MR. ADAMS APPOINTED SECRETARY OF STATE--ARRIVES IN THE UNITED
STATES--PUBLIC DINNERS IN NEW YORK AND BOSTON--TAKES UP HIS RESIDENCE IN
WASHINGTON--DEFENDS GEN. JACKSON IN THE FLORIDA INVASION--RECOGNITION OF
SOUTH AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE--GREEK REVOLUTION.
James Madison, after serving his country eight years as President, in a
most perilous period of its history, retired to private life, followed by
the respect and gratitude of the people of the United States. He was
succeeded by James Monroe, who was inaugurated on the 4th of March, 1817.
Mr. Monroe was a politician of great moderation. It was his desire, on
entering the presidency, to heal the unhappy dissensions which had
distracted the country from the commencement of its government, and
conciliate and unite the conflicting political parties. In forming his
cabinet, he consulted eminent individuals of different parties, in various
sections of the Union, expressing these views. Among others, he addressed
Gen. Jackson, who, on account of his successful military career, was then
rising rapidly into public notice. In his reply the general remarked:--
"Everything depends on the selection of your ministry. In every selection,
party and party feeling should be avoided. Now is the time to exterminate
that monster, called party spirit. By selecting characters most
conspicuous for their probity, virtue, capacity, and firmness, without any
regard to party, you will go far, if not entirely, to eradicate those
feelings, which on former occasions, threw so many obstacles in the way of
government, and, perhaps, have the pleasure and honor of uniting a people
heretofore politically divided. The Chief Magistrate of a great and
powerful nation, should never indulge in party feelings."
Admirable advice! Sentiments worthy an exalted American statesman! The
President of a vast Republic, should indeed know nothing of the interest
of party in contradistinction to the interest of the whole people; and
should exercise his power, his patronage, and his influence, not to
strengthen factions, and promote the designs of political demagogues, but
to develop and nourish internal resources, the only sinews of national
prosperity, and diffuse abroad sentiments of true patriotism, liberality,
and philanthropy. No suggestions more admirable could have been made by
Gen. Jackson, and none could have been more worthy the consideration of
Mr. Monroe and his successors in the presidential chair.
In carrying out his plans of conciliation, President Monroe selected John
Quincy Adams for the responsible post of Secretary of State. Mr. Adams had
never been an active partizan. In his career as Senator, both in
Massachusetts and in Washington, during Mr. Jefferson's administration, he
had satisfactorily demonstrated his ability to rise above party
considerations, in the discharge of great and important duties. And his
long absence from the country had kept him free from personal, party, and
sectional bias, and peculiarly fitted him to take the first station in the
cabinet of a President aiming to unite his countrymen in fraternal bonds
of political amity.
Referring to this appointment, Mr. Monroe wrote Gen. Jackson as follows,
under date of March 1, 1817:--"I shall take a person for the Department of
State from the eastward; and Mr. Adams, by long service in our diplomatic
concerns appearing to be entitled to the preference, supported by his
acknowledged abilities and integrity, his nomination will go to the
Senate." Gen. Jackson, in his reply, remarks:--"I have no hesitation in
saying you have made the best selection to fill the Department of State
that could be made. Mr. Adams, in the hour of difficulty, will be an able
helpmate, and I am convinced his appointment will afford general
satisfaction." This prediction was well founded. The consummate ability
exhibited by Mr. Adams in foreign negotiations had elevated him to a high
position in the estimation of his countrymen. His selection for the State
Department was received with very general satisfaction throughout the
Union.
On receiving notice of his appointment to this responsible office, Mr.
Adams, with his family, embarked for the United States, on board the
packet-ship Washington, and landed in New York on the 6th of August, 1817.
A few days after his arrival, a public dinner was given Mr. Adams, in
Tammany Hall, New York. The room was elegantly decorated. In the centre
was a handsome circle of oak leaves, roses, and flags--the whole
representing, with much effect, our happy Union--and from the centre of
which, as from her native woods, appeared our eagle, bearing in her beak
this impressive scroll:--
"Columbia, great Republic, thou art blest,
While Empires droop, and Monarchs sink to rest."
