striking proof of his impartiality. Four persons were selected by
him; Hamilton and Knox, of the federal party; Jefferson and
Randolph, of the democratic. Knox was a soldier, of integrity, of
moderate abilities, and easily influenced; Randolph, a restless
spirit, of doubtful probity, and little good faith; Jefferson and
Hamilton were both sincere, honest, enthusiastic, and able,--the
real heads of the two parties.
Hamilton deserves to be ranked among those men, who have best
understood the vital principles and essential conditions of
government; not merely of a nominal government, but of a
government worthy of its mission and of its name. In the
Constitution of the United States, there is not an element of
order, strength, and durability, to the introduction and adoption
of which he did not powerfully contribute. Perhaps he believed
the monarchical form preferable to the republican. Perhaps he
sometimes had doubts of the success of the experiment attempted
in his own country. Perhaps, also, carried away by his vivid
imagination and the logical vehemence of his mind, he was
sometimes exclusive in his views, and went too far in his
inferences.
{113}
But, of a character as lofty as his mind, he faithfully served
the republic, and labored to found and not to weaken it. His
superiority consisted in knowing, that, naturally, and by a law
inherent in the nature of things, power is above, at the head of
society; that government should be constituted according to this
law; and that every contrary system or effort brings, sooner or
later, trouble and weakness into the society itself. His error
consisted in adhering too closely, and with a somewhat arrogant
obstinacy, to the precedents of the English constitution, in
attributing sometimes in these precedents the same authority to
good and to evil, to principles and to the abuse of them, and in
not attaching due importance to, and reposing sufficient
confidence in, the variety of political forms and the flexibility
of human society. There are occasions, in which political genius
consists, in not fearing what is new, while what is eternal is
respected.
The democratic party, not the turbulent and coarse democracy of
antiquity or of the middle ages, but the great modern democracy,
never had a more faithful or more distinguished representative
than Jefferson.
{114}
A warm friend of humanity, liberty, and science; trusting in
their goodness as well as their rights; deeply touched by the
injustice with which the mass of mankind have been treated, and
the sufferings they endure, and incessantly engaged, with an
admirable disinterestedness, in remedying them or preventing
their recurrence; accepting power as a dangerous necessity,
almost as one evil opposed to another, and exerting himself not
merely to restrain, but to lower it; distrusting all display, all
personal splendor, as a tendency to usurpation; of a temper open,
kind, indulgent, though ready to take up prejudices against, and
feel irritated with, the enemies of his party; of a mind bold,
active, ingenious, inquiring, with more penetration than
forecast, but with too much good sense to push things to the
extreme, and capable of employing, against a pressing danger or
evil, a prudence and firmness which would perhaps have prevented
it, had they been adopted earlier or more generally.
{115}
It was not an easy task to unite these two men, and make them act
in concert in the same cabinet. The critical state of affairs at
the first adoption of the Constitution, and the impartial
preponderance of Washington alone could accomplish it. He applied
himself to it with consummate perseverance and wisdom. At heart,
he felt a decided preference for Hamilton and his views. "By
some," said he, "he is considered an ambitious man, and therefore
a dangerous one. That he is ambitious, I shall readily grant; but
it is of that laudable kind, which prompts a man to excel in
whatever he takes in hand. He is enterprising, quick in his
perceptions, and his judgment intuitively great." [Footnote 66]
[Footnote 66: Washington's Writings, Vol. XI. p. 312.]
But it was only in 1798, in the freedom of his retirement, that
Washington spoke so explicitly. While in office, and between his
two secretaries, he maintained towards them a strict reserve, and
testified the same confidence in them both. He believed both of
them to be sincere and able; both of them necessary to the
country and to himself. Jefferson was to him, not only a
connecting tie, a means of influence, with the popular party,
which was not slow in becoming the opposition; but he made use of
him in the internal administration of his government, as a
counterpoise to the tendencies, and especially to the language,
sometimes extravagant and inconsiderate, of Hamilton and his
friends.
