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{i}
Essay On The Character And Influence Of Washington
In The Revolution Of The United States Of America.
By M. Guizot.
Translated From The French.
Third Edition.
New York
Published By James Miller,
(Successor To C. S. Francis & Co.,)
522 Broadway.
1868.
{ii}
Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year one thousand
eight hundred and forty, by James Munroe & Co., in the Clerk's
office of the District Court of the District of Massachusetts.
{iii}
Translator's Preface.
The following Essay is a translation of the Introduction, by M.
Guizot, to a French version of Sparks's Life of Washington, and
of selected portions of Washington's Writings, which has recently
appeared in Paris, in six octavo volumes. M. Guizot is well
known, not only as the author of many valuable historical works,
but as a practical statesman himself, and therefore peculiarly
qualified to appreciate the character of Washington, and to
estimate his claims to the gratitude of his country, and the
admiration of mankind. The Essay can hardly fail to be read with
interest by every countryman of the illustrious man who forms its
subject. It is a performance remarkable for the knowledge which
it evinces of our own history, for its great political wisdom,
its elevated moral tone, and its just discrimination in regard to
the character of Washington.
{iv}
Every American citizen must be highly gratified to find his own
veneration for the name of Washington confirmed by this unbiassed
tribute from a foreigner so distinguished in literature and
politics, as M. Guizot. Nothing has ever been written concerning
him in Europe, so accurate, so just, and so profound as this; and
it will serve to justify and strengthen that admiration, which
has been accorded to him in foreign countries, hardly less than
in his own.
George S. Hillard.
{v}
Advertisement Of The French Publishers.
No foreign event occurring at a distance ever awakened so lively
a sympathy in France, as the Revolution of the United States of
America. No great man who was a foreigner has ever, in this
country, been the object of general admiration to such an extent
as Washington. He has had the applause of both the court and the
people, of the old _régime_ and the new nation. During his
life, testimonials of respect were heaped upon him by Louis the
Sixteenth; and, at his death, Napoleon directed a public mourning
for him, and a funeral oration. [Footnote 1]
[Footnote 1: "Bonaparte rendered unusual honors to the name
of Washington, not long after the event of his death was made
known in France. By what motives he was prompted, it is
needless to inquire. At any rate, both the act itself and his
manner of performing it are somewhat remarkable, when
regarded in connexion with his subsequent career. He was then
First Consul. On the 9th of February, he issued the following
order of the day to the army, "Washington is dead! This great
man fought against tyranny; he established the liberty of his
country. His memory will always be dear to the French people,
as it will be to all free men of the two worlds; and
especially to French soldiers, who like him and the American
soldiers, have combated for liberty and equality. The First
Consul likewise ordered, that during ten days, black crape
should be suspended from all the standards and flags
throughout the Republic. On the same day a splendid ceremony
took place in the Champ de Mars, and the trophies brought by
the army from Egypt were displayed with great pomp.
Immediately after this ceremony was over, a funeral oration,
in honor of Washington (_Eloge Funèbre de Washington_)
was pronounced by M. de Fontanes, in the Hotel des Invalides,
then called the Temple of Mars. The First Consul, and all the
civil and military authorities of the capital, were
present."--Sparks's _Life of Washington_, pp. 531, 532,
_note_.]
{vi}
It is now forty years since this great man has been reposing, to
use his own expression, "in the mansions of rest," at Mount
Vernon, by the side of his fathers. But his country has recently
reared to him the noblest of monuments, in the publication of his
_Works_, consisting of his Letters, Discourses, and
Messages, comprising what was written and spoken by him in the
midst of his active career, and forming indeed his lively image
and the true history of his life.
These are, in truth, his _Works_. Washington preserved with
scrupulous care, either a first draft or an exact copy of every
letter he wrote, whether as a public man or a private individual,
and whether they related to his own concerns, the management and
culture of his farms, or to the interests of the state.
{vii}
During the period from 1783 to 1787, in his retirement at Mount
Vernon, he arranged the first part of this correspondence,
containing among other things, whatever had been written by him
during the war of independence; and, at his death, he bequeathed
all his papers, together with his estate at Mount Vernon, to his
nephew, Bushrod Washington, who was for thirty years one of the
justices of the Supreme Court of the United States. The entire
collection, comprising the letters written by Washington himself,
and those addressed to him, filled more than two hundred folio
volumes.
The Congress of the United States has recently purchased these
precious papers, and caused them to be deposited in the national
archives. An able editor, Mr. Sparks, already well known by his
important historical labors, and especially by editing the
"Diplomatic Correspondence of the United States during the War of
Independence," (printed at Boston in twelve octavo volumes), has
examined these papers and made selections and extracts from them.
The family of Washington, his surviving friends, and various
intelligent and distinguished persons favored his efforts in
executing this patriotic task.
{viii}
Mr. Sparks has not remained content with the collection of
materials, already so ample, which was in his possession; he
traveled over America and Europe, and the public and private
collections of France and England were liberally opened to him.