Gov. De Witt Clinton, the Mayor of New York, and about two hundred
citizens of the highest respectability, sat down to the table. Among other
speeches made on the occasion, was the following from an English
gentleman, a Mr. Fearon, of London:--
"As several gentlemen have volunteered songs, I would beg leave to offer a
sentiment, which I am sure will meet the hearty concurrence of all
present. But, previous to which, I desire to express the high satisfaction
which this day's entertainment has afforded me. Though a native of Great
Britain, and but a few days in the United States, I am for the first time
in my life in a free country, surrounded by free men; and when I look at
the inscription which decorates your eagle, I rejoice that I have been
destined to see this day. A great number of the enlightened portion of my
countrymen advocate your cause--admire your principles. And though we
have, unfortunately, been engaged in a war, I trust the result has taught
wisdom to both parties. In your political institutions you have set a
noble example, which, if followed throughout the world, will rescue
mankind from the dominion of those tyrants who jeer at the destruction
which they produce--
'Like the moonbeams on the blasted heath,
Mocking its desolation.'
"Gentlemen, in conclusion, I beg to express the delight which I feel, and
propose to you as a toast--May the United States be an example to the
world; and may civil and religious liberty cover the earth, as the waters
do the channels of the deep."
A public dinner was also given Mr. Adams on his arrival in Boston. Mr.
Gray presided, and Messrs. Otis, Blake, and Mason, acted as Vice
Presidents. His father, the venerable ex-President John Adams, was present
as a guest. Among other toasts given on the occasion, were the
following:--
"The United States.--May our public officers, abroad and at home, continue
to be distinguished for integrity, talents, and patriotism."
"The Commissioners at Ghent.--The negotiations for peace have been
declared, in the British House of Lords, to wear the stamp of American
superiority."
"American Manufactures.--A sure and necessary object for the security of
American independence."
This occasion must have been one of great interest to the patriarch John
Adams, then more than four-score years of age. Nearly forty years before,
he had said of his son:--"He behaves like a man!" That son, in the prime
of his days, had recently been called from foreign service, where he had
obtained accumulated honors, to fill the highest station in the gift of
the Executive of his country. The people of two continents would now unite
with the venerable sage, in repeating the declaration--"He behaves like a
man!" The patriarch stood upon the verge of the grave. But as the sun of
his existence was gently and calmly sinking beneath the horizon, lo! its
beams were reflected in their pristine brightness by another orb, born
from its bosom, which was steadily ascending to the zenith of earthly
fame!
John Quincy Adams took up his residence at Washington, and entered upon
his duties as Secretary of State, in September, 1817.
During the eight years of President Monroe's administration, Mr. Adams
discharged the duties of the state department, with a fidelity and success
which received not only the unqualified approbation of the President, but
of the whole country. To him that office was no sinecure. His labors were
incessant. He spared no pains to qualify himself to discuss, with
consummate skill, whatever topics legitimately claimed his attention. The
President, the cabinet, the people, imposed implicit trust in his ability
to promote the interests of the nation in all matters of diplomacy, and
confided unreservedly in his pure American feelings and love of country.
Perfectly familiar as he was with the political condition of the world,
Mr. Monroe entrusted him, without hesitation, with the management of the
foreign policy of the Government, during his administration.
In the autumn of 1817, the Seminole and a portion of the Creek Indians
commenced depredations on the frontiers of Georgia and Alabama. Troops
were sent to reduce them, under Gen. Gaines. His force being too weak to
bring them to subjection, Gen. Jackson was ordered to take the field with
a more numerous army, with which he overran the Indian country. Believing
it necessary to enter Florida, then a Spanish territory, for the more
effectual subjugation of the Indians, he did not hesitate to pursue them
thither. The Spanish authorities protested against the invasion of their
domains, and offered some opposition. Gen. Jackson persisted, and in the
result, took possession of St. Marks and Pensacola, and sent the Spanish
authorities and troops to Havana.