{116}
He had interviews and consultations with each of them separately,
upon the subjects which they were to discuss together, in order
to remove or to lessen beforehand their differences of opinion.
He knew how to turn the merit and the popularity of each with his
own party, to the general good of the government, even to their
own mutual advantage. He skillfully availed himself of every
opportunity to employ them in a common responsibility. And when a
disagreement too wide, and passions too impetuous, seemed to
threaten an immediate rupture, he interposed, used exhortation
and intreaty, and, by his personal influence, by a frank and
touching appeal to the patriotism and right-mindedness of the two
rivals, he at least postponed the breaking forth of the evil
which he could not eradicate.
{117}
He dealt with things with the same prudence and tact as with men;
careful of his personal position, starting no premature or
superfluous question; free from the restless desire to regulate
every thing and control every thing; leaving the grand bodies of
the State, the local governments, and the officers of his
administration, to act in their appropriate spheres, and never,
except in a case of clear and practical necessity, pledging his
own opinion or responsibility. And this policy, so impartial, so
cautions, so careful to embarrass neither affairs nor itself, was
by no means the policy of an inactive, uncertain, ill-compounded
administration, seeking and receiving its opinions and direction
from all quarters. On the contrary, there never was a government
more determined, more active, more decided in its views, and more
effective in its decisions.
It had been formed against anarchy and to strengthen the federal
union, the central power. It was entirely faithful to its office.
At its very commencement, in the first session of the first
Congress, numerous great questions arose; it was necessary to put
the Constitution in vigorous action.
{118}
The relations of the two branches of the Legislature with the
President; the mode of communication between the President and
the Senate in regard to treaties and the nomination to high
offices; the organization of the judiciary; the creation of
ministerial departments; all these points were discussed and
regulated. A work of vast labor, in which the Constitution was,
to some extent, given over a second time to the strife of
parties. Without ostentation, without intrigue, without any
attempt at encroachment, but provident and firm in the cause of
the power which was intrusted to him, Washington, by his personal
influence, by an adherence openly given to sound principles, had
a powerful influence in causing the work to be carried on in the
same spirit which presided over its beginning, and to result in
the dignified and firm organization of the government.
His practice corresponded with his principles. Once fairly
engaged with public business and parties, this man who, in the
formation of his cabinet, showed himself so tolerant, enjoined
and observed, in his administration, a strict unity of views and
conduct.
{119}
"I shall not, whilst I have the honor to administer the
government, bring a man into any office of consequence knowingly,
whose political tenets are adverse to the measures which the
general government are pursuing; for this, in my opinion, would
be a sort of political suicide." [Footnote 67]
[Footnote 67: Washington's Writings, Vol. XI. p. 74.]
"In a government as free as ours," he wrote to Gouverneur Morris,
at that time residing in London, "where the people are at
liberty, and will express their sentiments, (oftentimes
imprudently, and, for want of information, sometimes unjustly,)
allowances must be made for occasional effervescences; but, after
the declaration which I have made of my political creed, you can
run no hazard in asserting, that the executive branch of this
government never has suffered, nor will suffer, while I preside,
any improper conduct of its officers to escape with impunity, nor
give its sanction to any disorderly proceedings of its citizens."
[Footnote 68]
[Footnote 68: Washington's Writings, Vol. XI. p. 103.]
In matters, also, of mere form, and foreign to the usual habits
of his life, he was enlightened and directed by a wise tact, a
sure instinct as to what is suitable and proper, a regard to
which is itself one of the conditions of power.
{120}
The ceremonials to be observed towards the President became,
after his election, a grave party question. Many federalists,
passionately attached to the traditions and splendor of monarchy,
exulted when at a ball they had succeeded in causing a sofa to be
placed on an elevation two steps above the floor of the hall,
upon which only Washington and his wife could be seated.
