citizens in debt to them. Among the Western people, to whom his negotiations for ceding the Mississippi to Spain were generally known, he was considered as their most dangerous enemy & held in peculiar distrust & disesteem. In this state of our prospects which was rendered more striking by a variety of temporary circumstances, I could not forbear thinking that altho’ his retirement might not be fatal to the public good, yet a postponement of it was another sacrifice exacted by his patriotism.

Without appearing to be any wise satisfied with what I had urged he turned the conversation to other subjects; & when I was withdrawing repeated his request that I would think of the points he had mentioned to me, & let him have my ideas on them before the adjournment. I told him I would do so, but still hoped his decision on the main question would supersede for the present all such incidental questions.

Wednesday Evening, May 9, 1792.

Understanding that the President was to set out the ensuing morning for Mount Vernon, I called on him to let him know that as far as I had formed an opinion on the subject he had mentioned to me, it was in favor of a direct address of notification to the public in time for its proper effect on the election, which I thought might be put into such a form as would avoid every appearance of presumption or indelicacy, and seemed to be absolutely required by his situation. I observed that no other mode deserving consideration had occurred, except the one he had thought of & rejected, which seemed to me liable to the objections that had weighed with him. I added that if on farther reflection I shd. view the subject in any new lights, I would make it the subject of a letter tho’ I retained my hopes that it would not yet be necessary for him to come to any opinion on it. He begged that I would do so, and also suggest any matters that might occur as proper to be included in what he might say to Congress at the opening of their next Session; passing over the idea of his relinquishing his purpose of retiring in a manner that did not indicate the slightest assent to it.

Friday, May 25, 1792.

I met the President on the road returning from Mount Vernon to Philada, when he handed me the letter dated at the latter place on the 20th of May,1 the copy of the answer to which on the 21st of June is annexed.—Mad. MSS.

COPY OF A LETTER TO PRESIDENT WASHINGTON.

Orange June 21, 1792.

Dear Sir

Having been left to myself for some days past, I have made use of the opportunity for bestowing on your letter of the 20th Ult, handed to me on the road, the attention which its important contents claimed. The questions which it presents for consideration are—1. at what time a notification of your purpose to retire will be most convenient? 2. what mode will be most eligible? 3. whether a valedictory address will be requisite or advisable? 4. if either, whether it would be more properly annexed to the notification or postponed to your actual retirement.

1. The answer to the first question involves two points: first the expediency of delaying the notification; secondly the propriety of making it before the choice of electors takes place, that the people may make the choice with an eye to the circumstances under which the trust is to be executed. On the first point, the reasons for as much delay as possible are too obvious to need recital. The second, depending on the times fixed in the several States which must be within 34 days preceding the first wednesday in December, requires that the notification should be in time to pervade every part of the Union, by the beginning of November. Allowing six weeks for this purpose, the middle of September, or perhaps a little earlier would seem a convenient date for the act.

2. With regard to the mode, none better occurs than a simple publication in the newspapers. If it were proper to address it through the medium of the general Legislature, there will be no opportunity. Nor does the change of situation seem to admit a recurrence to the State Govts, which were the channels used for the former valedictory address. A direct address to the people who are your only constituents can be made I think with most propriety, thro’ the independent channel of the press, thro’ which they are as a constituent Body usually addressed.

3. On the third question I think there can be no doubt that such an address is rendered proper in itself by the peculiarity & importance of the circumstances which mark your situation; and advisable by the salutary & operative lessons of which it may be made the vehicle. The precedent at your military exit might also subject an omission now to conjectures & interpretations which it would not be well to leave room for.

