Part 16 (1/2)

CHAPTER FIFTY-FOUR

Running into Extreured out that for foreign policy advice he would have to rely on his cabinet rather than the Senate, but the cabinet n policy real domestic issues The most divisive topic hether the United States should lean toward France or Great Britain Even after waging war against Britain for ton took a coldly realistic view of the strategic need for cordial relations with London The federal government depended upon customs duties as its principal revenue source and could scarcely afford to antagonize itspartner After the war, as Aton had observed, ”Our trade in all points of view is as essential to G[reat] B[ritain] as hers is to us”1 In the postwar period, American merchants had bristled at the exclusion of their shi+ps frolophile, Washi+ngton had a long list of other grievances against the English-their refusal to ness to evacuate western posts, their reluctance to send a minister to the United States-but he never allowed those complaints to stymie his earnest efforts to improve relations with the Crown In the postwar period, American merchants had bristled at the exclusion of their shi+ps frolophile, Washi+ngton had a long list of other grievances against the English-their refusal to ness to evacuate western posts, their reluctance to send a minister to the United States-but he never allowed those complaints to stymie his earnest efforts to improve relations with the Crown

In the aututon decided to post the witty Gouverneur Morris to England as an unofficial envoy to iron out probleovernments Jefferson feared that A with its products and strongly favored warmer relations with France, whose revolution he monitored with enthusiasm Where Hamilton and Jay supported Morris's appointh-flying land2 He later faulted the fun-loving Morris for prejudicing Washi+ngton's ainst the French Revolution He later faulted the fun-loving Morris for prejudicing Washi+ngton's ainst the French Revolution

Because Jefferson did not take office until March 1790, Hamilton was able to poach on territory usually reserved for the secretary of state and attethen ties with Great Britain, hom the United States still lacked formal diplo with a British diplo him, ”I have always preferred a connection with you to that of any other country We think in English We think in English and have a similarity of prejudices and predilections” and have a siton likewise believed that the coland made them natural allies, and he fully concurred with Haotiate a commercial treaty between the two countries By the suan to bear fruit After a ton the startling news that Sir Guy Carleton, now the governor general of Canada, ”had reason to believe that the Cabinet of Great Britain entertained a disposition not only towards a friendly intercourse but towards an alliance with the United States” Washi+ngton likewise believed that the coland made them natural allies, and he fully concurred with Haotiate a commercial treaty between the two countries By the suan to bear fruit After a ton the startling news that Sir Guy Carleton, now the governor general of Canada, ”had reason to believe that the Cabinet of Great Britain entertained a disposition not only towards a friendly intercourse but towards an alliance with the United States”4 Jefferson scoffed at such views e from an unofficial e fro the need for creative diploht to profit from the back channel established by Hamilton with Beckwith That suland and Spain arose after their military confrontation at Nootka Sound on Vancouver Island in western Canada Not ready to choose sides, Washi+ngton noted in his diary the instructions he had given Ha that ”the Secretary of the Treasury was to extract as much as he could frothe Governs with Beckwith, Haton was ”perfectly dispassionate” toward a coland, Secretary of State Jefferson ”s with Beckwith, Haton was ”perfectly dispassionate” toward a coland, Secretary of State Jefferson ”may possibly frustrate the whole”6 In Septeton's approval, resulted in a e III nae Hammond as the first British minister to America When Hammond and his secretary, Edward Thornton, arrived that autumn, they immediately sensed the amicable disposition of the treasury secretary and the i ho hatred” of the British and his ”decided and rancorous ly, Haravitated to the pro-British circle clustered around Haravitated to the pro-British circle clustered around Hamilton

