Part 17 (2/2)

The most momentous aspect of the plan concerned the destiny of the 170 to 180 slaves confined on the four farton's fervent hope that the neould free the slaves and then rehire them ”as he would do any other laborers which his necessity w[oul]d require hi innovation for any inia planter to contemplate, especially if he was president of the United States The scheme harked back to the plan that Lafayette had proposed for his experi the idea to Lear, Washi+ngton explained that he had a motive ”more powerful than all the rest, namely to liberate a certain species of property which I possess, very repugnantly to s, but which i slaves was a startling innovation for any inia planter to contemplate, especially if he was president of the United States The scheme harked back to the plan that Lafayette had proposed for his experi the idea to Lear, Washi+ngton explained that he had a motive ”more powerful than all the rest, namely to liberate a certain species of property which I possess, very repugnantly to s, but which i of his decision, one suspects that Washi+ngton's disgust with slavery owed soue of trying to wrest profits froe The realistic and idealistic sides of George Washi+ngton both conspired to rebel against the peculiar institution Interestingly enough, when he mentioned possible obstacles to his plan, he talked of the difficulty ofwhite workers with black, but he neverprobleeous move by the country's foreton had manifold reasons for his actions, and his response to slavery was shaped by a complex blend of i letter to his nephew Alexander Spotswood that dealt with his views on slavery-a subject, Washi+ngton admitted, that ”I do not like to even think, ested that thehis slaves related to his fear of auctioning the up fa[ains]t selling Negroes, as you would cattle in the market, I would not, in twelve months froton suggested that thehis slaves related to his fear of auctioning the up fa[ains]t selling Negroes, as you would cattle in the market, I would not, in twelve months from this date, be possessed of one as a slave”44 He went on to say that he feared troublewith the slave population and that a day of reckoning ht soon be at hand: ”I shall be happily mistaken if they are not found to be a very troublesome species of property 'ere many years pass over our heads” He went on to say that he feared troublewith the slave population and that a day of reckoning ht soon be at hand: ”I shall be happily mistaken if they are not found to be a very troublesome species of property 'ereabout slave revolts was ihtened by the ue (ust 1791 This, the largest slave revolt in history, had led to thousands of deaths a hysterical fears a American planters When Charles Pinckney worried about the iton shared his alarm: ”I feel sincerely those sentiments of sympathy which you so properly express for the distresses of our suffering brethren [the slave owners] in that quarter and deplore their causes”46 It seehtmares of slaveholders who feared the hatred that siinia enacted s as well as an ”act against divulgers of false news” It seehtmares of slaveholders who feared the hatred that siinia enacted s as well as an ”act against divulgers of false news”47 President Washi+ngton extended overnment to combat the insurrection and also made a personal donation of 250 to relieve the affected white colonists By July 1793 thousands of white refugees froue had streamed into American ports, where they retailed hideous tales of rape and ed slaves Thatthat the situation of these fugitive planters ”calls aloud for pity and charity Never was so deep a tragedy presented to the feelings of s of manI become daily more convinced that all the West India islands will remain in the hands of the people of color and a total expulsion of the whites sooner or later take place It is high time we should foresee the bloody scenes which our children certainly and possibly ourselves (south of Potoh and try to avert them”I become daily more convinced that all the West India islands will remain in the hands of the people of color and a total expulsion of the whites sooner or later take place It is high time we should foresee the bloody scenes which our children certainly and possibly ourselves (south of Potoh and try to avert them”48 In February 1794 France decided to free the slaves in its eitated black population Washi+ngton's coainst the backdrop of the slave revolt in St Doue and the conviction of many southern planters, reflected in Jefferson's comment, that it was only a matter of time before A in bloody wrath against their masters In February 1794 France decided to free the slaves in its eitated black population Washi+ngton's coainst the backdrop of the slave revolt in St Doue and the conviction of many southern planters, reflected in Jefferson's comment, that it was only a matter of time before A in bloody wrath against their masters