He has sought out, and brought together from all quarters, the
documents necessary to illustrate and complete this authentic
biography of a great man, which is the history of the infant
years of a great people; and a work in twelve large octavo
volumes, adorned with portraits, plates, and _fac-similes_,
under the title of "The Writings of George Washington," has been
the result of this labor, which has been performed in all its
parts with scrupulous fidelity, patriotism, and a love of the
subject.
The work is divided into several parts.
The First Volume contains a Life of Washington, written by Mr.
Sparks.
The Second Volume, entitled Part First, contains the Official and
Private Letters of Washington, prior to the American Revolution,
(from the 9th of March, 1754, to the 31st of May, 1775). The
official letters relate to the war of 1754-1758, between France
and England, for the possession of the territories lying west of
the English colonies.
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The Third, Fourth, Fifth, Sixth, Seventh, and Eighth Volumes
(being the Second Part) comprise the Correspondence and the
various papers relating to the American Revolution and the War of
Independence, (from the 16th of June, 1775, to the 23d of
December, 1783).
The Ninth Volume (being the Third Fart) is composed of the
Private Letters written by Washington from the end of 1783 to the
spring of 1789, in the interval between his return to Mount
Vernon, after the peace of Versailles, and his elevation to the
Presidency of the United States, (from the 28th of December,
1783, to the 14th of April, 1789).
The Tenth and Eleventh Volumes (being the Fourth Part) comprise
the Official and Private Correspondence of Washington from his
elevation to the Presidency to the close of his life, (from the
5th of May, 1789, to the 12th of December, 1799).
The Twelfth Volume (being the Fifth Part), contains the Documents
and Messages addressed by Washington to Congress, as President of
the United States, and also his Proclamations and Addresses to
the American people in general, or to particular classes of
citizens.
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Each volume is terminated by an Appendix, in which the Editor has
collected a variety of historical documents of great interest,
and, generally speaking, hitherto unpublished, which illustrate
the principal events of the period, and the most important parts
of the life and character of Washington.
Finally, numerous and accurate Notes, scattered through the work,
give all the information necessary for the complete understanding
of the letters and incidents to which they relate.
Viewed as a whole and in its details, in its literary execution
and in its outward form, the edition is worthy of the great name
to which it is consecrated.
In 1838, when the work had been just completed, the American
Editor, desirous that Washington should be as well known in
France as in his own country, applied to M. Guizot, requesting
him to make a selection, from the voluminous correspondence, of
such portions as seemed most calculated to awaken an interest in
the French public, and to superintend their publication in the
French language. M. Guizot has made this selection; upon the
principle of taking, especially, First, the letters concerning
the relations of France and the United States at that period, and
the distinguished part which our country acted in that great
event; Secondly, those which develope the political views of
Washington in the formation of the constitution and the
organization of the government of the United States,--views full
of valuable instruction; Thirdly, those which exhibit in the
clearest light the character, the turn of mind, and the manners
of the great man from whom they proceeded.
{xi}
In order to accomplish fully the honorable task which he
undertook, M. Guizot was desirous of presenting his own views of
the character of Washington, and of his influence in the
revolution which founded the United States of America; and these
are contained in the Introduction, which is prefixed to our
edition.
We have spared no pains to make its external appearance worthy of
the intrinsic value of its contents. We are indebted to the
kindness of General Cass, the minister of the United States in
France, for most useful assistance and information; and he has
afforded them with a kindness, at once so enlightened and so
generous, that we feel it our duty to make a public
acknowledgment of our obligations to him.
{xii}
{13}
Character And Influence of Washington.
Two difficult and important duties are assigned to man, and may
constitute his true glory: to support misfortune and resign
himself to it with firmness; to believe in goodness and trust
himself to it with unbroken confidence.
There is a spectacle not less noble or less improving, than that
of a virtuous man struggling with adversity; it is that of a
virtuous man at the head of a good cause, and giving assurance of
its triumph.
If there were ever a just cause, and one which deserved success,
it was that of the English colonies in their struggle to become
the United States of America.
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In their case, open insurrection had been preceded by resistance.
This resistance was founded upon historical right and upon facts,
upon natural right and upon opinions.
It is the honorable distinction of England to have given to her
colonies, in their infancy, the seminal principle of their
liberty. Almost all of them, either at the time of their being
planted or shortly after, received charters which conferred upon
the colonists the rights of the mother country. And these
charters were not a mere deceptive form, a dead letter, for they
either established or recognized those powerful institutions,
which impelled the colonists to defend their liberties and to
control power by dividing it; such as the laying of taxes by
vote, the election of the principal public bodies, trial by jury,
and the right to meet and deliberate upon affairs of general
interest.
Thus the history of these colonies is nothing else than the
practical and sedulous development of the spirit of liberty,
expanding under the protecting influence of the laws and
traditions of the country. Such, indeed, was the history of
England itself.