Aratitude for its indispensable help during the Revolutionary War, and no country saluted its revolution with more fraternal warmth In a variety of ways, the French Revolution had been spawned by its A French aristocrats who fought in the war, then tried to enshrine its principles at home The most visible standard-bearer of these hopes was the Marquis de Lafayette, who told Washi+ngton from Paris that the ”ideas of liberty have been, since the A very fast”8 As Jefferson stated proudly, the French had been ”awakened by our revolutionOur proceedings have been viewed as a model for them on every occasion” As Jefferson stated proudly, the French had been ”awakened by our revolutionOur proceedings have been viewed as a model for theton had predicted that France, to pay for its Ae deficit and resort to ruinous taxes that ”the people of France are not in a condition to endure for any duration” As early as 1780 Washi+ngton had predicted that France, to pay for its Ae deficit and resort to ruinous taxes that ”the people of France are not in a condition to endure for any duration”10 Those taxes and other hardshi+ps had provoked i Louis XVI to convene a special advisory asseled coy and nobility Those taxes and other hardshi+ps had provoked i Louis XVI to convene a special advisory asseled coy and nobility

Always a perceptive student of politics, George Washi+ngton, fros of the French Revolution, was astonishi+ngly prophetic about its course He regarded Louis XVI as a good-hearted but fallible king ould make a clumsy, self-destructive effort to foil revolutionary iins to take root, is a plant of rapid growth,” Washi+ngton re] endeavors to give itwill, more than probably, kindle a flah] for a while it may be smothered by the arton intuited that the French Revolution ainst running into extre your cause” With his sure instincts, Washi+ngton intuited that the French Revolution ainst running into extre your cause”12 On the other hand, he also thought that if the king ht ensue Paradoxically, Jefferson, an eyewitness to the revolution's outbreak, seeust 1788 he blithely reported to James Monroe from France, ”I think it probable this country will, within two or three years, be in the enjoyment of a tolerably free constitution and that without its having cost theht that if the king ht ensue Paradoxically, Jefferson, an eyewitness to the revolution's outbreak, seeust 1788 he blithely reported to James Monroe from France, ”I think it probable this country will, within two or three years, be in the enjoyment of a tolerably free constitution and that without its having cost them a drop of blood”13 Perhaps because of his association with enlightened Parisian intellectuals, Jefferson missed the bloodthirsty spirit of the French Revolution, its lust for gore and its gratuitous butchering of innocent victihtened Parisian intellectuals, Jefferson missed the bloodthirsty spirit of the French Revolution, its lust for gore and its gratuitous butchering of innocent victiiddily triu A and summer of 1789 they applauded the creation of the National assehts of Man and Citizen, written by Lafayette with assistance from Jefferson The Bastille's downfall, however, displayed the bloody predilections of the Parisian overnor and sported his head on a pike Such grisly details see the event The day after the Bastille was stormed, Lafayette, who hoped for a ”fusion between the royalty and the people,” was na Aendered a fitting sequel in France14 In a ton the ponderous old key to the Bastille gate plus a sketch of the infaeneral, to present you with a picture of the Bastille just as it looked a few days after I had ordered its demolition, with the main key of that fortress of despotism,” he wrote ”It is a tribute which I owe as a son to eneral, as a missionary of liberty to its patriarch” In a ton the ponderous old key to the Bastille gate plus a sketch of the infaeneral, to present you with a picture of the Bastille just as it looked a few days after I had ordered its demolition, with the main key of that fortress of despotism,” he wrote ”It is a tribute which I owe as a son to eneral, as a missionary of liberty to its patriarch”15 Later on, the president hung the key inside a wall lantern at Mount Vernon, with the picture below it, spurring Chateaubriand's ton had seen the 'victors of the Bastille' disporting theutters of Paris, he would have felt less respect for his relic” Later on, the president hung the key inside a wall lantern at Mount Vernon, with the picture below it, spurring Chateaubriand's ton had seen the 'victors of the Bastille' disporting theutters of Paris, he would have felt less respect for his relic”16 While careful to support France in public, Washi+ngton succu series of violent events Like other Americans, he wanted to embrace the French Revolution, but he recoiled from its excessive zeal In October 1789 he told Gouverneur Morris that while France ”has gone triuh the first paroxysm, it is not the last it has to encounter before matters are finally settled In a word, the revolution is of too great nitude to be effected in so short a space and with the loss of so little blood”17 He feared both the frenziedto restore their privileges Morris's letters froton, as Jefferson suspected, because they captured with a cool eye the de hold He feared both the frenziedto restore their privileges Morris's letters froton, as Jefferson suspected, because they captured with a cool eye the de hold