4. The remaining question is less easily decided. Advantages & objections lie on both sides of the alternative. The occasion on which you are necessarily addressing the people evidently introduces, most easily & most delicately, any voluntary observations that are meditated. In another view a farewell address before the final moment of departure is liable to the appearance of being premature & awkward. On the opposite side of the alternative however a postponement will beget a dryness & an abridgement in the first address little corresponding with the feelings which the occasion would naturally produce both in the author & the objects of it; and tho’ not liable to the above objection, would require a resumption of the subject apparently more forced, and on which the impressions having been anticipated & familiarized, and the public mind diverted perhaps to other scenes, a second address would be received with less sensibility & effect than if incorporated with the impressions incident to the original one. It is possible too that previous to the close of the term, circumstances might intervene in relation to public affairs, or the succession to the Presidency which would be more embarrassing, if existing at the time of a valedictory appeal to the public, than if unknown at the time of that delicate measure.

On the whole my judgment leans to the propriety of blending the acts together; and the more so as the crisis which will terminate your public career will still afford an opportunity, if any immediate contingency shd call for a supplement to your farewell observations. But as more correct views of the subject, may produce a different result in your mind, I have endeavored to fit the draught inclosed to either determination. You will readily observe that in executing it, I have arrived at that plainness & modesty of language which you had in view, & which indeed are so peculiarly becoming the character & the occasion; & that I have had, little more to do as to the matter than to follow the very just & comprehensive outline which you had sketched. I flatter myself, however, that in every thing which has depended on me, much improvement will be made before so interesting a paper shall have taken its last form.

Having thus, Sir, complied with your wishes, by proceeding on a supposition that the idea of retiring from public life is to be carried into execution, I must now gratify my own by hoping that a reconsideration of the measure, in all its circumstances and consequences will have produced an acquiescence in one more sacrifice, severe as it may be, to the desires & interests of your country. I forbear to enter into the arguments which plead for it, in my mind, because it would be only repeating what I have already taken the liberty of fully explaining. But I could not conclude such a letter as the present without a repetition of my ardent wishes & hopes that our country may not at this important conjuncture be deprived of the inestimable advantage of having you at the head of its Counsels.

J. M. Jr

[Draught enclosed in the above.]



The period which will close the appointment with which my fellow-citizens have honored me, being not very distant, and the time actually arrived at which their thoughts must be designating the Citizen who is to administer the Executive Government of the U. S. during the ensuing term, it may be requisite to a more distinct expression of the public voice that I should apprize such of my fellow Citizens as may retain their partiality towards me, that I am not to be numbered among those out of whom a choice is to be made.I beg them to be assured that the resolution which dictates this intimation has not been taken without the strictest regard to the relation which as a dutiful citizen I bear to my country; and that in withdrawing that tender of my service which silence in my situation might imply, I am not influenced by the smallest deficiency of zeal for its future interests, or of grateful respect for its past kindness; but by the fullest persuasion, that such a step is compatible with both.The impressions under which I entered on the present arduous trust were explained on the proper occasion. In discharge of this trust, I can only say, that I have contributed towards the organization & administration of the Government the best exertions of which a very fallible judgment was capable. For any errors which may have flowed from this source, I feel all the regret which an anxiety for the public good can excite; not without the double consolation however arising from a consciousness of their being involuntary, and an experience of the candor which will interpret them. If there were any circumstances which could give value to my inferior qualifications for the trust, these circumstances must have been temporary. In this light was the undertaking viewed when I ventured upon it. Being moreover still farther advanced into the decline of life, I am every day more sensible that the increasing weight of years, renders the private walks of it in the shade of retirement as necessary as they will be acceptable to me. May I be allowed to add, that it will be among the highest as well as the purest enjoyments that can sweeten the remnant of my days, to partake in a private station in the midst of my fellow Citizens, of that benign influence of good laws under a free Government which has been the ultimate object of all our wishes, and in which I confide as the happy reward of our cares & labors. May I be allowed further to add as a consideration far more important, that an early example of rotation in an office of so high & delicate a nature may equally accord with the republican spirit of our constitution & the ideas of liberty & safety entertained by the people.

(If a farewell address is to be added at the expiration of the term, the following paragraph may conclude the present:)

Under these circumstances, a return to my private station according to the purpose with which I quitted it, is the part wch. duty as well as inclination assigns me. In executing it I shall carry with me every tender recollection which gratitude to my fellow Citizens can awaken; and a sensibility to the permanent happiness of my country that will render it the object of my unceasing vows and most fervent supplications.