CHAPTER FIFTY-EIGHT

Hercules in the Field THE WINTER OF 1793-94 was a cold and dreary one in Philadelphia; the Delaware River was so choked with ice floes that vessels could not navigate After the yellow fever epidehostly place, with the usual diversions of theater and dancing still temporarily taboo ”We have been very dull here all winter,” wrote Martha Washi+ngton, lapsing into the general funk ”There has been two assemblies and it is said that the players are to be here soon If they coreat change”1 On Decened as secretary of state, thereby liberating himself from the intolerable company of Alexander Haton and Jefferson had experienced parallel frustrations with public service Bothunder duress, yearned to regain the domestic pleasures of their plantations, and disclaimed political ambition, however dubious that notion seemed to impartial observers A worn-out Jefferson could not wait to return to the repose of Monticello, telling one correspondent in late November, ”I hope to spend the re than those to which I have sacrificed 18 years of the prime of my life”2 Since the political animosity toward hih society, he wished to retire ”from the hated occupations of politics and sink into the bosom of my family, my farm, and my books” Since the political animosity toward hih society, he wished to retire ”from the hated occupations of politics and sink into the boso shot as secretary of state, Jefferson proposed to Congress a series of trade restrictions designed to throttle commerce with Great Britain In Hamilton's scornful opinion, Jefferson ”threw this firebrand of discord” on congressional desks ”and instantly deca shot as secretary of state, Jefferson proposed to Congress a series of trade restrictions designed to throttle commerce with Great Britain In Hamilton's scornful opinion, Jefferson ”threw this firebrand of discord” on congressional desks ”and instantly deca with Jefferson was ah, and he sent him a civil farewell letter, but privately he felt that Jefferson had betrayed hin affairs Outwardly, Washi+ngton's parting with Jefferson was ah, and he sent him a civil farewell letter, but privately he felt that Jefferson had betrayed hin affairs

Jefferson's preferred self-ie was that of a bookish, unworldly fellow, more at home with intellectual pursuits than in the hurly-burly of politics Once back at Monticello, he presented hi, as if it were a youthful folly he had outgrown ”The little spice of aer days,” he told Madison, ”has long since evaporatedThe question is forever closed to me”5 To less friendly observers, however, the matter was far from closed As early as 1792 Has of Jefferson's mind and discover it orm-eaten with ambition: ” 'Tis evident beyond a question, from every movement, that Mr Jefferson aims with ardent desire at the presidential chair” To less friendly observers, however, the matter was far from closed As early as 1792 Has of Jefferson's mind and discover it orm-eaten with ambition: ” 'Tis evident beyond a question, from every movement, that Mr Jefferson aims with ardent desire at the presidential chair”6 He interpreted Jefferson's withdrawal from the scene as a temporary maneuver until the time had ripened for his triuruffly Jefferson's pose of philosophical detachood riddance of bad wareHe is as ambitious as Oliver CromwellHis soul is poisoned with ambition” He interpreted Jefferson's withdrawal from the scene as a temporary maneuver until the time had ripened for his triuruffly Jefferson's pose of philosophical detachood riddance of bad wareHe is as ambitious as Oliver CromwellHis soul is poisoned with anation was a calculated first step in a detern for the presidency ”The whole anti-Federal party at that time considered this retirement as a sure and certain step towards the summit of the pyranation was a calculated first step in a detern for the presidency ”The whole anti-Federal party at that time considered this retirement as a sure and certain step towards the summit of the pyramid,” he said in later life8 As he observed tartly, ”Political plants grow in the shade” As he observed tartly, ”Political plants grow in the shade”9 At first Jefferson professed subli to night,” he declared to Henry Knox ”I rarely look into a book or take up a pen I have proscribed newspapers”10 In departing from office, Jefferson maintained that his political activity would henceforth be restricted to his hobbyhorse, ”the sharess and ”their i from office, Jefferson maintained that his political activity would henceforth be restricted to his hobbyhorse, ”the sharess and ”their implicit devotion to the treasury”11 But when asked whether Washi+ngton was ”governed by British influence,” Jefferson supposedly replied, facetiously, that no danger existed so long as Washi+ngton ”was influenced by the wise advisers or advice, which [he] at present had” But when asked whether Washi+ngton was ”governed by British influence,” Jefferson supposedly replied, facetiously, that no danger existed so long as Washi+ngton ”was influenced by the wise advisers or advice, which [he] at present had”12 When Governor Henry Lee told hiibe that he was biased toward Britain and hoodwinked by Haton reacted with fury Jefferson could not honestly accuse him of such bias, he retorted, unless ”he has set ,” because Jefferson had heard hiy that could not be mistaken by When Governor Henry Lee told hiibe that he was biased toward Britain and hoodwinked by Haton reacted with fury Jefferson could not honestly accuse him of such bias, he retorted, unless ”he has set ,” because Jefferson had heard hiy that could not be mistaken by anyone anyone present” present”13 Two years later, hotly rejecting the accusation of being a ”party ton insisted to Jefferson that he had ruled against Hamilton in the cabinet as often as he had sided with hi a ”party ton insisted to Jefferson that he had ruled against Hamilton in the cabinet as often as he had sided with hi office, Jefferson was de hierarchy of relationshi+ps Their correspondence, however friendly, centered on ton never again sought him out for policy advice He dropped the salutation ”My dear Sir” in favor of the cooler ”Dear Sir” Thus did the subtle Washi+ngton consign ex-colleagues to slow oblivion If Washi+ngton suspected that Jefferson belonged to a cabal against him, Jefferson was no less insistent that ”federal monarchists” had captured the president's ear in order to vilify hiovernment, which would lead infallibly to licentiousness and anarchy”15 For sos with an old friend underlined the true depth of his hostility toward Jefferson For sos with an old friend underlined the true depth of his hostility toward Jefferson

