Life and public services of John Quincy Adams, sixth President of the United States, with the eulogy delivered before the Legislature of New York

by William H. Seward

CHAPTER VI.

MR. ADAMS APPOINTED SECRETARY OF STATE—ARRIVES IN THE UNITED STATES—PUBLIC DINNERS IN NEW YORK AND BOSTON—TAKES UP HIS RESIDENCE IN WASHINGTON—DEFENDS GEN. JACKSON IN THE FLORIDA INVASION—RECOGNITION OF SOUTH AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE—GREEK REVOLUTION.

James Madison, after serving his country eight years as President, in a most perilous period of its history, retired to private life, followed by the respect and gratitude of the people of the United States. He was succeeded by James Monroe, who was inaugurated on the 4th of March, 1817.

Mr. Monroe was a politician of great moderation. It was his desire, on entering the presidency, to heal the unhappy dissensions which had distracted the country from the commencement of its government, and conciliate and unite the conflicting political parties. In forming his cabinet, he consulted eminent individuals of different parties, in various sections of the Union, expressing these views. Among others, he addressed Gen. Jackson, who, on account of his successful military career, was then rising rapidly into public notice. In his reply the general remarked:—

"Everything depends on the selection of your ministry. In every selection, party and party feeling should be avoided. Now is the time to exterminate that monster, called party spirit. By selecting characters most conspicuous for their probity, virtue, capacity, and firmness, without any regard to party, you will go far, if not entirely, to eradicate those feelings, which on former occasions, threw so many obstacles in the way of government, and, perhaps, have the pleasure and honor of uniting a people heretofore politically divided. The Chief Magistrate of a great and powerful nation, should never indulge in party feelings."

Admirable advice! Sentiments worthy an exalted American statesman! The President of a vast Republic, should indeed know nothing of the interest of party in contradistinction to the interest of the whole people; and should exercise his power, his patronage, and his influence, not to strengthen factions, and promote the designs of political demagogues, but to develop and nourish internal resources, the only sinews of national prosperity, and diffuse abroad sentiments of true patriotism, liberality, and philanthropy. No suggestions more admirable could have been made by Gen. Jackson, and none could have been more worthy the consideration of Mr. Monroe and his successors in the presidential chair.

In carrying out his plans of conciliation, President Monroe selected John Quincy Adams for the responsible post of Secretary of State. Mr. Adams had never been an active partizan. In his career as Senator, both in Massachusetts and in Washington, during Mr. Jefferson's administration, he had satisfactorily demonstrated his ability to rise above party considerations, in the discharge of great and important duties. And his long absence from the country had kept him free from personal, party, and sectional bias, and peculiarly fitted him to take the first station in the cabinet of a President aiming to unite his countrymen in fraternal bonds of political amity.

Referring to this appointment, Mr. Monroe wrote Gen. Jackson as follows, under date of March 1, 1817:—"I shall take a person for the Department of State from the eastward; and Mr. Adams, by long service in our diplomatic concerns appearing to be entitled to the preference, supported by his acknowledged abilities and integrity, his nomination will go to the Senate." Gen. Jackson, in his reply, remarks:—"I have no hesitation in saying you have made the best selection to fill the Department of State that could be made. Mr. Adams, in the hour of difficulty, will be an able helpmate, and I am convinced his appointment will afford general satisfaction." This prediction was well founded. The consummate ability exhibited by Mr. Adams in foreign negotiations had elevated him to a high position in the estimation of his countrymen. His selection for the State Department was received with very general satisfaction throughout the Union.

On receiving notice of his appointment to this responsible office, Mr. Adams, with his family, embarked for the United States, on board the packet-ship Washington, and landed in New York on the 6th of August, 1817.

A few days after his arrival, a public dinner was given Mr. Adams, in Tammany Hall, New York. The room was elegantly decorated. In the centre was a handsome circle of oak leaves, roses, and flags—the whole representing, with much effect, our happy Union—and from the centre of which, as from her native woods, appeared our eagle, bearing in her beak this impressive scroll:—

"Columbia, great Republic, thou art blest,
While Empires droop, and Monarchs sink to rest."