{15}
A Still more striking resemblance is presented in the fact, that
the colonies of America, at least the greater part of them and
the most considerable among them, either were founded, or
received their principal increase, precisely at the period when
England was preparing to sustain, or was already sustaining,
those bold conflicts against the claims of absolute power, which
were to confer upon her the honorable distinction of giving to
the world the first example of a great nation, free and well
governed.
From 1578 to 1704, under Elizabeth, James the First, Charles the
First, the Long Parliament, Cromwell, Charles the Second, James
the Second, William the Third, and Queen Anne, the charters of
Virginia, of Massachusetts, of Maryland, of Carolina, and of New
York, were, one after another, recognized, contested, restrained,
enlarged, lost, regained; incessantly exposed to those struggles
and those vicissitudes, which are the condition, indeed the very
essence, of liberty; for it is victory, and not peace, that free
communities can lay claim to.
{16}
At the same time with their legal rights, the colonists had also
religious faith. It was not only as Englishmen, but as
Christians, that they wished to be free; and their faith was more
dear to them than their charters. Indeed, these charters were, in
their eyes, nothing more than a manifestation and an image,
however imperfect, of the great law of God, the Gospel. Their
rights would not have been lost, even had they been deprived of
their charters. In their enthusiastic state of mind, supported by
divine favor, they would have traced these rights to a source
superior and inaccessible to all human power; for they cherished
sentiments more elevated than even the institutions themselves,
over which they were so sensitively watchful.
It is well known, that, in the eighteenth century, the human
understanding, impelled by the accumulation of wealth, the growth
of population, and the increase of every form of social power, as
well as by its own impetuous and self-derived activity, attempted
the conquest of the world. Political science, in all its forms,
woke into new and vigorous life; as did, to a still greater
degree, the spirit of philosophy, proud, unsatisfied, eager to
penetrate and to regulate all things.
{17}
English America shared in this great movement, but serenely and
dispassionately; obeying its inherent tendency rather than
rushing into new and untried paths. Philosophical opinions were
there combined with religious belief, the triumphs of reason with
the heritage of faith, and the rights of man with those of the
Christian.
A noble spectacle is presented to us, when we see the union of
historical and rational right, of traditions and opinions. A
nation, in such a case, gains in prudence as well as in energy.
When time-honored and esteemed truths control man without
enslaving him, restrain at the same time that they support him,
he can move onward and upward, without danger of being carried
away by the impetuous flight of his own spirit, soon to be either
dashed in pieces against unknown obstacles, or to sink gradually
into a sluggish and paralyzing inactivity.
{18}
And when, by a further union, still more beautiful and more
salutary, religious belief is indissolubly linked, in the very
mind of man, to the general progress of opinions, and liberty of
reason to the firm convictions of faith,--it is then that a
people may trust themselves to the boldest institutions. For
religious belief promotes, to an incalculable extent, the wise
management of human affairs. In order to discharge properly the
duty assigned to him in this life, man must contemplate it from a
higher point of view; if his mind be merely on the same level
with the task he is performing, he will soon fall below it, and
become incapable of accomplishing it in a worthy manner.
Such was the fortunate condition, both of man and of society, in
the English colonies, when, in a spirit of haughty aggression,
England undertook to control their fortunes and their destiny,
without their own consent. This aggression was not unprecedented,
nor altogether arbitrary; it also rested upon historical
foundations, and might claim to be supported by some right.
{19}
It is the great problem of political science, to bring the
various powers of society into harmony, by assigning to each its
sphere and its degree of activity; a harmony never assured, and
always liable to be disturbed, but which, nevertheless, can be
produced, even from the elements of the struggle itself, to that
degree which the public safety imperatively demands. It is not
the privilege of states in their infancy to accomplish this
result. Not that any essential power is in them absolutely
disregarded and annihilated; on the contrary, all powers are
found in full activity; but they manifest themselves in a
confused manner, each one in its own behalf, without necessary
connexion or any just proportion, and in a way to bring on, not
the struggle which leads to harmony, but the disorder which
renders war inevitable.
In the infancy of the English colonies, three different powers
are found, side by side with their liberties, and consecrated by
the same charters,--the crown, the proprietary founders, whether
companies or individuals, and the mother country. The crown, by
virtue of the monarchical principle, and with its traditions,
derived from the Church and the Empire. The proprietary founders,
to whom the territory had been granted, by virtue of the feudal
principle, which attaches a considerable portion of sovereignty
to the proprietorship of the soil.
{20}
The mother country, by virtue of the colonial principle, which,
at all periods and among all nations, by a natural connexion
between facts and opinions, has given to the mother country a
great influence over the population proceeding from its bosom.
From the very commencement, as well in the course of events as in
the charters, there was great confusion among these various
powers, by turns exalted or depressed, united or divided,
sometimes protecting, one against another, the colonists and
their franchises, and sometimes assailing them in concert. In the
course of these confused changes, all sorts of pretexts were
assumed, and facts of all kinds cited, in justification and
support either of their acts or their pretensions.