We are accusto era as endoith an inexhaustible supply of superlatively able ifted public servants-Jefferson, Hamilton, Adaton, likereplace first-term cabinet and turned by default to coures weren't prepared to make the financial sacrifice that accoraphic and political diversity, Washi+ngton tapped Edht in a Federalist, William Bradford of the Pennsylvania Supreeneral Nevertheless Randolph fell woefully short of Jefferson's intellectual standard and was viewed in Republican quarters as an unreliable partner His shortcos tilted the cabinet's power balance decisively toward Haton's second term Both Hamilton and Knox had promised to stay on until the end of 1794; Hamilton's stature was only enhanced after a second House inquiry into his conduct granted him a full vindication in May 1794

One of the first challenges for the new teaure out how to deal with the lawless North African, or ”Barbary,” states-Algiers, Tripoli, and Tunis-which plundered foreign vessels in the Mediterranean and enslaved their crews Many European powers had grown resigned to paying ”tribute”-a polite word for ransom money-to win the release of their crews As American crews succumbed to these pirates and were threatened with forced conversion to Islaton was offended by the need to pay bribes, especially after Algiers seized eleven American merchant shi+ps and a hundred prisoners Reluctantly, he authorized the payotiate a treaty of aht the tiht In March 1794 Congress approved a proposal, backed by Washi+ngton and Knox, to build six frigates ”adequate for the protection of the coerian corsairs”16 This action officially inaugurated the US Navy, although it would take four more years before a separate Navy Departates represented a landton's plan to foster a professional lected diploiers This action officially inaugurated the US Navy, although it would take four more years before a separate Navy Departates represented a landton's plan to foster a professional lected diploiers

Another foreign policy crisis arose fro casualties spawned by the French Revolution and the concotonhiesture of friendshi+p toward Aton failed to win his freedoly bad conditions of Lafayette's confine food The respite, alas, was brief Lafayette was soon transferred to the Austrian authorities, who shut him up in a filthy, fly-infested cell in Ol After Lafayette's as arrested in France, Gouverneur Morris interceded on her behalf, leading Robespierre to spare her frorandmother wound up as victiovern it sweeping powers to arrest people for treason and try then of Terror ensued that would claim as many as forty thousand lives17 As an eyewitness to the bloodletting, Gouverneur Morris provided Washi+ngton with a running commentary on the atrocities ”The Queen was executed the day before yesterday,” he wrote of Marie-Antoinette that October ”Insulted during her trial and reviled in her last h the streets of Paris in an open cart to the guillotine-”she behav'd with dignity throughout” As an eyewitness to the bloodletting, Gouverneur Morris provided Washi+ngton with a running commentary on the atrocities ”The Queen was executed the day before yesterday,” he wrote of Marie-Antoinette that October ”Insulted during her trial and reviled in her last h the streets of Paris in an open cart to the guillotine-”she behav'd with dignity throughout”18 The perceptive Morris saw that the violence was no incidental by-product of the revolution but fundamental to its spirit As he put it in lapidary prose, ”In the groves [of the revolution], at every end of every vista, you see nothing but gallows” The perceptive Morris saw that the violence was no incidental by-product of the revolution but fundamental to its spirit As he put it in lapidary prose, ”In the groves [of the revolution], at every end of every vista, you see nothing but gallows”19 An essential difference between the American and French revolutions was that the American version allowed a search for le sacred truth that allowed no deviation An essential difference between the American and French revolutions was that the American version allowed a search for le sacred truth that allowed no deviation

