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Subject Area: Political Theory
Topic: The American Revolution and Constitution

JOHN JAY TO JOHN ADAMS. - John Adams, The Works of John Adams, vol. 8 (Letters and State Papers 1782-1799) [1853]

Edition used:

The Works of John Adams, Second President of the United States: with a Life of the Author, Notes and Illustrations, by his Grandson Charles Francis Adams (Boston: Little, Brown and Co., 1856). 10 volumes. Vol. 8.

Part of: The Works of John Adams, 10 vols.

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JOHN JAY TO JOHN ADAMS.

New York, 25 July, 1787.

My Dear Sir,—

It gives me pain to have occasion so often to repeat that the irregular attendance of the members of congress has, for a long time past, prevented their paying a seasonable attention to their foreign affairs; for there have been very few, and those very short intervals, in which nine States were represented in congress this year.

Hence, and from some other affairs deemed more pressing, it has happened that you have been so long kept in suspense on the subject of your public letter of the 24th, and your private one of the 25th, January last. I have regretted that suspense the more, as it might have created in your mind some doubts of my attention. I wished to write to you that the business was done, rather than that I would endeavor to get it done. The probability of this, which, from time to time, flattered and disappointed me, led me on to omit one opportunity after another, in expectation of being able to write satisfactorily by the next. There are now nine States in congress, and I am assured that the necessary acts and instructions shall be despatched in season to accompany this letter by the packet.

Your experience in affairs, your knowledge of characters, and your intimate acquaintance with the concerns and interests of this country, together with other circumstances and considerations, induce me to wish that all questions between us and the Court of London, as well as other affairs in Europe, could be arranged and adjusted before you leave it. The manner, however, in which you mention your intention to return, is decisive; and as the prospect of your doing much good here is fair and promising, perhaps it may upon the whole be best that you should be with us, especially considering the actual situation of our affairs. You have, my good friend, deserved well of your country; and your services and character will be truly estimated, at least by posterity, for they will know more of you than the people of this day.

I have collected your public letters and despatches, and a good clerk has already recorded a large volume of them. It is common, you know, in the course of time, for loose and detached papers to be lost, or mislaid, or misplaced. It is to papers in this office that future historians must recur for accurate accounts of many interesting affairs respecting the late revolution; it is best, therefore, that they should be recorded regularly in books; and, although it will take much time and labor, which some may think unnecessary, I shall nevertheless persevere in the work.

Your book circulates and does good. It conveys much information on a subject with which we cannot be too intimately acquainted, especially at this period, when the defects of our national government are under consideration, and when the strongest arguments are necessary to remove prejudices and to correct errors, which, in many instances, design unites with ignorance to create, diffuse, and confirm. If, after all that we have seen and done and experienced in public life, we should yet live to see our country contentedly enjoying the sweets of peace, liberty, and safety, under the protection of wise laws and a well-constructed steady government, we shall have reason to rejoice that we have devoted so many years to her service.

Be assured of my constant esteem; and believe me, &c.

John Jay.