[Footnote 69] Many of the democrats saw in these displays, and in
the public levees of the President, the premeditated return of
tyranny, and were indignant, that, receiving at a fixed hour, in
his house, all those who presented themselves, he made them only
a stiff and slight bow. [Footnote 70]
[Footnote 69: Jefferson's _Memoirs_, Vol. IV. p. 487. ]
[Footnote 70: Washington's Writings, Vol. X. p. 99.]
Washington smiled at both the delight and the indignation, and
persisted in the regulations, surely very modest, which he had
adopted. "Were I to give indulgence to my inclinations, every
moment that I could withdraw from the fatigue of my station
should be spent in retirement. That it is not, proceeds from the
sense I entertain of the propriety of giving to every one as free
access as consists with that respect which is due to the chair of
government; and that respect, I conceive, is neither to be
acquired nor preserved but by observing a just medium between
much state and too great familiarity." [Footnote 71]
[Footnote 71: Washington's Writings, Vol. X. p. 100.]
{121}
More serious embarrassments soon put his firmness to a more
severe test. After the establishment of the Constitution, the
finances formed a question of vast importance to the republic,
perhaps the principal one. They were in a state of extreme
confusion; there were debts of the Union, contracted at home and
abroad; debts of individual States, contracted in their own
names, but in behalf of the common cause; warrants for
requisitions; contracts for supplies; arrears of interest; also
other claims, different in their character and origin,
imperfectly known and not liquidated. And at the end of this
chaos, there were no settled revenues, sufficient to meet the
expenses which it imposed.
Many persons, and, it must be acknowledged, the democratic party
in general, were unwilling that light should be thrown into this
chaos by assuming all these obligations, or even by funding them.
{122}
They would have imposed upon each State its debts, however
unequal the burden might have been. They would have made
distinctions between the creditors; classifications founded upon
the origin of their claims and the real amount of what they had
paid for them. In short, all those measures were proposed which,
under an appearance of scrupulous investigation and strict
justice, were in reality nothing but evasions to escape from or
reduce the engagements of the state.
As Secretary of the Treasury, Hamilton proposed the opposite
system;--the funding and the entire payment, at the expense of
the Union, of all the debts actually contracted for the common
benefit, whether with foreigners or Americans, and whoever were
the contractors or the present holders, and whatever was the
origin of the claims;--the laying of taxes sufficient to secure
the redemption of the public debt;--the formation of a national
bank, capable of aiding the government in its financial
operations, and of sustaining its credit.
{123}
This system was the only moral and manly one; the only one in
conformity with honesty and truth. It strengthened the Union, by
uniting the States financially, as they were united politically.
It established American credit, by this striking example of
fidelity to public engagements, and by the guaranties which it
afforded for their fulfilment. It fortified the central
government by rallying around it the capitalists, and by giving
it powerful means of influence over them and through them.
At the first movement, the opponents of Hamilton did not dare to
make any open objection; but they exerted themselves to lessen
the authority of the principle, by contesting the equal fairness
of the debts, by discussing the honesty of the creditors, and by
exclaiming against the taxes. Partisans of local independence,
they rejected, instead of viewing with satisfaction, the
political consequences of a financial union, and demanded, in
virtue of their general principles, that the States should be
left, as to the past as well as for the future, to the various
chances of their situation and their destiny.
{124}
American credit seemed to them to be bought at too dear a price.
They would obtain it, as necessity might require, by means less
burdensome and more simple. They found fault with the theories of
Hamilton respecting credit, the public debt and its redemption,
and banks, as difficult to be understood and fallacious.
But the ultimate effect of the system especially excited their
wrath. The aristocracy of wealth is a perilous ally to power; for
it is that which inspires the least esteem and the most envy.
When the question was on the payment of the public debt, the
federal party had on their side the principles of morality and
honor. When the public debt, and the speculations founded upon
it, were becoming a means of sudden wealth, and perhaps of
unlawful influence, the severity of morals passed over to the
democratic party, and integrity lent its support to envy.
