[Footnote 86: Washington's Writings,
Vol. XI. p. 63.]
It was indeed "by the bye," and without any purpose of taking advantage of it in order to weaken his policy or to exalt his merit, that he pointed out the obstacles scattered along his path. As exempt from vanity as from indecision, he took pains to surmount, but not to display them. At the time when the ascendency of the democratic party seem to be assured, when the federalists themselves were wavering, when severe measures proposed in Congress against England were about, perhaps, to render war inevitable, Washington suddenly announced to the Senate, by a message, that he had just nominated one of the principal leaders of the federal party, Mr. Jay, Envoy Extraordinary to the Court of London, in order to attempt to reconcile the differences between the two nations by the peaceful instrument of negotiation.
The Senate immediately confirmed his choice. The indignation of the opposition was at its height. They desired war, and especially, by means of war, a change of policy. The simple continuance of the present state of affairs promised to lead to that result. In so excited a state of feeling, in the midst of the increasing irritation, a rumor from Europe, a new insult to the American flag, the slightest circumstance, might cause hostilities to break out. Washington, by his sudden resolution, gave a new turn to events. The negotiations might be successful; they made it the duty of the government to await the result. If they failed, he remained in a position to make war himself, and to control it, without his policy's receiving a death-blow.
In order to give to his negotiations the authority of a strong and well-established power, at the same time that he was baffling the hopes of his enemies as to matters abroad, Washington resolved to repress their efforts at home. The resistance of some counties in Pennsylvania to the tax on distilled spirits had become an open rebellion. He announced, by a proclamation, his firm purpose of enforcing the execution of the laws; assembled the militia of Virginia, Maryland, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania itself; formed them into an army; went in person to the places of rendezvous, with a determination to take the command himself if the contest became serious; and did not return to Philadelphia till he had learned, with certainty, that the insurgents would not venture to sustain it. They dispersed, in point of fact, on the approach of the army, a detachment of which took up winter quarters in the disaffected country.
Washington, on this occasion, felt that stern but deep joy, sometimes granted, in free countries, to a virtuous man who bears firmly the weight of power. Everywhere, especially in the States which were near the scene of the insurrection, good citizens were aware of the danger, and felt their obligation to contribute, by their own efforts, to the support of the laws. The magistrates were resolute, the militia zealous; a strong public opinion silenced the hypocritical sophistries of the advocates of the insurrection; and Washington did his duty with the approbation and support of his country. A moderate compensation, indeed, for the new and bitter trials that awaited him.
At about the same period, his cabinet, which had shared his labors and his glory, withdrew from him. Hamilton, who was the object of a hostility always increasing, after having sustained the contest as long as the success of his plans and his honor required, compelled at length to think of himself and of his family, resigned. Knox followed his example. Thus Washington was surrounded by none but new men, who, though devoted to his course of policy, had much less weight of authority than their predecessors, when Mr. Jay returned from London, bringing the result of those negotiations, the mere announcement of which had excited so much indignation.
The treaty was far from accomplishing all that was to be desired. It did not settle all the questions, nor secure all the interests of the United States; but it put an end to the principal differences of the two nations; it assured the full execution, hitherto delayed by Great Britain, of the agreements entered into with her when she had recognized the independence of the country; it prepared the way for new and more favorable negotiations. In short, it was peace; an assured peace; one which lessened even those evils, which it did not remove.
Washington did not hesitate. He had the rare courage to adhere firmly to a leading principle, and to accept, without a murmur, the imperfections and inconveniences which accompany success. He immediately communicated the treaty to the Senate, who approved it, with the exception of one article, in regard to which a modification was to be required of England. The question still remained in suspense. The opposition made their utmost efforts. Addresses came from Boston, New York, Baltimore, Georgetown, &c., expressing disapprobation of the treaty, and requesting the President not to ratify it. The populace of Philadelphia assembled in a riotous manner, marched through the town, carrying the articles of the treaty at the end of a pole, and formally burned them before the house of the British minister and consul. Washington, who had gone to pass some days at Mount Vernon, returned in haste to Philadelphia, and consulted his cabinet on the question of immediately ratifying the treaty, without awaiting the arrival from London of the modification which even the Senate had declared necessary. This step was a bold one. One member of the cabinet, Randolph, made objections. Washington went on and ratified the treaty. The British government agreed to the modification demanded, and in its turn ratified it. There still remained the duty of carrying it into effect, which required legislative measures and the intervention of Congress. The contest was renewed in the House of Representatives. Several times the opposition gained a majority. Washington stood firm, in the name of the Constitution, which his opponents also appealed to against him. Finally, at the end of six months, that peace might not be disturbed, in the general conviction that the President would be inflexible, the opposition being rather wearied out than overcome, the measures necessary for carrying the treaty into effect were adopted by a majority of three votes.
Throughout the country, in public meetings and in newspapers, the fury of party exceeded all bounds. From all quarters, every day, addresses full of censure, anonymous letters, invectives, calumnies, threats, were poured out against Washington. Even his integrity was scandalously assailed.