Among the prisoners taken in this expedition, were a Scotchman and an
Englishman, named Arbuthnot and Ambrister. They were British subjects,
but were charged with supplying the Indians with arms and munitions of
war; stirring them up against the whites, and acting as spies. On these
charges they were tried by a court martial, of which Gen. Gaines was
President--found guilty--condemned to death, and executed on the 27th of
April, 1818.
These transactions of Gen. Jackson caused great excitement throughout the
United States, and subjected him to no little blame. The subject excited
much debate in Congress. A resolution censuring him for his summary
proceedings was introduced, but voted down by a large majority. In Mr.
Monroe's cabinet, there was a strong feeling against Gen. Jackson. The
President, and all the members, with a single exception, were disposed to
hold him responsible for having transcended his orders. Hon. Wm. H.
Crawford, who was in Mr. Monroe's cabinet at that time, in a letter to
Mr. Forsyth, says:--"Mr. Calhoun's proposition in the cabinet was, that
Gen. Jackson should be punished in some form, or reprimanded in some
form."
Mr. Adams alone vindicated Gen. Jackson. He insisted that inasmuch as the
Government had ordered him to pursue the enemy into Florida, if necessary,
they were responsible for the acts of the American general, in the
exercise of the discretionary power with which he had been clothed.
Several cabinet meetings were held on the subject, in July, 1818, in which
the whole matter was thoroughly discussed. Mr. Adams succeeded at length
in bringing the President into the adoption of his views, which Mr. Monroe
substantially embodied in his next annual message to Congress.
The intelligence of the execution of Arbuthnot and Ambrister, excited
the highest indignation in England. The people viewed it as a violation of
the rights of British subjects, and an insult to their nation, and were
ready to rush to war. Lord Castlereagh declared to Mr. Rush, the
American Minister, that had the English cabinet but held up a finger, war
would have been declared against the United States. But so able and
convincing were the arguments which Mr. Adams directed Mr. Rush to lay
before the British Ministers, in defence of the proceedings of Gen.
Jackson, that they became convinced there was no just cause of war between
the two countries, and exerted their influence against any movement in
that direction.
On the 22nd of February, 1819, a treaty was concluded at Washington,
between the United States and Spain, by which East and West Florida, with
the adjacent islands, were ceded to the Union. The negotiations which
resulted in the consummation of the treaty, were conducted by Mr. Adams
and Luis de Onis the Spanish Ambassador. This treaty was very
advantageous to the United States. It brought to a close a controversy
with Spain, of many years' standing, which had defied all the exertions of
former administrations to adjust, and placed our relations with that
country on the most amicable footing. In effecting this reconciliation,
Mr. Adams deserved and received a high share of credit.
The recognition of the independence of the Spanish South American
Provinces, by the Government of the United States, took place during Mr.
Adams's administration of the State Department. The honor of first
proposing this recognition, in the Congress of the United States, and of
advocating it with unsurpassed eloquence and zeal, belongs to the
patriotic Henry Clay. Mainly by his influence, the House of
Representatives, in 1820, passed the following resolutions:--
"Resolved, That the House of Representatives participate with the people
of the United States, in the deep interest which they feel for the success
of the Spanish Provinces of South America, which are struggling to
establish their liberty and independence.
"Resolved, That this House will give its constitutional support to the
President of the United States, whenever he may deem it expedient to
recognize the sovereignty and independence of any of said Provinces."