Lafayette's tragedy in the French Revolution was that he tried to ton and re-create his success in a situation thathiton's ”filial friend,” Lafayette wrote to say how often he had wished for his mentor's ”wise advices and friendly support!”18 He was not oblivious to the revolution's defects, but he thought they would be mended in time and hoped for the French equivalent of a Constitutional Convention in ten years There was a note of quiet apprehension in Lafayette's letters, a lonely whistling in the dark, as he recorded the wholesale destruction of the aristocracy, while hoping that liberty would so vacuu the Ahtly defensive tone of atoo hard to convince himself that all ell He was not oblivious to the revolution's defects, but he thought they would be mended in time and hoped for the French equivalent of a Constitutional Convention in ten years There was a note of quiet apprehension in Lafayette's letters, a lonely whistling in the dark, as he recorded the wholesale destruction of the aristocracy, while hoping that liberty would so vacuu the Ahtly defensive tone of atoo hard to convince himself that all ell

As news of Parisian atrocities reached Auardedly supportive of the French Revolution in public, confining histo Rochaust 10, 1790, he dismissed the horror stories printed in the London papers as re the war: ”Happily for you, we re been all slain to a ain and even perforainst that very nation whose newspapers had so unton lent considerable credence to British reports, as he confided to Lafayette: ”I will avow the accounts we received through the English paperscaused our fears of a failure almost to exceed our expectations of success” In truth, Washi+ngton lent considerable credence to British reports, as he confided to Lafayette: ”I will avow the accounts we received through the English paperscaused our fears of a failure almost to exceed our expectations of success”20 When deputies in the National assembly abolished aristocratic titles in June 1790, Lafayette surprised his fellow noble of the American character”21 Henceforth, the Marquis de Lafayette was known simply as Lafayette Even as he curried favor with the masses, however, Lafayette worried thatWashi+ngton in August 1790, ”I have lately lost some of my favor with the mob and displeased the frantic lovers of licentiousness, as I aal subordination” Henceforth, the Marquis de Lafayette was known simply as Lafayette Even as he curried favor with the masses, however, Lafayette worried thatWashi+ngton in August 1790, ”I have lately lost some of my favor with the mob and displeased the frantic lovers of licentiousness, as I aal subordination”22 It was Lafayette's arded him as too conservative while patricians jeered at hi better illustrates the distance between the American and French revolutions than the fact that Lafayette, as so at hoically out of place in France, naively pursuing the chi political cutthroats on the Paris streets It was Lafayette's arded him as too conservative while patricians jeered at hi better illustrates the distance between the American and French revolutions than the fact that Lafayette, as so at hoically out of place in France, naively pursuing the chi political cutthroats on the Paris streets

