CHAPTER XVIII. 1792. Hamilton's advice. July 30. Randolph's advice. August 5. Hamilton was equally strenuous and decided. "It is clear," said he, "that if you continue in office, nothing materially mischievous is to be apprehended; if you quit, much is to be dreaded; that the same motives, which induced you to accept originally, ought to decide you to continue till matters have assumed a more determinate aspect; that indeed it would have been better, as it regards your own character, that you had never consented to come forward, than now to leave the business unfinished and in danger of being undone; that, in the event of storms arising, there would be an imputation either of want of foresight or want of firmness; and, in fine, that on public and personal accounts, on patriotic and prudential considerations, the clear path to be pursued by you will be again to obey the voice of your country. I trust, and I pray God, that you will determine to make a further sacrifice of your tranquillity and happiness to the public good." Randolph spoke with the same urgency. "The fuel, which has been already gathered for combustion," he observed, "wants no addition. But how awfully might it be increased, were the violence, which is now suspended by a universal submission to your pretensions, let loose by your resignation. The constitution would never have been adopted, but from a knowledge that you had once sanctioned it, and an expectation that you would execute it. It is in a state of probation. The most inauspicious struggles are past, but the public deliberations need stability. You alone can give them stability. You suffered yourself to yield when the voice of your country summoned you to the administration. Should a civil war arise, you cannot stay at home. And how much easier will it be to disperse the factions, which are rushing to this catastrophe, than to subdue them after they shall appear in arms? It is the fixed opinion of the world, that you surrender nothing incomplete." * * See these letters in Washington's Writings, Vol. X. p. 504. XVIII. 1793. Washington ident for a chosen Pres second term. Sentiments like these, uttered by his confidential ad- CHAPTER visers, whose political opinions he knew were at variance with each other, could not fail to make a deep impression, and the more so as they were reiterated from every quarter. He seems to have resolved at one time to follow his inclination, and retire at the end of his first term of service. This is evident from his having prepared a farewell address to the people, designed for the occasion of his taking leave of them. But he never made a public declaration to that effect, and he was finally chosen for a second period of four years by the unanimous vote of the electors. On the 4th of March, 1793, he took the oath of office in the senate-chamber, in presence of the members of the cabinet, various public officers, foreign ministers, and such other persons as could be accommodated. March 4. olution. In addition to the Indian war, the contests of parties, French Revand other internal troubles with which the administration was embarrassed, the foreign relations of the United States were every day becoming peculiarly delicate and inauspicious. Scarcely had the President entered upon his new term of office, when the intelligence was received, that France had declared war against England and Holland. The French revolution, in its earliest stages, was hailed by almost every one in the United States as a joyful event, and as affording a presage of the happiest results to the cause of freedom and the welfare of mankind. Such would naturally be the first impulse of a people, who had recently been engaged in a similar struggle, encouraged by the good wishes and strengthened by the assistance of the French nation. Washington partook of this general sentiment. in the United States re specting the French Rev olution. The sanguinary acts that followed, and the ferocious Sentiments temper shown by the leaders, left but little ground for hope; yet there were causes still, which induced many to cling to the interests of France, and approve the revolution, although they looked with horror upon the means employed to carry it forward. It was believed to be a 1793. CHAPTER Warfare of the oppressed against their oppressors, in which XVIII. justice was asserting her rights, and rescuing from thraldom the victims, who had been so long borne down by the yoke of bondage, and scourged by the rod of despotism. A new era was supposed to have arisen, when liberty was about to go forth successful in conquest, breaking down the strong-holds of tyranny, and building up her temples of peace and concord on their ruins. dent minds were easily captivated by this illusion, espeIcially when it harmonized with their opinions on other subjects. Their impressions also derived force from the prejudices against England, deeply rooted and of long standing, which the conduct of the British cabinet since the peace had not contributed to remove. American minister in France. Ar Gouverneur Morris had been sent to France as minister plenipotentiary from the United States. A friendly intercourse had been kept up between the two countries, on the basis of the treaties of alliance and commerce; but, after the downfall of the King, and amidst the distractions succeeding that event, the minister's situation was embarrassing. It was