Liberty and Order (ebook)

Argumento de Liberty and Order (ebook)

Liberty and Order is an ambitious anthology of primary source writings: letters, circulars, debate transcriptions, House proceedings, and newspaper articles that document the years during which America’s founding generation divided over the sort of country the United States was to become.

The founders’ arguments over the proper construction of the new Constitution, the political economy, the appropriate level of popular participation in a republican polity, foreign policy, and much else, not only contributed crucially to the shaping of the nineteenth-century United States, but also have remained of enduring interest to all historians of republican liberty.

This anthology makes it possible to understand the grounds and development of the great collision, which pitted John Adams, Alexander Hamilton, and others who called themselves Federalists or, sometimes, the friends of order, against the opposition party led by Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, and their followers, in what emerged as the Jeffersonian Republican Party.

Editor Lance Banning provides the reader with original-source explanations of early anti-Federalist feeling and Federalist concerns, beginning with the seventh letter from the “Federal Farmer,” in which the deepest fears of many opponents of the Constitution were expressed. He then selects from the House proceedings concerning the Bill of Rights and makes his way toward the public debates concerning the massive revolutionary debt acquired by the United States. The reader is able to examine the American reaction to the French Revolution and to the War of 1812, and to explore the founders’ disagreements over both domestic and foreign policy. The collection ends on a somewhat melancholy note with the correspondence of Jefferson and Adams, who were, to some extent, reconciled to each other at the end of their political careers. Brief, elucidatory headnotes place both the novice and the expert in the midst of the times.

With this significant new collection, the reader receives a deeper understanding of the complex issues, struggles, and personalities that made up the first great party battle and that continue to shape our representative government today.

Lance Banning (1942-2006) was Professor of History at the University of Kentucky, where he had taught since 1973, and was the 2000/2001 Distinguished Professor in the College of Arts and Sciences. He was also coeditor of the University Press of Kansas series “American Political Thought” and the author of many articles, essays, and books on the American founding and first party struggle, including three award-winning books: Jefferson and Madison: Three Conversations from the Founding, The Jeffersonian Persuasion: Evolution of a Party Ideology, and The Sacred Fire of Liberty: James Madison and the Founding of the Federal Republic, the latter two of which were nominated for the Pulitzer Prize.0Preface xiii

I Apprehensions 1

The Anti-Federalists 3
Letters from the Federal Farmer, No. 7
(31 December 1787) 3
“Brutus,” Essay II (1 November 1787) 6

Amendments Recommended by the Several
State Conventions 10
Amendments Proposed by the Virginia
Convention (27 June 1788) 10
Ratification of the State of New York
(26 July 1788) 12
The Circular Letter from the Ratification
Convention of the State of New York to
the Governors of the Several States in the
Union (28 July 1788) 17

Federalist Concerns 18
James Madison to George Washington,
New York (11 August 1788) 18
Madison to Washington, New York
(24 August 1788) 18
James Madison to Thomas Jefferson
(21 September 1788) 19
Madison to Jefferson (8 December 1788) 19

The Bill of Rights 21
Proceedings in the House of Representatives
(8 June 1789) 21
Proceedings in the House of Representatives
(13 August 1789) 30

Apprehensions Unallayed 34
On the Constitutional Amendments 34
“Pacificus” to James Madison, New York Daily
Advertiser (14 August 1789) 34
Richard Henry Lee and William Grayson to the
Speaker of the Virginia House of Delegates
(28 September 1789) 35
William Grayson to Patrick Henry
(29 September 1789) 35
Popular Instruction of Representatives
(15 August 1789) 36
Titles 38
Proceedings in the House of Representatives
(11 May 1789) 38
Fisher Ames to George Richards Minot
(14 May 1789) 41
James Madison to Thomas Jefferson
(23 May 1789) 41