In the middle of the seventeenth century, when the monarchical
principle was overthrown in England in the person of Charles the
First, one might be led to suppose, for a moment, that the
colonies would take advantage of this to free themselves entirely
from its control.
{21}
In point of fact, some of them, Massachusetts especially, settled
by stern Puritans, showed themselves disposed, if not to break
every tie which bound them to the mother country, at least to
govern themselves, alone, and by their own laws. But the Long
Parliament, by force of the colonial principle, and in virtue of
the rights of the crown which it inherited, maintained, with
moderation, the supremacy of Great Britain. Cromwell, succeeding
to the power of the Long Parliament, exercised it in a more
striking manner, and, by a judicious and resolute principle of
protection, prevented or repressed, in the colonies, both
royalist and Puritan, every faint aspiration for independence.
This was to him an easy task. The colonies, at this period, were
feeble and divided. Virginia, in 1640, did not contain more than
three or four thousand inhabitants, and in 1660 hardly thirty
thousand. [Footnote 2]
[Footnote 2: Marshall's _Life of Washington_, edition of
1805, Vol. I. p. 76. Bancroft's _History of the United
States_, Vol. I. pp. 210, 232, 265.]
{22}
Maryland had at most only twelve thousand. In these two provinces
the royalist party had the ascendency, and greeted with joy the
Restoration. In Massachusetts, on the other hand, the general
feeling was republican; the fugitive regicides, Goffe and
Whalley, found there favor and protection; and when the local
government were compelled to proclaim Charles the Second as king,
they forbade, at the same time, all tumultuous assemblies, all
kinds of merry-making, and even the drinking of the King's
health. There was, at that time, neither the moral unity, nor the
physical strength, necessary to the foundation of a state.
After 1688, when England was finally in possession of a free
government, the colonies felt but slightly its advantages. The
charters, which Charles the Second and James the Second had
either taken away or impaired, were but imperfectly and partially
restored to them. The same confusion prevailed, the same
struggles arose between the different powers. The greater part of
the governors, coming from Europe, temporarily invested with the
prerogatives and pretensions of royalty, displayed them with more
arrogance than power, in an administration, generally speaking,
inconsistent, irritating, seldom successful, frequently marked by
grasping selfishness, and a postponement of the interests of the
public to petty personal quarrels.
{23}
Moreover, it was henceforth not the crown alone, but the crown
and the mother country united, with which the colonies had to
deal. Their real sovereign was no longer the king, but the king
and the people of Great Britain, represented and mingled together
in Parliament. And the Parliament regarded the colonies with
nearly the same eyes, and held, in respect to them, nearly the
same language, as had lately been used towards the Parliament
itself, by those kings whom it afterwards overcame. An
aristocratic senate is the most intractable of masters. Every
member of it possesses the supreme power, and no one is
responsible for its exercise.
In the mean time, the colonies were rapidly increasing in
population, in wealth, in strength internally, and in importance
externally. Instead of a few obscure establishments, solely
occupied with their own affairs, and hardly able to sustain their
own existence, a people was now forming itself, whose
agriculture, commerce, enterprising spirit, and relative position
to other states, were giving them a place and consideration among
men.
{24}
The mother country, unable to govern them well, had neither the
leisure nor the ill will to oppress them absolutely. She vexed
and annoyed them without checking their growth.
And the minds of men were expanded, and their hearts elevated,
with the growing fortunes of the country. By an admirable law of
Providence, there is a mysterious connexion between the general
condition of a country, and the state of feeling among the
citizens; a certain, though not obvious, bond of union, which
connects their growth and their destinies, and which makes the
farmer in his fields, the merchant in his counting-room, even the
mechanic in his workshop, grow more confident and high-spirited,
in proportion as the society, in whose bosom they dwell, is
enlarged and strengthened. As early as 1692, the General Court of
Massachusetts passed a resolution, "that no tax should be levied
upon his Majesty's subjects in the colonies, without the consent
of the Governor and Council, and the representatives in General
Court assembled." [Footnote 3]
[Footnote 3: Story's _Commentaries on the Constitution_,
Vol. I. p. 62.]
{25}
In 1704, the legislative assembly of New York made a similar
declaration. [Footnote 4]
[Footnote 4: Marshall's _Life of Washington_,
Vol. II. p. 17.]
The government of Great Britain repelled them, sometimes by its
silence, and sometimes by its measures, which were always a
little indirect and reserved. The colonists were often silent in
their turn, and did not insist upon carrying out their principles
to their extreme consequences. But the principles themselves were
spreading among the colonial society, at the same time that the
resources were increasing, which were destined, at a future day
to be devoted to their service, and to insure their triumph.
Thus, when that day arrived, when George the Third and his
Parliament, rather in a spirit of pride, and to prevent the loss
of absolute power by long disuse, than to derive any advantage
from its exercise, undertook to tax the colonies without their
consent, a powerful, numerous, and enthusiastic party,--the
national party,--immediately sprang into being, ready to resist,
in the name of right and of national honor.