Gov. De Witt Clinton, the Mayor of New York, and about two hundred citizens of the highest respectability, sat down to the table. Among other speeches made on the occasion, was the following from an English gentleman, a Mr. Fearon, of London:—

"As several gentlemen have volunteered songs, I would beg leave to offer a sentiment, which I am sure will meet the hearty concurrence of all present. But, previous to which, I desire to express the high satisfaction which this day's entertainment has afforded me. Though a native of Great Britain, and but a few days in the United States, I am for the first time in my life in a free country, surrounded by free men; and when I look at the inscription which decorates your eagle, I rejoice that I have been destined to see this day. A great number of the enlightened portion of my countrymen advocate your cause—admire your principles. And though we have, unfortunately, been engaged in a war, I trust the result has taught wisdom to both parties. In your political institutions you have set a noble example, which, if followed throughout the world, will rescue mankind from the dominion of those tyrants who jeer at the destruction which they produce—

'Like the moonbeams on the blasted heath,
Mocking its desolation.'

"Gentlemen, in conclusion, I beg to express the delight which I feel, and propose to you as a toast—May the United States be an example to the world; and may civil and religious liberty cover the earth, as the waters do the channels of the deep."

A public dinner was also given Mr. Adams on his arrival in Boston. Mr. Gray presided, and Messrs. Otis, Blake, and Mason, acted as Vice Presidents. His father, the venerable ex-President John Adams, was present as a guest. Among other toasts given on the occasion, were the following:—

"The United States.—May our public officers, abroad and at home, continue to be distinguished for integrity, talents, and patriotism."

"The Commissioners at Ghent.—The negotiations for peace have been declared, in the British House of Lords, to wear the stamp of American superiority."

"American Manufactures.—A sure and necessary object for the security of
American independence."

This occasion must have been one of great interest to the patriarch John Adams, then more than four-score years of age. Nearly forty years before, he had said of his son:—"He behaves like a man!" That son, in the prime of his days, had recently been called from foreign service, where he had obtained accumulated honors, to fill the highest station in the gift of the Executive of his country. The people of two continents would now unite with the venerable sage, in repeating the declaration—"He behaves like a man!" The patriarch stood upon the verge of the grave. But as the sun of his existence was gently and calmly sinking beneath the horizon, lo! its beams were reflected in their pristine brightness by another orb, born from its bosom, which was steadily ascending to the zenith of earthly fame!

John Quincy Adams took up his residence at Washington, and entered upon his duties as Secretary of State, in September, 1817.

During the eight years of President Monroe's administration, Mr. Adams discharged the duties of the state department, with a fidelity and success which received not only the unqualified approbation of the President, but of the whole country. To him that office was no sinecure. His labors were incessant. He spared no pains to qualify himself to discuss, with consummate skill, whatever topics legitimately claimed his attention. The President, the cabinet, the people, imposed implicit trust in his ability to promote the interests of the nation in all matters of diplomacy, and confided unreservedly in his pure American feelings and love of country. Perfectly familiar as he was with the political condition of the world, Mr. Monroe entrusted him, without hesitation, with the management of the foreign policy of the Government, during his administration.

In the autumn of 1817, the Seminole and a portion of the Creek Indians commenced depredations on the frontiers of Georgia and Alabama. Troops were sent to reduce them, under Gen. Gaines. His force being too weak to bring them to subjection, Gen. Jackson was ordered to take the field with a more numerous army, with which he overran the Indian country. Believing it necessary to enter Florida, then a Spanish territory, for the more effectual subjugation of the Indians, he did not hesitate to pursue them thither. The Spanish authorities protested against the invasion of their domains, and offered some opposition. Gen. Jackson persisted, and in the result, took possession of St. Marks and Pensacola, and sent the Spanish authorities and troops to Havana.

Among the prisoners taken in this expedition, were a Scotchman and an Englishman, named Arbuthnot and Ambrister. They were British subjects, but were charged with supplying the Indians with arms and munitions of war; stirring them up against the whites, and acting as spies. On these charges they were tried by a court martial, of which Gen. Gaines was President—found guilty—condemned to death, and executed on the 27th of April, 1818.

These transactions of Gen. Jackson caused great excitement throughout the United States, and subjected him to no little blame. The subject excited much debate in Congress. A resolution censuring him for his summary proceedings was introduced, but voted down by a large majority. In Mr. Monroe's cabinet, there was a strong feeling against Gen. Jackson. The President, and all the members, with a single exception, were disposed to hold him responsible for having transcended his orders. Hon. Wm. H. Crawford, who was in Mr. Monroe's cabinet at that time, in a letter to Mr. Forsyth, says:—"Mr. Calhoun's proposition in the cabinet was, that Gen. Jackson should be punished in some form, or reprimanded in some form."