By July 1794 the revolutionary tribunal in Paris accelerated the tempo of its trials and issued nine hundred death sentences per month20 Many victims of the Terror had been stalwart friends of the American Revolution Pulled froht, Thomas Paine had been tossed into prison and stayed there for months From Paris, James Monroe, who replaced Gouverneur Morris as AmericanWashi+ngton for his predicament: ”He thinks the president winked at his iaol, and bears his resent an attack upon him of the most virulent kind” Many victims of the Terror had been stalwart friends of the American Revolution Pulled froht, Thomas Paine had been tossed into prison and stayed there for months From Paris, James Monroe, who replaced Gouverneur Morris as AmericanWashi+ngton for his predicament: ”He thinks the president winked at his iaol, and bears his resent an attack upon him of the ht have felt toward Paine, there is no evidence that he wanted him either abused or incarcerated Whatever displeasure Washi+ngton ht have felt toward Paine, there is no evidence that he wanted him either abused or incarcerated

Many Frenchmen who had admired or even participated in the American Revolution were casualties of its bloody Gallic sequel After testifying in favor of Marie-Antoinette, the for was beheaded The erstwhile Count de Rochaerie in Paris, was condeuillotine and survived only because Robespierre fell from power as he was about to be decapitated The massacre of French aristocrats widened the rift between Federalists, who feared that France would export anarchy, and Republicans, who cheered the radical spirit of events in Paris, whatever their unfortunate excesses

At the saland, at ith France, was straining Anglo-A in June 1793, the British government directed the Royal Navy to intercept neutral shi+ps bearing foodstuffs destined for French ports and seize their cargo; five months later the policy was briefly expanded into a total blockade of the French West Indies In short order, British warshi+ps stopped and seized 250 A their wares At the same tirabbed British deserters aboard American shi+ps-a practice known as ”i in their nets h-handed ance and precipitated a political firestor a counterproductive policy that would feed syland, and threaten the neutrality procla authorized a new navy, Federalist leaders in Congress worked to n threats that materialized They aboo of a standing army, mobilize militiamen on short notice For Republicans, such measures raised the specter of an oppressive rown dissidents Those who deeton an uncritical admirer of Great Britain would have been surprised by the veno In one, he mocked those ”who affect to believe that Great Britain has no hostile intention towards this country” and insisted that its political conduct ”has worn a very hostile appearance latterly”22 He was convinced that Britain was inciting Indian nations against A to alter the US-Canadian border in Britain's favor He was convinced that Britain was inciting Indian nations against A to alter the US-Canadian border in Britain's favor

The i Federalists that it would be wise to dispatch a special envoy to London to avert war, maintain trade, seek reparations for plundered shi+ps, and settle outstanding disputes, includingfrom the end of the war, such as Britain's failure to evacuate forts in the northwest Aton wanted to forestall any trade sanctions against England in the Congress When Hamilton's name surfaced as the Federalists' first choice for the new envoy, Washi+ngton seriously considered it until Republicans protested that Halophile, would lack all credibility at hoton ayed by this objection, especially after Hamilton removed himself from consideration and pushed forward Chief Justice Jay as an ideal substitute To Republican eyes, the Anglophile Jay was hardly free of sin; indeed, Madison whispered in Washi+ngton's ear that Jay was a secret ton proceeded with the appointment The choice of Jay, less controversial than Haovernment critics, and Madison affirmed that it was ”the most powerful blow ever suffered by the popularity of the president”23 For Washi+ngton, negotiation with England seeeously by his decision to display Jay For Washi+ngton, negotiation with England seeeously by his decision to display Jay

During his diplomatic mission Jay remained as chief justice, which struck some observers as unconstitutional At the very least it softened the lines between the executive and judicial branches-lines that Jay hiued, the decision created the prospect of the executive branch exercising a ”mischievous and iton was agile inappointments, and to led political forces To mollify Republicans, he recalled Gouverneur Morris fro in his stead the Francophile senator James Monroe Hamilton's influence had not been entirely neutralized, for when Jay sailed to England on May 12, 1794, applauded by a thousand bystanders on the New York docks, the instructions he carried bore Has, Jay would enjoy the leeway to negotiate a full-fledged co that was anathema to the Republicans In his own instructions to Jay, Washi+ngton breathed fire against English intransigence Of the British surrender of the frontier posts, he said: ”I will undertake, without the gift of prophecy, to predict that it will be impossible to keep this country in a state of a if the posts are not surrendered” Washi+ngton was agile inappointments, and to led political forces To mollify Republicans, he recalled Gouverneur Morris fro in his stead the Francophile senator James Monroe Hamilton's influence had not been entirely neutralized, for when Jay sailed to England on May 12, 1794, applauded by a thousand bystanders on the New York docks, the instructions he carried bore Has, Jay would enjoy the leeway to negotiate a full-fledged co that was anathema to the Republicans In his own instructions to Jay, Washi+ngton breathed fire against English intransigence Of the British surrender of the frontier posts, he said: ”I will undertake, without the gift of prophecy, to predict that it will be impossible