After the war, Langdon’s various mercantile and commercial enterprises took on new life, and there is every evidence that in his worldly affairs he was uniformly prosperous. A French report to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on the Congress of 1788 speaks of John Langdon as a man of great wealth and pressing commercial interests: “M. L. a fait une grande fortune dans le commerce, c’est le Rob. Morris de son Etat, faisant une grande dépense et s’attachant beaucoup de citoyens par ses libéralités.”[[272]]
John Langdon-Elwyn, grandson of John Langdon, in whose family were preserved the valuable private papers of the elder Langdon, wrote, sometime in the early part of the nineteenth century, a pamphlet on his celebrated grandfather. The author of this useful brochure “was nineteen years of age at the time of his grandfather’s death. A critical observer of men and affairs, his opportunities as a member of the family of Governor Langdon give the production of his pamphlet a special significance.”[[273]] This writer characterizes John Langdon as “a man that loved money, at an age when it gets the upper hand, that was prone to banking and funding, to whom such atmospheres were familiar and congenial, that knew how to make it and keep it, and felt no envy of others that did so too.”[[274]]
That Langdon was deeply concerned in the financial operations connected with the new government is evidenced in many sources. According to his grandson, quoted above, “He voted for this bank [the first United States Bank]; and was we suppose an original subscriber of some account.... We believe he had been concerned in the Bank of North America: the first real National Bank: He was an intimate friend of Robert Morris.”[[275]]
Maclay also adds his testimony to that of Langdon’s grandson. When he was a Senator, Langdon lodged in New York with a Mr. Hazard who followed the business of buying up government certificates of public debt which had been “issued in place of the paper money of the old Congress and bore interest for their face value,” and had depreciated to even as low as seven cents on the dollar. Maclay writes, “Mr. Hazard told me he had made a business of it; it is easy to guess for whom. I told him, ‘You are then among the happy few who have been let into the secret.’ He seemed abashed and I checked by my forwardness much more information which he seemed disposed to give.”[[276]]
The loan office books of New Hampshire show that Langdon was a large creditor of the new government, and indeed he was one of the heavy original contributors who risked their fortunes on the outcome of the War.[[277]] One entry in the New Hampshire ledger credits him with more than $25,000 worth of sixes and threes;[[278]] and there are other entries as well. His brother, Woodbury Langdon, was also among the holders of public paper.
With that patriotism to his state and thrift in her interest that characterized his colleague, Gilman, Langdon sought to give the commonwealth some advantage in the various speculations in securities. On January 7, 1791, he wrote to the President of New Hampshire advising him of the approaching passage of the National Bank bill and advising that the state use its continental securities and some cash to buy stock in the new Bank. He says that the stock “would undoubtedly sell for specie at par at any time ...; and in all probability it would soon sell above par, the state would therefore run no risque of looseing.”[[279]]
John Lansing, of New York, was a lawyer at Albany and the mayor of that city. William Pierce, in his notes on the Convention, speaks of him in the following language: “His legal knowledge, I am told, is not extensive nor his education a good one. He is however a man of good sense, plain in his manners, and sincere in his friendships.”[[280]] Lansing was one of the stout opponents of the Constitution and left the Convention early. He was there long enough however to learn (what was not a very deep secret) the certain effect of an efficient government on continental securities; for in January, 1791, immediately after the establishment of the new financial system, he appeared at the New York loan office with paper to fund to the amount of over seven thousand dollars.[[281]] All the members of the Lansing family in Albany seem to have taken advantage of the opportunity to augment their fortunes.[[282]]
William Livingston, of New Jersey, was a member of the distinguished Livingston family which was among the largest proprietors in New York. He graduated at Yale, and in 1745 married Miss French “whose father had been a large proprietor of land in New Jersey.” He entered the practice of law in 1748 “and soon became a prominent member of the bar and employed in most of the important legal controversies of that day in New York and New Jersey.” He apparently accumulated a comfortable fortune, but had lost a portion of it in 1773 by the failure of his debtors, and the necessity of accepting depreciated continental currency.[[283]]
Whether Livingston held any of the securities of the confederacy, it is impossible apparently to determine, for his death in the summer of 1790, before the funding system went into effect, would have precluded his appearing on the Ledger records. It is probable, however, that he did not entertain views in regard to the relation of public and private affairs different from those of his eminent colleagues. This theory will seem justified when it is understood that his son and heir, Brockholst Livingston, a New York lawyer, was among the heaviest security holders in that city; and in view of the wide-reaching ramifications of his operations and his connections with Le Roy and Bayard was reckoned among the princely speculators of his day. One entry in 1791 credits him with about $70,000 worth; another in the same year, in conjunction with Le Roy and Bayard, with nearly $30,000.[[284]] At a slightly later date, 1792 and 1793, his 6 per cents alone amount to more than $100,000,[[285]] and he appears frequently in the records of other states. How much of this was his own paper and how much was for friends who did not wish to appear among the records cannot be determined.
James Madison, of Virginia, was a descendant of one of the old landed families of Virginia whose wealth consisted principally of plantations and slaves, and whose personal property was relatively small in amount. Madison’s father “was a large landed proprietor occupied mainly with the care and management of his extensive rural concerns.” Madison graduated at Princeton and studied law, but the practice of his profession did not appeal to him. His inclinations were all toward politics, for which he was prepared by long and profound researches in history, law, and political economy. He was constantly in public life, and seems to have relied upon the emoluments of office and his father’s generosity as a source of income. The postponement of his marriage until 1794 enabled him to devote himself to political pursuits rather than commercial or economic interests of any kind. He does not appear to have been a holder of public securities; for the small amounts credited to James Madison on the books of the Treasury Department[[286]] seem to have belonged to his father, also named James Madison.[[287]]