Mr. Adams alone vindicated Gen. Jackson. He insisted that inasmuch as the Government had ordered him to pursue the enemy into Florida, if necessary, they were responsible for the acts of the American general, in the exercise of the discretionary power with which he had been clothed. Several cabinet meetings were held on the subject, in July, 1818, in which the whole matter was thoroughly discussed. Mr. Adams succeeded at length in bringing the President into the adoption of his views, which Mr. Monroe substantially embodied in his next annual message to Congress.

The intelligence of the execution of Arbuthnot and Ambrister, excited the highest indignation in England. The people viewed it as a violation of the rights of British subjects, and an insult to their nation, and were ready to rush to war. Lord Castlereagh declared to Mr. Rush, the American Minister, that had the English cabinet but held up a finger, war would have been declared against the United States. But so able and convincing were the arguments which Mr. Adams directed Mr. Rush to lay before the British Ministers, in defence of the proceedings of Gen. Jackson, that they became convinced there was no just cause of war between the two countries, and exerted their influence against any movement in that direction.

On the 22nd of February, 1819, a treaty was concluded at Washington, between the United States and Spain, by which East and West Florida, with the adjacent islands, were ceded to the Union. The negotiations which resulted in the consummation of the treaty, were conducted by Mr. Adams and Luis de Onis the Spanish Ambassador. This treaty was very advantageous to the United States. It brought to a close a controversy with Spain, of many years' standing, which had defied all the exertions of former administrations to adjust, and placed our relations with that country on the most amicable footing. In effecting this reconciliation, Mr. Adams deserved and received a high share of credit.

The recognition of the independence of the Spanish South American Provinces, by the Government of the United States, took place during Mr. Adams's administration of the State Department. The honor of first proposing this recognition, in the Congress of the United States, and of advocating it with unsurpassed eloquence and zeal, belongs to the patriotic Henry Clay. Mainly by his influence, the House of Representatives, in 1820, passed the following resolutions:—

"Resolved, That the House of Representatives participate with the people of the United States, in the deep interest which they feel for the success of the Spanish Provinces of South America, which are struggling to establish their liberty and independence.

"Resolved, That this House will give its constitutional support to the President of the United States, whenever he may deem it expedient to recognize the sovereignty and independence of any of said Provinces."

Mr. Adams at first hesitated on this subject. Not that he was opposed to the diffusion of the blessings of freedom to the oppressed. No man was a more ardent lover of liberty, or was more anxious that its institutions should be established throughout the earth, at the earliest practicable moment. But he had many and serious doubts whether the people of the South American Provinces were capable of originating and maintaining an enlightened self-government. There was a lack of general intelligence among the people—a want of an enlarged and enlightened understanding of the principles of rational freedom—which led him to apprehend that their attempts at self-government would for a long season, at least, result in the reign of faction and anarchy, rather than true republican principles. The subsequent history of these countries—the divisions and contentions, the revolutions and counter-revolutions, which have rent them asunder, and deluged them in blood—clearly show that Mr. Adams but exercised a far-seeing intelligence in entertaining these doubts. Nevertheless, as they had succeeded in throwing off the Spanish yoke, and had, in fact, achieved their independence, Mr. Adams would not throw any impediment in their way. Trusting that his fears as to their ability for self-government might be groundless, he gave his influence to the recognizing of their independence by the United States.

In 1821 the Greek revolution broke out. The people of that classic land, after enduring ages of the most brutal and humiliating oppression from the Turks, nobly resolved to break the chains of the Ottoman power, or perish in the attempt. The war was long, and sanguinary, but finally resulted in the emancipation of Greece, and the establishment of its independence as a nation.