Hamilton sustained the contest with his usual energy, as pure in
his motives as he was firm in his convictions; the head of a
party still more than a financier; and, in the administration of
the finances, always chiefly occupied with his political object,
the foundation of the state, and the strength of its government.
{125}
The perplexity of Washington was great. A stranger to financial
studies, he had not, upon the intrinsic merit of the proposed
questions, a personal conviction derived from knowledge. He felt
their justice and their political utility. He had confidence in
Hamilton, in his judgment and his virtue. Still, as the debate
was prolonged and objections were multiplied, some of them
disturbed his mind and others troubled his conscience; and he
asked himself with some embarrassment, whether all the reasons
were indeed on the side of the government.
I know not which is the more worthy of admiration, the
impartiality which inspired these doubts, or the firmness with
which, in the final result and after every thing had been well
considered, he always sustained Hamilton and his measures. This
was a step of great political sagacity. Though it might have been
true, that some fallacies were mingled with the financial
measures of the Secretary of the Treasury, and some abuses with
their execution, a far higher truth predominated in them; by
laying the foundation of the public faith, and by closely
connecting the administration of the finances with the policy of
the State, he gave to the new government, from the first moment,
the consistence of an old and well-established authority.
{126}
The success surpassed the proudest expectations. Confidence
appeared in men's minds, activity in business, and order in the
administration. Agriculture and commerce flourished; credit rose
rapidly. Society prospered with a sense of security, feeling
itself free and well-governed. The country and the government
grew strong together, in that admirable harmony which is the
healthy condition of states.
Washington beheld with his own eyes, upon every point of the
American territory, this spectacle so glorious and so delightful
to him. In three public journeys, he slowly traveled over the
whole Union, everywhere received with grateful and affectionate
admiration, the only recompense worthy to affect the heart of a
public man.
{127}
On his return, he thus wrote; "I am much pleased, that I have
taken this journey. ... The country appears to be in a very
improving state; and industry and frugality are becoming much
more fashionable than they have hitherto been. Tranquillity
reigns among the people, with that disposition towards the
general government, which is likely to preserve it. ... The
farmer finds a ready market for his produce, and the merchant
calculates with more certainty on his payments. ... Every day's
experience of the government of the United States seems to
confirm its establishment, and to render it more popular. A ready
acquiescence in the laws made under it shows, in a strong light,
the confidence, which the people have in their representatives
and in the upright views of those who administer the government."
[Footnote 72]
[Footnote 72: Washington's Writings, Vol. X. p. 170.]
And almost at the same time, as if Providence had provided that
the same testimony should go down to posterity from all parties,
Jefferson wrote; "New elections have taken place for the most
part, and very few changes made. This is one of many proofs, that
the proceedings of the new government have given general
satisfaction. ... Our affairs are proceeding in a train of
unparalleled prosperity.
{128}
This arises from the real improvements of our government; from
the unbounded confidence reposed in it by the people, their zeal
to support it, and their conviction, that a solid union is the
best rock of their safety." [Footnote 73]
[Footnote 73: Jefferson's _Memoirs_,
Vol. III. pp. 93, 112.]
Thus, when the close of Washington's presidency approached, when
the necessity of again selecting a chief magistrate for the
nation was near at hand, a general movement was directed towards
him, to entreat him to accept, a second time, the burden of
office. A movement with great diversity, in spite of its apparent
unanimity; the federal party wished to retain possession of the
power; the democratic opposition felt, that the time had not come
for them to aspire to it; and that the country could not dispense
with the policy, nor with the man, they nevertheless had a
distinct purpose of attacking. The public were fearful of seeing
an interruption of that order and prosperity, so highly valued
and so precarious. But, whether open or concealed, patriotic or
selfish, sincere or hypocritical, the sentiments and opinions of
all concurred to the same end.