(Should no further address be intended, the preceding clause may be omitted, & the present address proceed as follows:)

In contemplating the moment at which the curtain is to drop forever on the public scenes of my life, my sensations anticipate & do not permit me to suspend, the deep acknowledgments required by that debt of gratitude which I owe to my beloved country for the many honors it has conferred on me, for the distinguished confidence it has reposed in me, and for the opportunities I have thus enjoyed of testifying my inviolable attachment by the most stedfast services which my faculties could render. All the returns I have now to make will be in those vows which I shall carry with me to my retirement & to my grave, that Heaven may continue to favor the people of the U. S. with the choicest tokens of its beneficence; that their union & brotherly affection may be perpetual; that the free constitution, which is the work of their own hands, may be sacredly maintained; that its administration in every Department may be stamped with wisdom & with virtue, & that this character may be ensured to it by that watchfulness over public servants & public measures which on one hand will be necessary to prevent or correct a degeneracy, and that forbearance on the other, from unfounded or indiscriminate jealousies which would deprive the public of the best services by depriving a conscious integrity of one of the noblest incitements to perform them; that, in fine, the happiness of the people of America under the auspices of liberty may be made compleat, by so careful a preservation & so prudent a use of this blessing as will acquire them the glorious satisfaction of recommending it to the affection, the praise, & the adoption of every nation which is yet a stranger to it.

And may we not dwell with well-grounded hopes on this flattering prospect, when we reflect on the many ties by which the people of America are bound together, & the many proofs they have given of an enlightened judgment and a magnanimous patriotism.

We may all be considered as the children of one common country. We have all been embarked in one common cause. We have all had our share in common sufferings & common successes. The portion of the earth allotted for the Theatre of our fortunes fulfils our most sanguine desires. All its essential interests are the same; whilst the diversities arising from climate, from soil, & from other local & lesser peculiarities, will naturally form a mutual relation of the parts that must give to the whole a more entire independence, than has perhaps fallen to the lot of any other nation.

To confirm these motives to an affectionate & permanent Union & to secure the great objects of it, we have established a common Government, which being free in its principles, being founded in our own choice, being intended as the guardian of our common rights & the patron of our common interests, & wisely containing within itself a provision for its own amendment as experience may point out its errors, seems to promise everything that can be expected from such an institution; and if supported by wise counsels, by virtuous conduct, & by mutual & friendly allowances, must approach as near to perfection as any human work can aspire, & nearer than any which the annals of mankind have recorded.

With these wishes & hopes I shall make my exit from civil life, and I have taken the same liberty of expressing them which I formerly used in offering the sentiments which were suggested by my exit from military life. If, in either instance I have presumed more than I ought on the indulgence of my fellow citizens, they will be too generous to ascribe it to any other cause, than the extreme solicitude which I am bound to feel, & which I can never cease to feel, for their liberty their prosperity & their happiness1 —Mad. MSS.

TO EDMUND RANDOLPH.

Orange Septr 13, 1792.

My dear friend

Your favor of the 12 Ult having arrived during an excursion into Albemarle, I did not receive it till my return on yesterday. I lose not a moment in thanking you for it, particularly for the very friendly paragraph in the publication in Fenno’s paper. As I do not get his paper here, it was by accident I first saw this extraordinary manouvre of calumny, the quarter, the motive, and the object of which speak of themselves. As it respects Mr. Jefferson I have no doubt that it will be of service both to him & the public, if it should lead to such an investigation of his political opinions and character as may be expected. With respect to myself the consequence in a public view, is of little account. In any view, there could not have been a charge founded on a grosser perversion of facts, & consequently against which I could feel myself more invulnerable.