A to place the French Revolution squarely in the Arain, perhaps none was more influential than Thohts of Man as a response to Edmund Burke's influential denunciation, as a response to Edmund Burke's influential denunciation, Reflections on the Revolution in France Reflections on the Revolution in France Burke had condemned the royal family's mistreatment and prophesied bloodshed to come Paine, in contrast, portrayed events in France as reprising the spirit of 1776 and called for a written constitution, with an elected asseant and presuton without first seeking his permission and published his screed in London on February 22, 1791-Washi+ngton's birthday Drawing further parallels to the Aton that he wanted to ” in the price of the printing and paper, as I did by Coe for publication of The Rights of Man The Rights of Man in Philadelphia, telling the printer that he was ”extremely pleased to find it will be reprinted here and that soainst the political heresies which have sprung up a the printer that he was ”extremely pleased to find it will be reprinted here and that soainst the political heresies which have sprung up a us”24 Jefferson professed amazement when the printer used this letter as a preface to Paine's work Since Jefferson's reference to ”political heresies” idely construed as a swipe at the supposed crypto-monarchism of John Adams's treatise Jefferson professed amazement when the printer used this letter as a preface to Paine's work Since Jefferson's reference to ”political heresies” idely construed as a swipe at the supposed crypto-monarchism of John Adams's treatise Discourses on Davila, Discourses on Davila, it created a brouhaha The , repentant letter to Washi+ngton, clai that his letter had been used without per any intention to vilify the vice president Washi+ngton's failure to acknowledge Jefferson's apology suggests his silent fury Jefferson's own letters to Paine reflect his fear of highly placed ton's adlish constitution of king, lords, and co for crowns, coronets, and mitres” it created a brouhaha The , repentant letter to Washi+ngton, clai that his letter had been used without per any intention to vilify the vice president Washi+ngton's failure to acknowledge Jefferson's apology suggests his silent fury Jefferson's own letters to Paine reflect his fear of highly placed ton's adlish constitution of king, lords, and co for crowns, coronets, and mitres”25 Because of the controversy over Paine's work, Washi+ngton responded to his letter with a blandly evasive reply He pleaded the pressing duties of office and his imminent return to Mount Vernon as reasons why he couldn't react in detail: ”Let it suffice, therefore, at this time to say that I rejoice in the information of your personal prosperity andthat it is the first wish of e s to which they are entitled and lay the foundation of happiness for future generations”26 Washi+ngton had aunwanted controversies Washi+ngton had aunwanted controversies

In June 1791 King Louis XVI and the royal fa dressed as a valet, the queen as the children's governess-only to be stopped and arrested by Lafayette's National Guard at Varennes, northeast of Paris Although Lafayette duly infor and queen that the National asseuard, he was nonetheless denounced as a traitor on the Paris streets, and Danton accused hiround press in France went so far as to caricature Lafayette in pornographic poses with Marie-Antoinette These events dimmed any hope for a constitutionalnews from Paris ”I never saw him so much dejected by any event in my life,” Jefferson reported of his reaction27 A crestfallen Lafayette was dis that Marie-Antoinette was ”er than about staving it off” A crestfallen Lafayette was dis that Marie-Antoinette was ”er than about staving it off”28 In September 1792 the monarchy would be abolished Beset by terrible preton was extreered position and, in a letter to him, identified a cardinal characteristic of the French Revolution that especially upset hie cities are ever to be dreaded,” he wrote ”Their indiscriminate violence prostrates for the time all public authority, and its consequences are sometimes extensive and terrible” 29 29 In October 1791 Lafayette resigned from the National Guard and retreated to the rural serenity of his hoton a letter that breathed contentment, as if his troubles had suddenly evaporated ”After fifteen years of revolution, I areeable life of calm in the ned from the National Guard and retreated to the rural serenity of his hoton a letter that breathed contentment, as if his troubles had suddenly evaporated ”After fifteen years of revolution, I areeable life of calm in the mountains where I was born”30 Given the turbulent events unfolding in Paris, this peaceful interlude was fated to be of short duration Given the turbulent events unfolding in Paris, this peaceful interlude was fated to be of short duration

EVEN AS WAshi+NGTON worriedly tracked events in France, he had to deal with a brilliant, charh historians often pin the label of ineer or architect on Major Pierre-Charles L'Enfant, he had trained as a painter at the Royal Acade and Sculpture in Paris At twenty-two, he joined the Continental Arineering corps, and sketched soldiers at Valley Forge After the war he had turned New York's City Hall into Federal Hall, establishi+ng his credentials as a talented architect As early as Septener of the new federal capital A peerless judge of talent, Washi+ngton soon grasped L'Enfant's visionary powers, but their relationshi+p was never smooth