{129}
Washington alone hesitated. His calm and penetrating mind found
in his own disinterestedness a freedom, which preserved him from
all illusion, both as to affairs and as to himself. The brilliant
aspect, the really prosperous condition, of public affairs, did
not conceal from his eyes the imminent perils of his situation.
From abroad, the intelligence of the French revolution was
already startling America. An unavoidable war, commenced with ill
success, against the Indians, was requiring considerable efforts.
In the cabinet, the disagreement between Hamilton and Jefferson
grew very violent; the most urgent intreaties of the President
failed to control it; it was almost officially displayed in two
newspapers, the _National Gazette_ and the _United States
Gazette_, fierce enemies under the name of rivals; the known
editor of the former was a clerk in Jefferson's department.
[Footnote 74]
[Footnote 74: His name was Freneau.]
Thus encouraged, the opposition press resorted to the most bitter
violence, and Washington suffered great uneasiness on account of
it.
{130}
He wrote to Mr. Randolph, the Attorney-General; "If government,
and the officers of it, are to be the constant theme for
newspaper abuse, and this too without condescending to
investigate the motives or the facts, it will be impossible, I
conceive, for any man living to manage the helm or keep the
machine together." [Footnote 75]
[Footnote 75: Washington's Writings, Vol. X. p. 287. ]
In some parts of the country, especially in Western Pennsylvania,
one of the taxes imposed for making provision for the public debt
had awakened the spirit of sedition; numerous meetings of the
people had declared that they would not pay it; and Washington
was compelled to declare in his turn, by an official
proclamation, that he would enforce the execution of the laws. In
Congress itself, the administration no longer received so
constant and powerful a support; Hamilton was, day after day, the
object of the most animated attacks; the opposition were
unsuccessful in the motions they made against him, but his own
plans were not always adopted.
{131}
Finally, towards Washington himself, the language of the House of
Representatives, always respectful and affectionate, was no
longer so full or so tender; on the twenty-second day of
February, 1793, the anniversary of his birth, a motion to adjourn
the session for half an hour in order to go and pay their
respects to him, after being warmly opposed, passed by only a
majority of twenty-three votes.
None of these facts, none of these symptoms, escaped the vigilant
sagacity of Washington. His natural taste for private life and
the repose of Mount Vernon returned with double force. His past
success, far from inspiring confidence, made him more fearful for
the future. Modestly, but passionately attached to the
consideration in which he was held, and to his glory, he was
unwilling they should suffer the least abatement. The earnest
wish expressed by all would not have been sufficient to determine
him; his personal convictions, the public good, the obvious
urgency of affairs, the desire or rather the duty of carrying on
still further his work yet incomplete, were alone able to
overbalance in his mind the dictates of prudence and inclination.
{132}
He weighed and discussed within himself these different motives,
with a more anxious solicitude than seemed to be consistent with
his nature, and ended by saying, in the pious weariness of his
spirit, "As the all-wise Disposer of events has hitherto watched
over my steps, I trust, that, in the important one I may soon be
called upon to take, he will mark the course so plainly, as that
I cannot mistake the way." [Footnote 76]
[Footnote 76: Washington's Writings, Vol. X. p. 286.]
Unanimously reelected, he resumed his duties with the same
disinterestedness, the same courage, and, in spite of his
success, with less confidence, perhaps, than the first time. He
had a true presentiment of the trials which awaited him.
There are some events which Providence does not permit those who
live at the time of their occurrence to understand; so vast, so
complicated, that they far surpass the comprehension of man, and,
even when they are exploding, still remain for a long time darkly
hidden in the depths, from which proceed those shocks, that
ultimately decide the destinies of the world.
{133}
Such was the French revolution. Who has measured it? whose
judgment and forecast have not been a thousand times deceived by
it, whether friends or foes, admirers or detractors? When the
spirit of society and the spirit of man are shaken and convulsed
to such a degree, results are produced which no imagination had
conceived, no forethought could grasp.