II The Leadership Divides 43

Funding and Assumption 45
Alexander Hamilton, The First Report on
Public Credit (14 January 1790) 45
Debates in the House of Representatives on the
First Report on Public Credit
(9–18 February 1790) 49
Thomas Jefferson, Memorandum on the
Compromise of 1790 64
Opposition Out of Doors 65
Benjamin Rush to Madison (27 February 1790) 65
Walter Jones to Madison (25 March 1790) 65
Henry Lee to Madison (3 April 1790) 66
Edward Carrington to Madison (7 April 1790) 66
George Lee Turberville to Madison
(7 April 1790) 67
Benjamin Rush to Madison (10 April 1790) 67
Boston Independent Chronicle (12 August 1790) 67
Virginia’s Remonstrance Against the
Assumption of State Debts
(16 December 1790) 68

The Constitution and the National Bank 70
Alexander Hamilton, Notes on the Advantages
of a National Bank (27 March 1791) 70
James Madison’s Speech on the Bank Bill
(2 February 1791) 73
Thomas Jefferson, Opinion on the Constitutionality
of a National Bank (15 February 1791) 77
Alexander Hamilton, Opinion on the Constitutionality
of a National Bank (15 February 1791) 80
James Madison to Thomas Jefferson, On Speculative
Excess (Summer 1791) 86

Commerce and Manufactures 88
Thomas Jefferson, Notes on the State of
Virginia (1785) 88
Jefferson and Madison on Republican
Political Economy 89
Thomas Jefferson to G. K. van Hogendorp
(13 October 1785) 89
James Madison to Thomas Jefferson
(19 June 1786) 89
James Madison to James Monroe
(7 August 1785) 90
James Madison, Speech in the House of
Representatives on Commercial Retaliation
and Discrimination (25 April 1789) 91
Congressional Proceedings on Commercial
Discrimination (1789) 92
James Madison to Thomas Jefferson
(30 June 1789) 92
Thomas Jefferson to James Madison
(28 August 1789) 93
Alexander Hamilton, Report on the Subject
of Manufactures (5 December 1791) 94

The Collision 102
James Madison, Essays for the National
Gazette (1792) 102
“Consolidation” (3 December 1791) 102
“Charters” (18 January 1792) 103
“Parties” (23 January 1792) 104
“Government of the United States”
(4 February 1792) 104
“Republican Distribution of Citizens”
(3 March 1792) 105
“Fashion” (20 March 1792) 106
“Property” (27 March 1792) 107
William Branch Giles, Speech in the House
of Representatives on the Apportionment
Bill (9 April 1792) 108
Letters of Fisher Ames to George Richards
Minot (1791–1792) 110
30 November 1791 110
8 March 1792 111
3 May 1792 111
Philip Freneau, “Rules for Changing a Limited
Republican Government into an Unlimited
Hereditary One” (4 and 7 July 1792) 111
Alexander Hamilton to Edward Carrington
(26 May 1792) 115
An Administration Divided 120
Thomas Jefferson, Memorandum of a Conversation
with the President (29 February 1792) 121
Thomas Jefferson to George Washington
(23 May 1792) 122
Thomas Jefferson, Memorandum of a Conversation
with Washington (10 July 1792) 125
Alexander Hamilton to George Washington,
Objections and Answers Respecting the
Administration of the Government
(August 1792) 126
Alexander Hamilton to George Washington
(9 September 1792) 130
Thomas Jefferson to George Washington,
Monticello (9 September 1792) 131
Thomas Jefferson, Memorandum of a
Conversation with the President
(1 October 1792) 135
Thomas Jefferson, Memorandum of a
Conversation with the President
(7 February 1793) 135
James Madison, Further Essays for the National
Gazette 136
“Spirit of Governments” (18 February 1792) 136
“A Candid State of Parties”
(22 September 1792) 137

III The French Revolution
and the People 139

Neutrality 141
“An Old French Soldier” (Philadelphia) General
Advertiser (27 August 1793) 141
Alexander Hamilton, “Pacificus,” No. 1
(29 June 1793) 142
James Madison, “Helvidius,” No. 1
(24 August 1793) 145
James Madison, “Helvidius,” No. 4
(14 September 1793) 150

Commerce and Seizures 153
William Loughton Smith, Speech in the House
of Representatives (13 January 1794) 153
James Madison, Speech in the House of
Representatives (14 January 1794) 158
James Madison, “Political Observations”
(20 April 1795) 162