The inhabitants of the United States could not witness such a struggle with indifference. A spirit of sympathy ran like electricity throughout the land. Public meetings were held in nearly every populous town in the Union, in which resolutions, encouraging the Greeks in their struggle, were passed, and contributions taken up to aid them. Money, clothing, provisions, arms, were collected in immense quantities and shipped to Greece. In churches, colleges, academies and schools—at the theatres, museums, and other places of amusement and public resort—aid was freely and generously given in behalf of the struggling patriots. Many citizens of the United States, when the first blast of the trumpet of liberty rang along the Ionian seas, and through the Peloponnesus, sped across the ocean, and, throwing themselves into the midst of the Grecian hosts, contended heroically for their emancipation. Among these volunteers, was Col. J. P. Miller, of Vermont, who not only gallantly fought in the battles of Greece, but was greatly serviceable in conveying supplies from the United States to that struggling people.

The deep sympathy which prevailed in every section of the Union, was soon felt in Congress. Many public men were anxious that the Government should take some important and decisive step, even to hostilities, in behalf of Greece. Eloquent speeches were delivered in the House of Representatives on the exciting topic. Mr. Clay electrified the country with his stirring appeals in behalf of the land in which was established the first republic on earth. Mr. Webster submitted the following resolution to the House of Representatives:—

"Resolved, That provision ought to be made by law, for defraying the expense incident to the appointment of an Agent, or Commissioner, to Greece, whenever the President shall deem it expedient to make such appointment."

In support of this resolution, Mr. Webster made a most eloquent speech, of which the following is the conclusion:—

"Mr. Chairman—There are some things which, to be well done, must be promptly done. If we even determine to do the thing that is now proposed, we may do it too late Sir, I am not of those who are for withholding aid when it is most urgently needed, and when the stress is past, and the aid no longer necessary, overwhelming the sufferers with caresses. I will not stand by and see my fellow-man drowning, without stretching out a hand to help him, till he has, by his own efforts and presence of mind, reached the shore in safety, and then encumber him with aid. With suffering Greece, now is the crisis of her fate—her great, it may be her last struggle. Sir, while we sit here deliberating, her destiny may be decided. The Greeks, contending with ruthless oppressors, turn their eyes to us, and invoke us, by their ancestors, by their slaughtered wives and children, by their own blood poured out like water, by the hecatombs of dead they have heaped up, as it were, to heaven; they invoke, they implore from us some cheering sound, some look of sympathy, some token of compassionate regard. They look to us as the great Republic of the earth—and they ask us, by our common faith, whether we can forget that they are struggling, as we once struggled, for what we now so happily enjoy? I cannot say, sir, they will succeed; that rests with heaven. But, for myself, sir, if I should to-morrow hear that they have failed—that their last phalanx had sunk beneath the Turkish cimetar, that the flames of their last city had sunk in its ashes, and that nought remained but the wide, melancholy waste where Greece once was—I should still reflect, with the most heartfelt satisfaction, that I have asked you, in the name of seven millions of freemen, that you would give them, at least, the cheering of one friendly voice."

The committee having in charge the raising of a fund for the assistance of the Greeks, in New York, addressed a circular to the venerable ex-President John Adams, to which they received the following reply:—

"Quincy, Dec. 29, 1823. "GENTLEMEN:—I have received your circular of the 12th inst., and I thank you for the honor you have done me in addressing it to me. Be assured my heart beats in unison with yours, and with those of your constituents, and I presume with all the really civilized part of mankind, in sympathy with the Greeks, suffering, as they are, in the great cause of liberty and humanity. The gentlemen of Boston have taken measures to procure a general subscription in their favor, through the State, and I shall contribute my mite with great pleasure. In the meantime I wish you, and all other gentlemen engaged in the virtuous work, all the success you or they can wish; for I believe no effort in favor of virtue will be ultimately lost.

"I have the honor to be, Gentlemen, your very humble Servant,
"JOHN ADAMS."

The sympathies of John Quincy Adams were ardently enlisted in behalf of the Greek Revolution. But with a prudence and wisdom which characterized all his acts, he threw his influence against any direct interference on the part of the Government of the United States. It would have been a departure from that neutral policy, in regard to European conflicts, on which the country had acted from the commencement of our national existence, alike injurious and dangerous. He knew if we once entered into these wars, on any pretext whatever, a door would be opened for foreign entanglements and endless conflicts, which would result in standing armies, immense national debts, and the long trail of evils of which they are the prolific source.

When an application was made to Mr. Adams, as Secretary of State, through Mr. Rush, our Minister at London, by an Agent of Greece, for aid from the United States, he was compelled, on principles above stated, to withhold the required assistance. The correspondence which grew out of this application is sufficiently interesting to find a place in these pages:—

"Andreas Luriottis, Envoy of the Provisional Government of Greece, to the
Hon. John Quincy Adams, Secretary of State to the United States of
America.