the opinion of Washington, in which his cabinet agreed with him, that every nation had a right to govern itself as it chose, and that other nations were bound to recognise and respect the existing authority, whatever form it might assume. Mr. Morris was furnished with instructions according to this view of the subject. But the difficulty for a time consisted in ascertaining whether there was any actual government resting on the will of the nation. His prudence in this respect, and his caution not to commit his country rashly, gave umbrage to the nominal rulers, or rather the leaders of the contending factions, who complained, and expressed dissatisfaction, that the United States manifested so little sympathy with their earliest friends and allies, the vindicators of liberty and the rights of man. Such was the state of things when war was declared against England. It was perceived, that this aspect of affairs would have a direct influence on the foreign relations of the United XVIII. 1793. Washington resolves to maintain a strict neu trality. States, and that it would require the greatest circumspec- CHAPTER tion to prevent the country from being embroiled with the belligerent powers, particularly England and France. When the President first heard the news of the declaration of war, he was at Mount Vernon; and he wrote immediately to the Secretary of State, avowing his determination to maintain a strict neutrality between the hostile parties. Vessels in the ports of the United States were understood to be already designated as privateers, and he desired that measures to put a stop to all such proceedings should be adopted without delay. relative to France sub mitted to the cabinet. April 18. On his return to Philadelphia, he summoned a meeting Questions of the cabinet, submitting to each member at the same time a series of questions, which he requested might be considered as preparatory to the meeting. The substance of these questions was, whether a proclamation of neutrality should be issued; whether a minister from the French republic should be received, and, if so, whether it should be absolutely or with qualifications; whether, in the present condition of France, the United States were bound by good faith to execute the treaties between the two nations, or whether these ought to be suspended till the government should be established; and whether the guarantee in the treaty of alliance was applicable to a defensive war only, or to a war either defensive or offensive. These points involved very important considerations. If the treaty was binding in the case of an offensive war, then a state of neutrality could not be assumed in regard to France; and, if it was applicable to a defensive war only, the intricate question was still to be settled, whether the war on the part of the French was offensive or defensive, or of a mixed and equivocal character, and how far the guarantee ought to be applied under such circumstances. the cabinet. The cabinet decided unanimously, that a proclamation Opinions of should be issued, "forbidding the citizens of the United States to take part in any hostilities on the seas, either with or against the belligerent powers, and warning them XVIII. 1793. CHAPTER against carrying to any such powers any of those articles deemed contraband according to the modern usages of nations, and enjoining them from all acts and proceedings inconsistent with the duties of a friendly nation towards those at war." It was also agreed, with the same unanimity, that a minister from the French republic should be received. On the subject of qualifying his reception, the members of the cabinet were divided in opinion, Jefferson and Randolph being opposed to any qualification implying that the relations between the two countries were changed, and Hamilton and Knox being in favor of it, because they believed there was in reality no fixed government in France, and they feared that a recognition of the existing authority might involve the United States in difficulties with that nation and with other powers. President requires the sentiments of each As to the question of guarantee, the two former thought it not necessary to come to any formal decision, while the two latter argued that the treaty of alliance was in writing. plainly defensive, and that the guarantee could not ap member of the cabinet Proclama of trality. April 22. ply to a war, which had been begun by France. The President required the opinions and arguments of each member of the cabinet in writing; and, after deliberately weighing them, he decided, that a minister should be received on the same terms as formerly, and that the obligations of the treaties ought to remain in full force, leaving the subject of guarantee for future consideration, aided by a better knowledge of the condition and prospects of France. The proclamation of neutrality was signed on the 22d trano neu- of April, and immediately published. This measure, in regard both to its character and its consequences, was one of the most important of Washington's administration. It was the basis of a system, by which the intercourse with foreign nations was regulated, and which was rigidly adhered to. In fact it was the only step, that could have saved the United States from being drawn into the vortex of the European wars, which raged with so much violence for a long time afterwards. Its wisdom and its |