{26}
It was indeed a question of right and of honor, and not of
interest or physical well-being. The taxes were light, and
imposed no burden upon the colonists. But they belonged to that
class of men who feel most keenly the wrongs which affect the
mind alone, and who can find no repose while honor is
unsatisfied. "For, Sir, what is it we are contending against? Is
it against paying the duty of three pence per pound on tea,
because burdensome? No; it is the right only, that we have all
along disputed." [Footnote 5] Such was, at the commencement of
the quarrel, the language of Washington himself, and such was the
public sentiment--a sentiment founded in sound policy, as well
as moral sense, and manifesting as much judgment as virtue.
[Footnote 5: Washington to Bryan Fairfax.
_Washington's Writings_, Vol. II. p. 392.]
{27}
An instructive spectacle is presented to our contemplation, in
the number of public associations, which at that time were formed
in the colonies;--associations, local or general, accidental or
permanent; chambers of burgesses and of representatives,
conventions, committees, and congresses. Men of very different
characters and dispositions there met together; some, full of
respect and attachment to the mother country, others, ardently
devoted to that American country which was growing up under their
eyes and by the labor of their own hands; the former, anxious and
dejected, the latter, confident and enthusiastic, but all moved
and united by the same elevated sentiment, and the same
resolution to resist; giving the freest utterance to their
various views and opinions, without its producing any deep or
permanent division; on the contrary, respecting in each other the
rights of freedom, discussing together the great question of the
country with that conscientious purpose, that spirit of justice
and discretion, which gave them assurance of success, and
diminished the cost of its purchase. In June 1775, the first
Congress, assembled at Philadelphia, took measures for the
publication of a solemn declaration, for the purpose of
justifying the taking up of arms.
{28}
Two members, one from Virginia, and one from Pennsylvania, were a
part of the committee charged with the duty of drawing it up. "I
prepared," relates Mr. Jefferson himself, "a draft of the
declaration committed to us. It was too strong for Mr. Dickinson.
He still retained the hope of reconciliation with the mother
country, and was unwilling it should be lessened by offensive
statements. He was so honest a man, and so able a one, that he
was greatly indulged, even by those who could not feel his
scruples. We therefore requested him to take the paper, and put
it into a form he could approve. He did so; preparing an entire
new statement, and preserving of the former only the last four
paragraphs, and half of the preceding one. We approved and
reported it to Congress, who accepted it. Congress gave a signal
proof of their indulgence to Mr. Dickinson, and of their great
desire not to go too fast for any respectable part of our body,
in permitting him to draw their second petition to the King
according to his own ideas, and passing it with scarcely an
amendment.
{29}
The disgust against its humility was general; and Mr. Dickinson's
delight at its passage was the only circumstance that reconciled
them to it. The vote being passed, although further observation
on it was out of order, he could not refrain from rising and
expressing his satisfaction, and concluded by saying, 'There is
but one word, Mr. President, in the paper, which I disapprove,
and that is the word _Congress;_' on which Benjamin Harrison
rose and said, 'There is but one word in the paper, Mr.
President, of which I approve, and that is the word
_Congress_.'" [Footnote 6]
[Footnote 6: Jefferson's _Memoirs_, Vol. I. pp. 9, 10.]
Such a unanimity of feeling in the midst of so much liberty was
not a short-lived wisdom, the happy influence of the first burst
of enthusiasm. During the period of nearly ten years, which the
great contest occupied, men the most unlike, who were ranked
under the banners of the same national party, young and old,
enthusiastic and calm, continued to act thus in concert, one
portion being sufficiently wise, and the other sufficiently firm,
to prevent a rupture. And when, forty-six years afterwards,
[Footnote 7] after having taken part in the violent struggle
between the parties which American liberty gave birth to, himself
the head of the victorious party, Mr. Jefferson called up anew
the recollections of his youth, we may be sure, that it was not
without mingled emotions of pain and pleasure, that he recurred
to these noble examples of moderation and justice.
[Footnote 7: Mr. Jefferson wrote his _Memoirs_ in 1821.]
{30}
Insurrection, resistance to established authority, and the
enterprise of forming a new government, are matters of grave
importance to men like these, to all men of sense and virtue.
Those who have the most forecast, never calculate its whole
extent. The boldest would shudder in their hearts, could they
foresee all the dangers of the undertaking. Independence was not
the premeditated purpose, not even the wish, of the colonies. A
few bold and sagacious spirits either saw that it would come, or
expressed their desire for it, after the period of resistance
under the forms of law had passed. But the American people did
not aspire to it, and did not urge their leaders to make claim to
it.