SIR:—I feel no slight emotion, while, in behalf of Greece, my country, struggling for independence and liberty, I address myself to the United States of America.

"The independence for which we combat, you have achieved. The liberty to which we look, with anxious solicitude, you have obtained, and consolidated in peace and in glory.

"Yet Greece, old Greece, the seat of early civilization and freedom, stretches out her hands, imploringly, to a land which sprung into being, as it were, ages after her own lustre had been extinguished! and ventures to hope that the youngest and most vigorous sons of liberty, will regard, with no common sympathy, the efforts of the descendants of the heir and the elder born, whose precepts and whose example have served—though insufficient, hitherto, for our complete regeneration—to regenerate half a world.

"I know, Sir, that the sympathies of the generous people of the United States have been extensively directed towards us; and since I have reached this country, an interview with their Minister, Mr. Rush, has served to convince me more strongly, how great their claim is on our gratitude and our affection. May I hope that some means may be found to communicate these our feelings, of which I am so proud to be the organ? We will still venture to rely on their friendship. We would look to their individual, if not to their national, co-operation. Every, the slightest, assistance under present circumstances, will aid the progress of the great work of liberty; and if, standing, as we have stood, alone and unsupported, with everything opposed to us, and nothing to encourage us but patriotism, enthusiasm, and sometimes even despair: if thus we have gone forward, liberating our provinces, one after another, and subduing every force which has been directed against us, what may we not do with the assistance for which we venture to appeal to the generous and the free?

"Precipitated by circumstances into that struggle for independence, which, ever since the domination of our cruel and reckless tyrants, had never ceased to be the object of our vows and prayers, we have, by the blessing of God, freed a considerable part of Greece from the ruthless invaders. The Peloponnesus, Etolia, Carmania, Attica, Phocida, Boetia, and the Islands of the Archipelago and Candia, are nearly free. The armies and the fleets which have been sent against us, have been subdued by the valor of our troops and our marine. Meanwhile we have organized a government, founded upon popular suffrages: and you will probably have seen how closely our organic law assimilates to that constitution under which your nation so happily and so securely lives.

"I have been sent hither by the government of Greece, to obtain assistance in our determined enterprize, on which we, like you, have staked our lives, our fortunes, and our sacred honor: and I believe my journey has not been wholly without success. I should have been wanting to my duty had I not addressed you, supplicating the earliest display of your amiable purposes; entreating that diplomatic relations may be established between us; communicating the most earnest desire of my government that we may be allowed to call you allies as well as friends; and stating that we shall rejoice to enter upon discussions which may lead to immediate and advantageous treaties, and to receive diplomatic agents without delay. Both at Madrid and at Lisbon, I have been received with great kindness by the American Representative, and am pleased to record the expression of my gratitude.

"Though, fortunately, you are so far removed, and raised so much above the narrow politics of Europe as to be little influenced by their vicissitudes, I venture to believe that Mr. Rush will explain to you the changes which have taken place, and are still in action around us, in our favor. And I conclude, rejoicing in the hope that North America and Greece may be united in the bonds of long-enduring, and unbroken concord: and have the honor to be, with every sentiment of respect, your obedient humble servant. "AND. LURIOTTIS. 'London, February 20, 1823."

MR. ADAMS TO MR. RUSH.

"Department of State, Washington, 18th August, 1823. "SIR:—I have the honor of inclosing, herewith, an answer to the letter from Mr. Luriottis, the Agent of the Greeks addressed to me, and a copy of which was transmitted with your dispatch No. 295.

"If, upon the receipt of this letter, Mr. Luriottis should still be in London, it will be desirable that you should deliver it to him in person, accompanied with such remarks and explanations as may satisfy him, and those whom he represents, that, in declining the proposal of giving active aid to the cause of Grecian emancipation, the Executive Government of the United States has been governed not by its inclinations, or a sentiment of indifference to the cause, but by its constitutional duties, clear and unequivocal.

"The United States could give assistance to the Greeks, only by the application of some portion of their public forces or of their public revenue in their favor, which would constitute them in a state of war with the Ottoman Porte, and perhaps with all the Barbary powers. To make this disposal either of force or of treasure, you are aware is, by our constitution, not within the competency of the Executive. It could be determined only by an act of Congress, which would assuredly not be adopted, should it even be recommended by the Executive.