Mr. Adams at first hesitated on this subject. Not that he was opposed to
the diffusion of the blessings of freedom to the oppressed. No man was a
more ardent lover of liberty, or was more anxious that its institutions
should be established throughout the earth, at the earliest practicable
moment. But he had many and serious doubts whether the people of the South
American Provinces were capable of originating and maintaining an
enlightened self-government. There was a lack of general intelligence
among the people--a want of an enlarged and enlightened understanding of
the principles of rational freedom--which led him to apprehend that their
attempts at self-government would for a long season, at least, result in
the reign of faction and anarchy, rather than true republican principles.
The subsequent history of these countries--the divisions and contentions,
the revolutions and counter-revolutions, which have rent them asunder, and
deluged them in blood--clearly show that Mr. Adams but exercised a
far-seeing intelligence in entertaining these doubts. Nevertheless, as
they had succeeded in throwing off the Spanish yoke, and had, in fact,
achieved their independence, Mr. Adams would not throw any impediment in
their way. Trusting that his fears as to their ability for self-government
might be groundless, he gave his influence to the recognizing of their
independence by the United States.
In 1821 the Greek revolution broke out. The people of that classic land,
after enduring ages of the most brutal and humiliating oppression from the
Turks, nobly resolved to break the chains of the Ottoman power, or perish
in the attempt. The war was long, and sanguinary, but finally resulted in
the emancipation of Greece, and the establishment of its independence as a
nation.
The inhabitants of the United States could not witness such a struggle
with indifference. A spirit of sympathy ran like electricity throughout
the land. Public meetings were held in nearly every populous town in the
Union, in which resolutions, encouraging the Greeks in their struggle,
were passed, and contributions taken up to aid them. Money, clothing,
provisions, arms, were collected in immense quantities and shipped to
Greece. In churches, colleges, academies and schools--at the theatres,
museums, and other places of amusement and public resort--aid was freely
and generously given in behalf of the struggling patriots. Many citizens
of the United States, when the first blast of the trumpet of liberty rang
along the Ionian seas, and through the Peloponnesus, sped across the
ocean, and, throwing themselves into the midst of the Grecian hosts,
contended heroically for their emancipation. Among these volunteers, was
Col. J. P. Miller, of Vermont, who not only gallantly fought in the
battles of Greece, but was greatly serviceable in conveying supplies from
the United States to that struggling people.
The deep sympathy which prevailed in every section of the Union, was soon
felt in Congress. Many public men were anxious that the Government should
take some important and decisive step, even to hostilities, in behalf of
Greece. Eloquent speeches were delivered in the House of Representatives
on the exciting topic. Mr. Clay electrified the country with his stirring
appeals in behalf of the land in which was established the first republic
on earth. Mr. Webster submitted the following resolution to the House of
Representatives:--
"Resolved, That provision ought to be made by law, for defraying the
expense incident to the appointment of an Agent, or Commissioner, to
Greece, whenever the President shall deem it expedient to make such
appointment."
In support of this resolution, Mr. Webster made a most eloquent speech, of
which the following is the conclusion:--
"Mr. Chairman--There are some things which, to be well done, must be
promptly done. If we even determine to do the thing that is now proposed,
we may do it too late Sir, I am not of those who are for withholding aid
when it is most urgently needed, and when the stress is past, and the aid
no longer necessary, overwhelming the sufferers with caresses. I will not
stand by and see my fellow-man drowning, without stretching out a hand to
help him, till he has, by his own efforts and presence of mind, reached
the shore in safety, and then encumber him with aid. With suffering
Greece, now is the crisis of her fate--her great, it may be her last
struggle. Sir, while we sit here deliberating, her destiny may be decided.
The Greeks, contending with ruthless oppressors, turn their eyes to us,
and invoke us, by their ancestors, by their slaughtered wives and
children, by their own blood poured out like water, by the hecatombs of
dead they have heaped up, as it were, to heaven; they invoke, they implore
from us some cheering sound, some look of sympathy, some token of
compassionate regard. They look to us as the great Republic of the
earth--and they ask us, by our common faith, whether we can forget that
they are struggling, as we once struggled, for what we now so happily
enjoy? I cannot say, sir, they will succeed; that rests with heaven. But,
for myself, sir, if I should to-morrow hear that they have failed--that
their last phalanx had sunk beneath the Turkish cimetar, that the flames
of their last city had sunk in its ashes, and that nought remained but
the wide, melancholy waste where Greece once was--I should still reflect,
with the most heartfelt satisfaction, that I have asked you, in the name
of seven millions of freemen, that you would give them, at least, the
cheering of one friendly voice."