{31}
"'For all what you Americans say of your loyalty,' observed the
illustrious Lord Camden, at that time Mr. Pratt, 'I know you will
one day throw off your dependence upon this country; and,
notwithstanding your boasted affection to it, will set up for
independence.' Franklin answered, 'No such idea is entertained in
the minds of the Americans; and no such idea will ever enter
their heads, unless you grossly abuse them.' 'Very true,' replied
Mr. Pratt, 'that is one of the main causes I see will happen, and
will produce the event.'" [Footnote 8]
[Footnote 8: Washington's Writings, Vol. II. p. 496.]
Lord Camden was right in his conjectures. English America was
grossly abused; and yet, in 1774, and even in 1775, hardly a year
before the declaration of independence, and when it was becoming
inevitable, Washington and Jefferson thus wrote; "Although you
are taught, I say, to believe, that the people of Massachusetts
are rebellious, setting up for independency, and what not, give
me leave, my good friend, to tell you, that you are abused,
grossly abused. ...
{32}
I can announce it as a fact, that it is not the wish or interest
of that government, or any other upon this continent, separately
or collectively, to set up for independence; but this you may, at
the same lime, rely on, that none of them will ever submit to the
loss of those valuable rights and privileges, which are essential
to the happiness of every free state, and without which, life,
liberty, and property are rendered totally insecure."
[Footnote 9]
[Footnote 9: Letter to Robert Mackenzie, 9 October, 1774;
Washington's Writings, Vol. II. p. 400.]
"Believe me, dear Sir, there is not in the British empire a man,
who more cordially loves a union with Great Britain than I do.
But, by the God that made me, I will cease to exist, before I
will yield to a connexion on such terms as the British Parliament
propose, and, in this, I think I speak the sentiments of America.
We want neither inducement nor power to declare and assert a
separation. It is will alone, which is wanting, and that is
growing apace, under the fostering hand of our King." [Footnote
10]
[Footnote 10: Letter to Mr. Randolph, 29th November, 1775;
Jefferson's _Memoirs and Correspondence_, Vol. I. p. 153.]
{33}
George the Third, in point of fact, pledged to the course he was
pursuing, and acting under the influence of passionate obstinacy,
animated and sustained his ministers and the Parliament in the
struggle. In vain were fresh petitions constantly presented to
him, always loyal and respectful without insincerity; in vain was
his name commended to the favor and protection of God, in the
services of religion, according to usual custom. He paid no
attention, either to the prayers which were made to him, or to
those which were offered to Heaven in his behalf; and by his
order the war continued, without ability, without vigorous and
well-combined efforts, but with that hard and haughty obstinacy,
which destroys in the heart all affection as well as hope.
Evidently the day had arrived, when power had forfeited its claim
to loyal obedience; and when the people were called upon to
protect themselves by force, no longer finding in the established
order of things either safety or shelter. Such a moment is a
fearful one, big with unknown events; one, which no human
sagacity can predict, and no human government can control, but
which, notwithstanding, does sometimes come, bearing an impress
stamped by the hand of God.
{34}
If the struggle, which begins at such a moment, were one
absolutely forbidden; if, at the mysterious point in which it
arises, this great social duty did not press even upon the heads
of those who deny its existence, the human race, long ago, wholly
fallen under the yoke, would have lost all dignity as well as all
happiness.
Nor was there wanting another condition, also essential, to the
legitimate character of the insurrection of the English colonies.
They had a reasonable chance of success.
No vigorous hand, at that time, had the management of public
affairs in England. The cabinet of Lord North was not remarkable
for talent or generosity of feeling. The only eminent man in the
country, Lord Chatham, was in the opposition.
{35}
The times of extreme tyranny had gone by. Proscriptions, judicial
and military cruelties, a general and systematic laying waste of
the country; all those terrible measures, those atrocious
sufferings, which a little while before in the heart of Europe,
in a cause equally just, had been inflicted upon the Hollanders,
would not have been tolerated in the eighteenth century, by the
spectators of the American contest, and, indeed, were never
thought of by those who were the most fiercely engaged in it. On
the contrary, a powerful party was formed, and eloquent voices
were constantly lifted up, in the British Parliament itself, in
support of the colonies and of their rights. This is the glory
and distinction of a representative government, that it insures
to every cause its champions, and brings even into the arena of
politics those defences, which were instituted for the sanctuary
of the laws.
Europe, moreover, could not be a passive spectator of such a
struggle. Two great powers, France and Spain, had serious losses
and recent injuries in America itself, to avenge upon England.
{36}
Two powers, whose greatness was of recent growth, Russia and
Prussia, displayed in favor of liberal opinions a sympathy which
was enlightened, though a little ostentatious, and showed
themselves disposed to seize the occasion of bringing discredit
upon England, or of injuring her, in the name of liberty itself.
A republic, formerly glorious and formidable, still rich and
honored, Holland, could not fail to assist America, against her
ancient rival, with her capital, and her credit. Finally, among
the powers of an inferior rank, all those whose situation
rendered the maritime supremacy of England odious or injurious to
them, could not but feel in favor of the new state a good will;
timid, perhaps, and without immediate effect, but still useful
and encouraging.