"The policy of the United States, with reference to foreign nations, has always been founded upon the moral principle of natural law—Peace with all mankind. From whatever cause war between other nations, whether foreign or domestic, has arisen, the unvarying law of the United States has been peace with both belligerents. From the first war of the French Revolution, to the recent invasion of Spain, there has been a succession of wars, national and civil, in almost everyone of which one of the parties was contending for liberty or independence. In the first French revolutionary war, a strong impulse of feeling urged the people of the United States to take side with the party which, at its commencement, was contending, apparently, at least, for both. Had the policy of the United States not been essentially pacific, a stronger case to claim their interference could scarcely have been presented. They nevertheless declared themselves neutral, and the principle, then deliberately settled, has been invariably adhered to ever since.

"With regard to the recognition of sovereign States, and the establishment with them of a diplomatic intercourse, the experience of the last thirty years has served also to ascertain the limits proper for the application of principles in which every nation must exercise some latitude of discretion. Precluded by their neutral position from interfering in the question of right, the United States have recognized the fact of foreign sovereignty only when it was undisputed, or disputed without any rational prospect of success. In this manner the successive changes of government in many of the European states, and the revolutionary governments of South America, have been acknowledged. The condition of the Greeks is not yet such as will admit of their recognition, upon these principles.

"Yet, as we cherish the most friendly feelings towards them, and are sincerely disposed to render them any service which may be compatible with our neutrality, it will give us pleasure to learn, from time to time, the actual state of their cause, political and military. Should Mr. Luriottis be enabled and disposed to furnish this information, it may always be communicated through you, and will be received with satisfaction here. The public accounts from that quarter have been of late very scanty, and we shall be glad to obtain any authentic particulars, which may come to your knowledge from this, or through any other channel.

"I am with great respect, Sir, your very humble and obedient servant,
JOHN QUINCY ADAMS."

MR. ADAMS TO MR. LURIOTTIS.

"Department of State, Washington, 18th August, 1823. "Sir: A copy of the letter which you did me the honor of addressing to me, on the 20th of February last, has been transmitted to me by the Minister of the United States at London, and has received the deliberate consideration of the President of the United States.

"The sentiments with which he has witnessed the struggles of your countrymen for their national emancipation and independence, had been made manifest to the world in a public message to the Congress of the United States. They are cordially felt by the people of this Union; who, sympathizing with the cause of freedom and independence wherever its standard is unfurled, behold with peculiar interest the display of Grecian energy in defence of Grecian liberties, and the association of heroic exertions, at the present time, with the proudest glories of former ages, in the land of Epaminondas and Philopoemon.

"But while cheering with their best wishes the cause of the Greeks, the United States are forbidden, by the duties of their situation, from taking part in the war, to which their relation is that of neutrality. At peace themselves with all the world, their established policy, and the obligations of the laws of nations, preclude them from becoming voluntary auxiliaries to a cause which would involve them in war.

"If in the progress of events the Greeks should be enabled to establish and organize themselves as an independent nation, the United States will be among the first to welcome them, in that capacity, into the general family; to establish diplomatic and commercial relations with them, suited to the mutual interests of the two countries; and to recognize, with special satisfaction, their constituted state in the character of a sister Republic.

"I have the honor to be, with distinguished consideration, Sir, your very humble and obedient servant, "JOHN QUINCY ADAMS."

The sentiments, in regard to the foreign policy of our Government, which Mr. Adams embodies in this correspondence, he had previously expressed in an oration delivered in the city of Washington, on the 4th of July, 1821, of which the following is an extract:—