The committee having in charge the raising of a fund for the assistance of
the Greeks, in New York, addressed a circular to the venerable
ex-President John Adams, to which they received the following reply:--
"Quincy, Dec. 29, 1823.
"GENTLEMEN:--I have received your circular of the 12th inst., and I thank
you for the honor you have done me in addressing it to me. Be assured my
heart beats in unison with yours, and with those of your constituents, and
I presume with all the really civilized part of mankind, in sympathy with
the Greeks, suffering, as they are, in the great cause of liberty and
humanity. The gentlemen of Boston have taken measures to procure a general
subscription in their favor, through the State, and I shall contribute my
mite with great pleasure. In the meantime I wish you, and all other
gentlemen engaged in the virtuous work, all the success you or they can
wish; for I believe no effort in favor of virtue will be ultimately lost.
"I have the honor to be, Gentlemen, your very humble Servant,
"JOHN ADAMS."
The sympathies of John Quincy Adams were ardently enlisted in behalf of
the Greek Revolution. But with a prudence and wisdom which characterized
all his acts, he threw his influence against any direct interference on
the part of the Government of the United States. It would have been a
departure from that neutral policy, in regard to European conflicts, on
which the country had acted from the commencement of our national
existence, alike injurious and dangerous. He knew if we once entered into
these wars, on any pretext whatever, a door would be opened for foreign
entanglements and endless conflicts, which would result in standing
armies, immense national debts, and the long trail of evils of which they
are the prolific source.
When an application was made to Mr. Adams, as Secretary of State, through
Mr. Rush, our Minister at London, by an Agent of Greece, for aid from the
United States, he was compelled, on principles above stated, to withhold
the required assistance. The correspondence which grew out of this
application is sufficiently interesting to find a place in these pages:--
"Andreas Luriottis, Envoy of the Provisional Government of Greece, to the
Hon. John Quincy Adams, Secretary of State to the United States of
America.
SIR:--I feel no slight emotion, while, in behalf of Greece, my country,
struggling for independence and liberty, I address myself to the United
States of America.
"The independence for which we combat, you have achieved. The liberty to
which we look, with anxious solicitude, you have obtained, and
consolidated in peace and in glory.
"Yet Greece, old Greece, the seat of early civilization and freedom,
stretches out her hands, imploringly, to a land which sprung into being,
as it were, ages after her own lustre had been extinguished! and
ventures to hope that the youngest and most vigorous sons of liberty, will
regard, with no common sympathy, the efforts of the descendants of the
heir and the elder born, whose precepts and whose example have
served--though insufficient, hitherto, for our complete regeneration--to
regenerate half a world.
"I know, Sir, that the sympathies of the generous people of the United
States have been extensively directed towards us; and since I have reached
this country, an interview with their Minister, Mr. Rush, has served to
convince me more strongly, how great their claim is on our gratitude and
our affection. May I hope that some means may be found to communicate
these our feelings, of which I am so proud to be the organ? We will still
venture to rely on their friendship. We would look to their individual, if
not to their national, co-operation. Every, the slightest, assistance
under present circumstances, will aid the progress of the great work of
liberty; and if, standing, as we have stood, alone and unsupported, with
everything opposed to us, and nothing to encourage us but patriotism,
enthusiasm, and sometimes even despair: if thus we have gone forward,
liberating our provinces, one after another, and subduing every force
which has been directed against us, what may we not do with the assistance
for which we venture to appeal to the generous and the free?