A portrait of L'Enfant shows a ination shaped by the courts, palaces, and public works of Europe, L'Enfant would be hotheaded and autocratic in negotiating the intricacies of the new capital Hypersensitive, with a touch of grandiosity, he was the perfect man to hatch a dream but not to iton that L'Enfant's hauteur did not deter him; the president had faith in his ability to control even the most intractable personalities and extract the best from them His checkered relationshi+p with L'Enfant was a classic encounter between a consu dreaton asked L'Enfant to review the grounds selected for the new capital and identify the s Local proprietors had already granted the president sweeping powers to shape the city ”The President shall have the sole power of directing the Federal City to be laid off in what reed ”He may retain any number of squares he may think proper for public improvements or other public uses”31 On March 28, at the outset of his southern tour, Washi+ngton h pencil sketch of the new capital He envisioned the seat of Congress on the brow of the highest wood, a steep spot called Jenkins Hill, which he praised as ”a pedestal waiting for a superstructure” On March 28, at the outset of his southern tour, Washi+ngton h pencil sketch of the new capital He envisioned the seat of Congress on the brow of the highest wood, a steep spot called Jenkins Hill, which he praised as ”a pedestal waiting for a superstructure”32 This building would be the visual centerpiece of the city, with broad, diagonal thoroughfares radiating outward Its centrality bore an une about the pri a siued that such a patternwould be the visual centerpiece of the city, with broad, diagonal thoroughfares radiating outward Its centrality bore an une about the pri a siued that such a pattern onal streets provide ”contrast and variety,” but they would serve as express lanes, shortening the distance between places Not only would diagonal streets provide ”contrast and variety,” but they would serve as express lanes, shortening the distance between places34 Town squares would be situated where diagonal avenues crossed The kernel of the future Washi+ngton, DC, lay in that conception Striking a note of buoyant optimism that appealed to the president, L'Enfant wanted the city to be able to grow in size and beauty as ”the wealth of the nation will permit it to pursue, at any period, however reonal avenues crossed The kernel of the future Washi+ngton, DC, lay in that conception Striking a note of buoyant optimism that appealed to the president, L'Enfant wanted the city to be able to grow in size and beauty as ”the wealth of the nation will permit it to pursue, at any period, however reonal streets, Washi+ngton gave L'Enfant an unrestricted hand to pursue his plan At the close of his southern tour, he rode across the federal district with L'Enfant and Andrew Ellicott to experience the elevations chosen for Congress and other public buildings While he endorsed Jenkins Hill for Congress, he balked at a site chosen for the executive round farther west, thereby asserting executive power and giving it visual parity with the Capitol In endorsing the spot for the future White House, L'Enfant cunningly played to Washi+ngton's interests by observing that it would possess an ”extensive vien the Potomac, with a prospect of the whole harbor and town of Alexandria”-that is, it would face Mount Vernon36 The entire project gratified Washi+ngton's vanity on another level: people assuton or Washi+ngtonople In Septeton learned that the commissioners had indeed decided, without fanfare, to call the city Washi+ngton and the surrounding district Coluton would never have signed the original Residence Act had the capital then been called Washi+ngton-it would have see to the will of the three bureaucrats he had appointed The entire project gratified Washi+ngton's vanity on another level: people assuton or Washi+ngtonople In Septeton learned that the commissioners had indeed decided, without fanfare, to call the city Washi+ngton and the surrounding district Coluton would never have signed the original Residence Act had the capital then been called Washi+ngton-it would have see to the will of the three bureaucrats he had appointed

That October Washi+ngton sneaked in a ress reconvened The health of his tubercular nephew and estate ton, had deteriorated so sharply that he had gone to Berkeley Springs for rest He was a likable young entleface” and another described hienteel, attentive man”37 By this point, however, he could scarcely ride a horse, ton naer of Mount Vernon Leould eventually be succeeded by Anthony Whitting By this point, however, he could scarcely ride a horse, ton naer of Mount Vernon Leould eventually be succeeded by Anthony Whitting