The Popular Societies, the Excise, and the
Whiskey Rebellion 169
The Democratic Society of Pennsylvania
(Philadelphia) Principles, Articles, and
Regulations (30 May 1793) 169
Condemnations, Defenses, and Society Attacks
on the Excise 170
“A Friend to Good Government,” New York Daily
Gazette (21 February 1794) 170
“A Friend to Rational Government,” New York
Journal (22 February 1794) 170
Republican Society of the Town of Newark (New
Jersey), Newark Gazette (19 March 1794) 171
Address of the Democratic Society in Wythe
County, Virginia, to the People of the United
States, Newark Gazette (18 June 1794) 171
Republican Society of Newark (9 June 1794) 172
The Democratic Society of Philadelphia 172
“For the Columbian Centinel,” Boston
(27 September 1794) 172
The Rebellion 173
Letter to General Lee from Alexander Addison 173
“Self-Created Societies” 176
George Washington, Message to the Third
Congress (19 November 1794) 176
Proceedings in the House of Representatives on the
President’s Speech (24 –27 November 1794) 179
James Madison to James Monroe
(4 December 1794) 185
Democratic Society of Pennsylvania
(9 October 1794) 186

Jay’s Treaty and Washington’s Farewell 188
Alexander James Dallas, “Features of Mr. Jay’s
Treaty” (18 July–7 August 1795) 188
Antitreaty Memorials 192
Memorial of the Citizens of Philadelphia
( July 1795) 192
Petition to the General Assembly of the
Commonwealth of Virginia
(12 October 1795) 193
Alexander Hamilton, The “Camillus” Essays
(22 July 1795–9 January 1796) 197
“The Defence, No. 1” (22 July 1795) 197
“The Defence, No. 2” (25 July 1795) 198
“The Defence, No. 18” (6 October 1795) 201
“The Defence, No. 37” (6 January 1796) 201
“The Defence, No. 38” (9 January 1796) 202
House Debates on Implementing Jay’s
Treaty (1796) 203
Washington’s Farewell Address
(19 September 1796) 215

IV Liberty and Order 223

The Black Cockade Fever 225
Philadelphia, 1798 225
Abigail Adams to Her Sister (7 April 1798) 225
Abigail Adams to Her Sister (22 April 1798) 225
Abigail Adams to Her Sister (26 April 1798) 225
Abigail Adams to Her Sister (10 May 1798) 226
Alexander Hamilton to George Washington
(19 May 1798) 226
Thomas Jefferson to John Taylor
(4 June 1798) 227
Addresses to the President, with His Replies
(April–August 1798) 228
Address of the Mayor, Aldermen, and Citizens
of Philadelphia to the President of
the United States (April 1798) 228
Address of the Young Men of the City of
Philadelphia, the District of Southwark,
and the Northern Liberties (May 1798) 229
Address of the Officers and Soldiers of the Chester
Light Infantry Company of Volunteers in the
County of Delaware and State of Pennsylvania
(25 August 1798) 230
The Sedition Act (14 July 1798) 231
Popular Protest 232
“Advertisement Extraordinary!!!” (Philadelphia)
Aurora (14 July 1798) 232
The Kentucky and Virginia Resolutions 233
Thomas Jefferson, Draft of the Kentucky
Resolutions (October 1798) 233
James Madison, The Virginia Resolutions
(21 December 1798) 236
State Replies to the Resolutions 237
The State of Rhode Island and Providence
Plantations to Virginia (February 1799) 237
New Hampshire Resolution on the Virginia and
Kentucky Resolutions (15 June 1799) 238
Congressional Report Defending the Alien
and Sedition Laws (21 February 1799) 238
James Madison, The Report of 1800 243

V The Jeffersonian Ascendancy:
Domestic Policy, 1801–1808 261

The Jeffersonian Program 263
Thomas Jefferson, The First Inaugural Address
(4 March 1801) 263
Thomas Jefferson, First Annual Message
(8 December 1801) 265

The Jeffersonian Vision 269
Letters of the President (1799–1802) 269
To Elbridge Gerry (26 January 1799) 269
To P. S. Dupont de Nemours
(18 January 1802) 270
Edmund Pendleton, “The Danger Not Over”
(5 October 1801) 271
Fisher Ames, “Falkland,” No. 2
(6 February 1801) 273