"Precipitated by circumstances into that struggle for independence, which,
ever since the domination of our cruel and reckless tyrants, had never
ceased to be the object of our vows and prayers, we have, by the blessing
of God, freed a considerable part of Greece from the ruthless invaders.
The Peloponnesus, Etolia, Carmania, Attica, Phocida, Boetia, and the
Islands of the Archipelago and Candia, are nearly free. The armies and
the fleets which have been sent against us, have been subdued by the valor
of our troops and our marine. Meanwhile we have organized a government,
founded upon popular suffrages: and you will probably have seen how
closely our organic law assimilates to that constitution under which your
nation so happily and so securely lives.
"I have been sent hither by the government of Greece, to obtain assistance
in our determined enterprize, on which we, like you, have staked our
lives, our fortunes, and our sacred honor: and I believe my journey has
not been wholly without success. I should have been wanting to my duty had
I not addressed you, supplicating the earliest display of your amiable
purposes; entreating that diplomatic relations may be established between
us; communicating the most earnest desire of my government that we may be
allowed to call you allies as well as friends; and stating that we shall
rejoice to enter upon discussions which may lead to immediate and
advantageous treaties, and to receive diplomatic agents without delay.
Both at Madrid and at Lisbon, I have been received with great kindness by
the American Representative, and am pleased to record the expression of my
gratitude.
"Though, fortunately, you are so far removed, and raised so much above the
narrow politics of Europe as to be little influenced by their
vicissitudes, I venture to believe that Mr. Rush will explain to you the
changes which have taken place, and are still in action around us, in our
favor. And I conclude, rejoicing in the hope that North America and Greece
may be united in the bonds of long-enduring, and unbroken concord: and
have the honor to be, with every sentiment of respect, your obedient
humble servant.
"AND. LURIOTTIS.
'London, February 20, 1823."
MR. ADAMS TO MR. RUSH.
"Department of State,
Washington, 18th August, 1823.
"SIR:--I have the honor of inclosing, herewith, an answer to the letter
from Mr. Luriottis, the Agent of the Greeks addressed to me, and a copy
of which was transmitted with your dispatch No. 295.
"If, upon the receipt of this letter, Mr. Luriottis should still be in
London, it will be desirable that you should deliver it to him in person,
accompanied with such remarks and explanations as may satisfy him, and
those whom he represents, that, in declining the proposal of giving active
aid to the cause of Grecian emancipation, the Executive Government of the
United States has been governed not by its inclinations, or a sentiment of
indifference to the cause, but by its constitutional duties, clear and
unequivocal.
"The United States could give assistance to the Greeks, only by the
application of some portion of their public forces or of their public
revenue in their favor, which would constitute them in a state of war with
the Ottoman Porte, and perhaps with all the Barbary powers. To make this
disposal either of force or of treasure, you are aware is, by our
constitution, not within the competency of the Executive. It could be
determined only by an act of Congress, which would assuredly not be
adopted, should it even be recommended by the Executive.
"The policy of the United States, with reference to foreign nations, has
always been founded upon the moral principle of natural law--Peace with
all mankind. From whatever cause war between other nations, whether
foreign or domestic, has arisen, the unvarying law of the United States
has been peace with both belligerents. From the first war of the French
Revolution, to the recent invasion of Spain, there has been a succession
of wars, national and civil, in almost everyone of which one of the
parties was contending for liberty or independence. In the first French
revolutionary war, a strong impulse of feeling urged the people of the
United States to take side with the party which, at its commencement, was
contending, apparently, at least, for both. Had the policy of the United
States not been essentially pacific, a stronger case to claim their
interference could scarcely have been presented. They nevertheless
declared themselves neutral, and the principle, then deliberately settled,
has been invariably adhered to ever since.