That I wished & recommended Mr. Freneau to be appd. to his present Clerkship is certain. But the Department of State was not the only, nor as I recollect the first one to which I mentioned his name & character. I was governed in these recommendations by an acquaintance of long standing, by a respect for his talents, & by a knowledge of his merit & sufferings in the course of the revolution. Had I been less abstemious in my practice from solicitations in behalf of my friends, I should probably have been more early in thinking of Mr. F. The truth is, that my application when made did not originate with myself. It was suggested by another Gentleman1 who could feel no motive but a disposition to patronize merit, & who wished me to co-operate with him. That with others of Mr. Freneau’s particular acquaintances I wished & advised him to establish a press at Philada instead of one meditated by him in N Jersey, is also certain, I advised the change because I thought his interest would be advanced by it, & because as a friend I was desirous that his interest should be advanced. This was my primary & governing motive. That as a consequential one, I entertained hopes that a free paper meant for general circulation, and edited by a man of genius of republican principles, & a friend to the Constitution, would be some antidote to the doctrines & discourses circulated in favour of Monarchy and Aristocracy & would be an acceptable vehicle of public information in many places not sufficiently supplied with it, this also is a certain truth; but it is a truth which I never could be tempted to conceal, or wish to be concealed. If there be a temptation in the case, it would be to make a merit of it.

But that the establishment of Mr. F’s press was wished in order to sap the Constitution, and that I forwarded the measure, or that my agency negociated it by an illicit or improper connection between the functions of a translating Clerk in a public office, & those of an Editor of a Gazette, these are charges which ought to be as impotent as they are malicious. The first is surely incredible, if any charge could be so; & the second is I hope at least improbable, & not to be credited, until unequivocal proof shall be substituted for anonymous & virulent assertions.

When I first saw the publication I was half disposed to meet it with a note to the printer, with my name subscribed. I was thrown into suspense however by reflecting that as I was not named, & was only incidentally brought into view, such a step might be precipitate, if not improper, in case the principal should not concur in such a mode of vindication. 2. that I was not enough acquainted with the turn the thing might take, and the light in which it might be viewed on the spot. 3. that in a case the least doubtful, prudence would not rush into the newspapers. These considerations have been since sanctioned by the opinion of two or three judicious & neutral friends whom I have consulted. The part finally proper however remains to be decided and on that I shall always be thankful for the ideas of my friends most in a condition to judge.1 —Mad. MSS.

[2 ]Jeremiah Wadsworth, a representative.

[1 ]The letter said he had not been able to dispose his mind to a longer continuance in office. He looked forward to the fulfilment of his fondest and most ardent wishes to spend the remainder of his days in ease and tranquillity. Nothing short of conviction that dereliction of the chair of state by him would involve the country in serious disputes, could in any wise induce him to relinquish the determination he had formed. He wished Madison to suggest the proper time and mode of announcing his intention, and to prepare the form of the latter; and turn his thoughts to the form of a valedictory address to the public.—Ford’s Writings of Washington, xii., 123.

[1 ]Washington put this letter away, having concluded to serve as President for a second term, and five years later made it the basis of a part of the first draft of his Farewell Address. He sent the draft to Hamilton, who sent him another draft, upon which he built the Address finally adopted. Its first paragraph, announcing his purpose to retire, was substantially as in Madison’s draft; so was the second, promising continued zeal for the country’s welfare. The fifth and sixth were similar to the Madison draft. The expressions in the draft in favor of the Union and the government appeared in the Address in different form. Everything in the draft was in the Address, but the Address had fifty paragraphs and the draft only nine, nor can any of the striking features of the Address be attributed to Madison.—Hunt’s Life of Madison, 220.

[1 ]Henry Lee.

[1 ]The first attacks on the administration by The National Gazette began December 8, 1791, in a piece signed “Americanus,” and were continued thereafter till it ceased to appear, October, 1793, soon after Jefferson left the cabinet. Washington himself was always spared by Freneau. August 16, 1791,Freneau was appointed a translator in the State Department at a salary of $250 per annum, which was half the amount paid the regular clerks. The Gazette did not disclose any secrets of government, and showed no facilities for information greater than any one not in government service might have had.