Repeal of the Judiciary Act of 1801 277
Congressional Proceedings 277
Editorials on the Repeal 288
“A Friend of the Constitution” [William Cranch],
No. 1, Washington Federalist
(7 December 1801) 288
“A Friend of the Constitution” [William Cranch],
No. 5, Washington Federalist
(12 December 1801) 289
“Serious Considerations Addressed to All Serious
Federalists,” No. 3 (Washington), National
Intelligencer (1 December 1802) 291

The Impeachment of Samuel Chase
(1804 –1805) 292
Articles of Impeachment (30 November 1804) 292
Proceedings in the Senate (February 1805) 293
Address of John Randolph (9 February 1805) 293
The Testimony 294

Albert Gallatin, Report on Internal
Improvements (4 April 1808) 300

VI Jeffersonian Foreign Policy 305

The Louisiana Purchase 307
Thomas Jefferson to Robert R. Livingston
(18 April 1802) 307
Thomas Jefferson to John C. Breckinridge
(12 August 1803) 309
Thomas Jefferson to Wilson Cary Nicholas
(7 September 1803) 310
Alexander Hamilton, “Purchase of Louisiana,”
New York Evening Post (5 July 1803) 310
Federalist Alarm 313
Rufus King to Timothy Pickering (?)
(4 November 1803) 313
Timothy Pickering to Rufus King
(3 March 1804) 313
Timothy Pickering to Rufus King
(4 March 1804) 313
A Republican Response 315
“Desultory Reflections on the Aspect of Politics in
Relation to the Western People,” by “Phocion”
(Essay #1), Kentucky Gazette and General
Advertiser (27 September 1803) 315
Senate Debates on the Louisiana Purchase
(2–3 November 1803) 316

The Embargo 321
An Act Laying an Embargo on All Ships and Vessels
in the Ports and Harbors of the United States
(22 December 1807) 321
Editorials on the Embargo 321
“Embargo,” National Intelligencer
(23 December 1807) 321
Alarming Information: A Letter from the
Hon. Timothy Pickering, a Senator of the
United States from the State of Massachusetts,
exhibiting to his constituents, a view of
the imminent danger of an unnecessary
and ruinous war, addressed to His Excellency
James Sullivan, Governor of said State,
Connecticut Courant (23 March 1808) 323
Resistance, Enforcement, and Repeal 325
Albert Gallatin to Jefferson
(18 December 1807) 326
Jefferson to Jacob Crowninshield, Secretary
of the Navy (16 July 1808) 326
Gallatin to Jefferson (29 July 1808) 326
Jefferson to Henry Dearborn, Secretary of
War (9 August 1808) 327
Elisha Tracy (of Norwich, Conn.) to Jefferson
(15 September 1808) 327
Jefferson to Mr. Letue (8 November 1808) 327
Resolutions of the Connecticut General
Assembly (23 February 1809) 327
John Adams to Benjamin Rush
(27 September 1808) 328
John Adams to J. B. Varnum
(26 December 1808) 329

The War of 1812 331
Madison’s War Message (2 June 1812) 331
Samuel Taggart, Speech Opposing the War
(24 June 1812) 334
Henry Clay, Speech Supporting the War
(9 January 1813) 338
Report and Resolutions of the Hartford
Convention (4 January 1815) 342

VII The End of an Era 345

Madison’s Seventh Annual Message
(5 December 1815) 347

Madison’s Veto of the Internal Improvements
Bill (3 March 1817) 350

In Retrospect 352
The Adams-Jefferson Correspondence 352
John Adams to Thomas Jefferson
(13 July 1813) 352
Adams to Jefferson (30 June 1813) 353
Adams to Jefferson (13 November 1815) 353
Jefferson to Adams (11 January 1816) 353
Thomas Jefferson to Justice William Johnson
(12 June 1823) 354
Republican Farewells 355
Jefferson to Madison (17 February 1826) 355
Madison to Jefferson (24 February 1826) 355

Bibliography 357

Index 359