"With regard to the recognition of sovereign States, and the establishment
with them of a diplomatic intercourse, the experience of the last thirty
years has served also to ascertain the limits proper for the application
of principles in which every nation must exercise some latitude of
discretion. Precluded by their neutral position from interfering in the
question of right, the United States have recognized the fact of foreign
sovereignty only when it was undisputed, or disputed without any rational
prospect of success. In this manner the successive changes of government
in many of the European states, and the revolutionary governments of South
America, have been acknowledged. The condition of the Greeks is not yet
such as will admit of their recognition, upon these principles.
"Yet, as we cherish the most friendly feelings towards them, and are
sincerely disposed to render them any service which may be compatible with
our neutrality, it will give us pleasure to learn, from time to time, the
actual state of their cause, political and military. Should Mr. Luriottis
be enabled and disposed to furnish this information, it may always be
communicated through you, and will be received with satisfaction here. The
public accounts from that quarter have been of late very scanty, and we
shall be glad to obtain any authentic particulars, which may come to your
knowledge from this, or through any other channel.
"I am with great respect, Sir, your very humble and obedient servant,
JOHN QUINCY ADAMS."
MR. ADAMS TO MR. LURIOTTIS.
"Department of State,
Washington, 18th August, 1823.
"Sir: A copy of the letter which you did me the honor of addressing to me,
on the 20th of February last, has been transmitted to me by the Minister
of the United States at London, and has received the deliberate
consideration of the President of the United States.
"The sentiments with which he has witnessed the struggles of your
countrymen for their national emancipation and independence, had been made
manifest to the world in a public message to the Congress of the United
States. They are cordially felt by the people of this Union; who,
sympathizing with the cause of freedom and independence wherever its
standard is unfurled, behold with peculiar interest the display of Grecian
energy in defence of Grecian liberties, and the association of heroic
exertions, at the present time, with the proudest glories of former ages,
in the land of Epaminondas and Philopoemon.
"But while cheering with their best wishes the cause of the Greeks, the
United States are forbidden, by the duties of their situation, from taking
part in the war, to which their relation is that of neutrality. At peace
themselves with all the world, their established policy, and the
obligations of the laws of nations, preclude them from becoming voluntary
auxiliaries to a cause which would involve them in war.
"If in the progress of events the Greeks should be enabled to establish
and organize themselves as an independent nation, the United States will
be among the first to welcome them, in that capacity, into the general
family; to establish diplomatic and commercial relations with them, suited
to the mutual interests of the two countries; and to recognize, with
special satisfaction, their constituted state in the character of a sister
Republic.
"I have the honor to be, with distinguished consideration, Sir, your very
humble and obedient servant,
"JOHN QUINCY ADAMS."
The sentiments, in regard to the foreign policy of our Government, which
Mr. Adams embodies in this correspondence, he had previously expressed in
an oration delivered in the city of Washington, on the 4th of July, 1821,
of which the following is an extract:--
"America, in the assembly of nations, since her admission among them, has
invariably, though often fruitlessly, held forth to them the hand of
honest friendship, of equal freedom, of generous reciprocity; she has
uniformly spoken among them, though often to heedless, and often to
disdainful ears, the language of equal liberty, of equal justice, and
equal rights; she has, in the lapse of nearly half a century, without a
single exception, respected the independence of other nations while
asserting and maintaining her own; she has abstained from interference in
the concerns of others, even when the conflict has been for principles to
which she clings as to the last vital drop that visits the heart. She has
seen that probably for centuries to come all the contests of that
Aceldama, the European world, will be contests of inveterate power and
emerging right. Wherever the standard of freedom and independence has been
or shall be unfurled, there will her heart, her benedictions, and her
prayers be. But she goes not abroad in search of monsters to destroy. She
is the well-wisher to the freedom and independence of all--she is the
champion and vindicator only of her own. She will recommend the general
cause, by the countenance of her voice, and the benignant sympathy of her
example:--she well knows that by once enlisting under other banners than
her own, were they even the banners of foreign independence, she would
involve herself beyond the power of extrication, in all the wars of
interest and intrigue, of individual avarice, envy and ambition, which
assume the colors, and usurp the standard of freedom. The fundamental
maxims of her policy would insensibly change from liberty to force; the
frontlet on her brow would no longer beam with the ineffable splendor of
freedom and independence; but in its stead would soon be substituted an
imperial diadem, flashing in false and tarnished lustre, the murky
radiance of dominion and power. She might become the dictatress of the
world: she would be no longer the ruler of her own spirit."