"America, in the assembly of nations, since her admission among them, has invariably, though often fruitlessly, held forth to them the hand of honest friendship, of equal freedom, of generous reciprocity; she has uniformly spoken among them, though often to heedless, and often to disdainful ears, the language of equal liberty, of equal justice, and equal rights; she has, in the lapse of nearly half a century, without a single exception, respected the independence of other nations while asserting and maintaining her own; she has abstained from interference in the concerns of others, even when the conflict has been for principles to which she clings as to the last vital drop that visits the heart. She has seen that probably for centuries to come all the contests of that Aceldama, the European world, will be contests of inveterate power and emerging right. Wherever the standard of freedom and independence has been or shall be unfurled, there will her heart, her benedictions, and her prayers be. But she goes not abroad in search of monsters to destroy. She is the well-wisher to the freedom and independence of all—she is the champion and vindicator only of her own. She will recommend the general cause, by the countenance of her voice, and the benignant sympathy of her example:—she well knows that by once enlisting under other banners than her own, were they even the banners of foreign independence, she would involve herself beyond the power of extrication, in all the wars of interest and intrigue, of individual avarice, envy and ambition, which assume the colors, and usurp the standard of freedom. The fundamental maxims of her policy would insensibly change from liberty to force; the frontlet on her brow would no longer beam with the ineffable splendor of freedom and independence; but in its stead would soon be substituted an imperial diadem, flashing in false and tarnished lustre, the murky radiance of dominion and power. She might become the dictatress of the world: she would be no longer the ruler of her own spirit."

During Mr. Adams's occupancy of the state department, efforts were made by the American Government to abolish the African slave trade, and procure its denunciation as piracy, by the civilized world. On the 28th of Feb., 1823, the following resolution was adopted by the House of Representatives, at Washington, by a vote of 131 to 9:—

"Resolved, That the President of the United States be requested to enter upon and to prosecute, from time to time, such negotiations with the several maratime powers of Europe and America, as he may deem expedient for the effectual abolition of the African slave trade, and its ultimate denunciation as piracy, under the law of nations, by the consent of the civilized world."

In compliance with this resolution, Mr. Adams, as Secretary of State, issued directions to the American Ministers in Spain, Russia, the Netherlands, Colombia, and Buenos Ayres, to enter into negotiations with the Governments of these countries on this subject. Mr. Adams also maintained an able correspondence with the Hon. Stratford Canning, the British Minister at Washington, in relation to the basis on which a treaty should be formed with Great Britain for the suppression of the foreign slave trade.

Mr. Rush, the American Minister at the Court of St. James, was directed to enter upon negotiations in London, to this end. His instructions were written by Mr. Adams, with his usual sound judgment and enlarged views of national policy, and the claims of humanity. The convention was in due time completed, and signed by the Plenipotentiaries of both nations, on the 13th of March. 1824, and was sent by Mr. Rush to Washington for ratification. Mr. Monroe and Mr. Adams were ready to give it their sanction; but the Senate insisted on striking out a provision in the first article. The article commenced as follows:—

"The commanders and commissioned officers of each of the two high contracting parties, duly authorized, under the regulations and instructions of their respective Governments, to cruise on the coasts of Africa, of America, and of the West Indies, for the suppression of the slave trade, shall be empowered, under the conditions, limitations, and restrictions hereinafter specified," &c.

The Senate struck out the words "of America." This amendment the British Government would not assent to. Thus the negotiation on the slave trade, so near a consummation, fell to the ground.

Mr. Monroe's administration closed on the 3rd of March, 1825. It was a period of uninterrupted prosperity to the country. Our foreign commerce, recovering from the paralysis caused by the embargo, the non-intercourse act, and the war, spread forth its wings and whitened every sea and ocean on the globe. The domestic condition of the Union was thriving beyond the precedent of many former years. Improvements in agriculture were developed; domestic manufactures received a fair protection and encouragement; internal improvements, gaining more and more the attention and confidence of the people, had been prosecuted to the evident benefit of all branches of business and enterprize.

Another characteristic of the administration of Mr. Monroe is worthy of note. So judiciously and patriotically had he exercised the powers entrusted to him, that he disarmed opposition. Divisions, jealousies and contentions were destroyed, and a thorough fusion of all political parties took place. At his re-election for the second term of the presidency, there was no opposing candidate. There was but one party, and that was the great party of the American people. His election was unanimous.

In all these measures, Mr. Adams was the coadjutor and confidential adviser of Mr. Monroe. It is no derogation from the well-merited reputation of the latter to say, that many of the most striking and praiseworthy features of his administration were enstamped upon it by the labor and influence of the former. His success in maturing and carrying into execution his most popular measures must be attributed, in no small extent, to the ability and faithfulness of his eminent Secretary of State. And the historian may truly record that to John Quincy Adams, in an eminent degree, belongs a portion of the honor and credit which have been so generally accorded to the administration of James Monroe.