By the rarest good fortune, at that time every thing united and
acted in concert in favor of the insurgent colonies. Their cause
was just, their strength already great, and their characters
marked by prudence and morality. Upon their own soil, laws and
manners, old facts and modern opinions, united in sustaining and
animating them in their purpose. Great alliances were preparing
for them in Europe. Even in the councils of the hostile mother
country, they had powerful support. Never, in the history of
human societies, had any new and contested right received so much
favor, and engaged in the strife with so many chances of success.
{37}
Still by how many obstacles was this undertaking opposed! What
efforts and sacrifices did it cost to the generation which was
charged with the duty of accomplishing it! How many times did it
appear to be, and indeed really was, on the point of being
utterly defeated!
In the country itself, among the people in appearance and
sometimes in reality so unanimous, independence, when once
declared, soon met numerous and active adversaries. In 1775,
hardly had the first guns been fired at Lexington, when, in the
midst of the general enthusiasm, a company of Connecticut troops
was requisite in New York to sustain the republican party against
the Tories or Loyalists, a name which the partisans of the mother
country had proudly adopted. [Footnote 11] In 1775, New York sent
important supplies to the English army under the orders of
General Gage. [Footnote 12]
[Footnote 11: Marshall's _Life of Washington_,
Vol. II. p. 187.]
[Footnote 12: Marshall's _Life of Washington_,
Vol. II. p. 229.]
{38}
In 1776, when General Howe arrived upon the shores of the same
province, a crowd of inhabitants manifested their joy, renewed
the oath of fidelity to the crown, and took up arms in its
behalf. [Footnote 13] The feeling was the same in New Jersey, and
the Loyalist corps, levied in these two provinces, equalled in
numbers the contingents furnished by them to the republican
armies.[Footnote 14] In the midst of this population, Washington
himself was not in safety; a conspiracy was formed to deliver him
up to the English, and some members of his own guard were found
to be engaged in it. [Footnote 15]
[Footnote 13: Ibid., Vol. II. p. 381.]
[Footnote 14: Ibid., Vol. III. p. 47.
Spark's _Life of Washington_, Vol. I. p 261.]
[Footnote 15: Marshall's _Life of Washington_,
Vol. II. p. 364.]
{39}
Maryland and Georgia were divided. In North and South Carolina,
in 1776 and 1779, two Loyalist regiments, one of fifteen hundred,
and the other of seven hundred men, were formed in a few days.
Against these domestic hostilities, Congress and the local
governments used, at first, extreme moderation; rallying the
friends of independence without troubling themselves with its
opponents; demanding nothing from those who would have refused;
everywhere exerting themselves by means of writings,
correspondence, associations, and the sending of commissioners
into the doubtful counties, to confirm their minds, to remove
their scruples, and to demonstrate to them the justice of their
cause, and the necessity there was for the steps they had taken.
For, generally, the Loyalist party was founded upon sincere and
honorable sentiments; fidelity, affection, gratitude, respect for
tradition, and a love of established order; and from such
sentiments it derived its strength. For some time the government
contented itself with watching over this party and keeping it
under restraint; in some districts, they even entered into treaty
with it, to secure its neutrality. But the course of events, the
imminence of the danger, the urgent need of assistance, and the
irritation of the passions, soon led to a more rigorous course.
Arrests and banishment became frequent. The prisons were filled.
Confiscations of property commenced.
{40}
Local committees of public safety disposed of the liberty of
their fellow-citizens, on the evidence of general notoriety.
Popular violence, in more than one instance, was added to the
arbitrary severities of the magistrates. A printer in New York
was devoted to the cause of the Loyalists; a troop of horsemen,
who had come from Connecticut for that purpose, broke his presses
and carried off his types. [Footnote 16] The spirit of hatred and
vengeance was awakened. In Georgia and South Carolina, on the
western frontier of Connecticut and of Pennsylvania, the struggle
between the two parties was marked with cruelty. Notwithstanding
the legitimate character of the cause, notwithstanding the
virtuous wisdom of its leaders, the infant republic was
experiencing the horrors of a civil war.
[Footnote 16: Marshall's _Life of Washington_,
Vol. II. p. 240.]
Evils and dangers, still more serious, were every day springing
from the national party itself. The motives which led to the
insurrection were pure; too pure to consist for any length of
time, among the mass at least, with the imperfections of
humanity.
{41}
When the people were appealed to in the name of rights, to be
maintained, and honor to be saved, the first impulse was a
general one. But, however great may be the favor of Providence in
such great enterprises, the toil is severe, success is slow, and
the generality of men soon become exhausted through weariness or
impatience. The colonists had not taken up arms to escape from
any atrocious tyranny; they had not, like their ancestors in
fleeing from England, the first privileges of life to regain,
personal security and religious toleration. They were no longer
stimulated by any urgent personal motive; there were no social
spoils to be divided, no old and deep-seated passions to gratify.