During Mr. Adams's occupancy of the state department, efforts were made by
the American Government to abolish the African slave trade, and procure
its denunciation as piracy, by the civilized world. On the 28th of Feb.,
1823, the following resolution was adopted by the House of
Representatives, at Washington, by a vote of 131 to 9:--
"Resolved, That the President of the United States be requested to enter
upon and to prosecute, from time to time, such negotiations with the
several maratime powers of Europe and America, as he may deem expedient
for the effectual abolition of the African slave trade, and its ultimate
denunciation as piracy, under the law of nations, by the consent of the
civilized world."
In compliance with this resolution, Mr. Adams, as Secretary of State,
issued directions to the American Ministers in Spain, Russia, the
Netherlands, Colombia, and Buenos Ayres, to enter into negotiations with
the Governments of these countries on this subject. Mr. Adams also
maintained an able correspondence with the Hon. Stratford Canning, the
British Minister at Washington, in relation to the basis on which a treaty
should be formed with Great Britain for the suppression of the foreign
slave trade.
Mr. Rush, the American Minister at the Court of St. James, was directed to
enter upon negotiations in London, to this end. His instructions were
written by Mr. Adams, with his usual sound judgment and enlarged views of
national policy, and the claims of humanity. The convention was in due
time completed, and signed by the Plenipotentiaries of both nations, on
the 13th of March. 1824, and was sent by Mr. Rush to Washington for
ratification. Mr. Monroe and Mr. Adams were ready to give it their
sanction; but the Senate insisted on striking out a provision in the first
article. The article commenced as follows:--
"The commanders and commissioned officers of each of the two high
contracting parties, duly authorized, under the regulations and
instructions of their respective Governments, to cruise on the coasts of
Africa, of America, and of the West Indies, for the suppression of the
slave trade, shall be empowered, under the conditions, limitations, and
restrictions hereinafter specified," &c.
The Senate struck out the words "of America." This amendment the British
Government would not assent to. Thus the negotiation on the slave trade,
so near a consummation, fell to the ground.
Mr. Monroe's administration closed on the 3rd of March, 1825. It was a
period of uninterrupted prosperity to the country. Our foreign commerce,
recovering from the paralysis caused by the embargo, the non-intercourse
act, and the war, spread forth its wings and whitened every sea and ocean
on the globe. The domestic condition of the Union was thriving beyond the
precedent of many former years. Improvements in agriculture were
developed; domestic manufactures received a fair protection and
encouragement; internal improvements, gaining more and more the attention
and confidence of the people, had been prosecuted to the evident benefit
of all branches of business and enterprize.
Another characteristic of the administration of Mr. Monroe is worthy of
note. So judiciously and patriotically had he exercised the powers
entrusted to him, that he disarmed opposition. Divisions, jealousies and
contentions were destroyed, and a thorough fusion of all political parties
took place. At his re-election for the second term of the presidency,
there was no opposing candidate. There was but one party, and that was the
great party of the American people. His election was unanimous.
In all these measures, Mr. Adams was the coadjutor and confidential
adviser of Mr. Monroe. It is no derogation from the well-merited
reputation of the latter to say, that many of the most striking and
praiseworthy features of his administration were enstamped upon it by the
labor and influence of the former. His success in maturing and carrying
into execution his most popular measures must be attributed, in no small
extent, to the ability and faithfulness of his eminent Secretary of State.
And the historian may truly record that to John Quincy Adams, in an
eminent degree, belongs a portion of the honor and credit which have been
so generally accorded to the administration of James Monroe.