The contest was prolonged without creating in thousands of
retired families those powerful interests, those coarse but
strong ties, which, in our old and violent Europe, have so often
given to revolutions their force and their misery. Every day,
almost every step towards success, on the contrary, called for
new efforts and new sacrifices.
{42}
"I believe, or at least I hope," wrote Washington, "that there is
public virtue enough left among us to deny ourselves every thing
but the bare necessaries of life, to accomplish this end."
[Footnote 17]
[Footnote 17: Letter to Bryan Fairfax;
_Washington's Writings_, Vol. II. p. 395.]
A sublime hope, one which deserved to be rewarded as it was, by
the triumph of the cause, but which could not raise to its own
lofty elevation all that population, whose free and concurring
support was the condition, and indeed the only means, of success.
Depression, lukewarmness, inactivity, the desire to escape from
labors and expenses, soon became the essential evil, the pressing
danger, against which the leaders had constantly to struggle. In
point of fact, it was among the leaders, in the front ranks of
the party, that enthusiasm and devotedness were maintained. In
other instances of similar events, the impulse of perseverance
and self-sacrifice has come from the people. In America, it was
the independent and enlightened classes, who were obliged to
animate and sustain the people in the great contest in which they
were engaged for their country's sake.
{43}
In the ranks of civil life, the magistrates, the rich planters,
the leading merchants, and, in the army, the officers, always
showed themselves the most ardent and the most firm; from them,
example as well as counsel proceeded, and the people at large
followed them with difficulty, instead of urging them on. "Take
none for officers but _gentlemen_," was the recommendation
of Washington, after the war had lasted three years.[Footnote 18]
So fully had he been taught by experience, that these were
everywhere devoted to the cause of independence, and ready to
risk every thing and suffer every thing to insure its success.
[Footnote 18: In his instructions to Colonel George Baylor,
9th of January, 1777; _Washington's Writings_, Vol. IV.
p. 269.]
These, too, were the only persons who, at least on their own
account, could sustain the expenses of the war, for the State
made no provision for them. Perhaps no army ever lived in a more
miserable condition than the American army.
{44}
Almost constantly inferior in numbers to the enemy; exposed to a
periodical and, in some sort, legalized desertion; called upon to
march, encamp, and fight, in a country of immense extent, thinly
peopled, in parts uncultivated, through vast swamps and savage
forests, without magazines of provisions, often without money to
purchase them, and without the power to make requisitions of
them; obliged, in carrying on war, to treat the inhabitants, and
to respect them and their property, as if it had consisted of
troops in garrison in a time of peace, this army was exposed to
great exigencies, and a prey to unheard-of sufferings. "For some
days," writes Washington, in 1777, "there has been little less
than a famine in camp. A part of the army have been a week
without any kind of flesh, and the rest three or four days. The
soldiers are naked and starving." ... "We find gentlemen
reprobating the measure of going into winter quarters; as much as
if they thought the soldiers were made of stocks or stones, and
equally insensible of frost and snow; and, moreover, as if they
conceived it easily practicable, for an inferior army, under the
disadvantages I have described ours to be, to confine a superior
one, in all respects well-appointed and provided for a winter's
campaign, within the city of Philadelphia, and to cover from
depredation and waste the States of Pennsylvania and Jersey."
{45}
"I can assure those gentlemen, that it is a much easier and less
distressing thing to draw remonstrances in a comfortable room by
a good fireside, than to occupy a cold, bleak hill, and sleep
under frost and snow, without clothes or blankets. I feel
super-abundantly for the poor soldiers, and, from my soul, I pity
those miseries which it is neither in my power to relieve nor
prevent." [Footnote 19]
[Footnote 19: _Washington's Writings_,
Vol. V. pp. 199, 200.]
Congress, to whom he applied, could do hardly more than he
himself. Without the strength necessary to enforce the execution
of its orders; without the power of passing any laws upon the
subject of taxes; obliged to point out the necessities of the
country, and to solicit the thirteen confederated States to
provide for them, in the face of an exhausted people, a ruined
commerce, and a depreciated paper currency; this assembly, though
firm and prudent, was often able to do nothing more than address
new entreaties to the States, and clothe Washington with new
powers; instructing him to obtain from the local governments,
reinforcements, money, provisions, and every thing requisite to
carry on the war.
{46}
Washington accepted this difficult trust: and he soon found a new
obstacle to surmount, a new danger to remove. No bond of union,
no central power, had hitherto united the colonies. Each one
having been founded and governed separately, each, on its own
account, providing for its own safety, for its public works, for
its most trifling as well as most important affairs, they had
contracted habits of isolation and almost of rivalship, which the
distrustful mother country had taken pains to foster. In their
relations to each other, even ambition and the desire of conquest
insinuated themselves, as if the States had been foreign to each
other; the most powerful ones sometimes attempted to absorb the
neighboring establishments, or to deprive them of their
authority; and in their most important interest, the defence of
their frontiers against the savages, they often followed a
selfish course of policy, and mutually abandoned one another.
{47}