Life and Times of Washington, Volume 2 / Revised, Enlarged, and Enriched

by John Frederick Schroeder; Benson John Lossing

Thus was a measure carried which was supported and opposed with a degree of zeal and earnestness not often manifested, and which furnished presages, not to be mistaken, that the spirit with which the opposite opinions had been maintained, would not yield, contentedly, to the decision of a bare majority. This measure has constituted one of the great grounds of accusation against the first administration of the general government, and it is fair to acknowledge that though, in its progress, it derived no aid from the President, whose opinion remained in his own bosom, it received the full approbation of his judgment.

A bill at length passed both houses, funding the debt upon principles which lessened considerably the weight of the public burdens and was entirely satisfactory to the public creditors. The proceeds of the sales of the lands lying in the western territory and, by a subsequent act of the same session, the surplus product of the revenue, after satisfying the appropriations which were charged upon it with the addition of $2,000,000, which the President was authorized to borrow at 5 per cent., constituted a sinking fund to be applied to the reduction of the debt.

The effect of this measure was great and rapid. The public paper suddenly rose and was for a short time above par. The immense wealth which individuals acquired by this unexpected appreciation could not be viewed with indifference. Those who participated in its advantages regarded the author of a system to which they were so greatly indebted, with an enthusiasm of attachment to which scarcely any limits were assigned. To many others this adventitious collection of wealth in particular hands was a subject rather of chagrin than of pleasure, and the reputation which the success of his plans gave to the Secretary of the Treasury was not contemplated with unconcern. As if the debt had been created by the existing government, not by a war which gave liberty and independence to the United States, its being funded was ascribed by many, not to a sense of justice and to a liberal and enlightened policy, but to the desire of bestowing on the government an artificial strength, by the creation of a moneyed interest which would be subservient to its will. The effects produced by giving the debt a permanent value justified the predictions of those whose anticipations had been most favorable. The sudden increase of moneyed capital derived from it invigorated commerce and gave a new stimulus to agriculture.

About this time there was a great and visible improvement in the circumstances of the people. Although the funding system was certainly not inoperative in producing this improvement it cannot be justly ascribed to any single cause. Progressive industry had gradually repaired the losses sustained by the war, and the influence of the constitution on habits of thinking and acting, though silent, was considerable. In depriving the States of the power to impair the obligation of contracts or to make anything but gold and silver a tender in payment of debts, the conviction was impressed on that portion of society which had looked to the government for relief from embarrassment that personal exertions alone could free them from difficulties, and an increased degree of industry and economy was the natural consequence of this opinion. {3}

Various other matters besides those already noticed, occupied the attention of Congress during this laborious session. The question of the slave trade was brought up by a petition from the Quakers in Pennsylvania, Delaware, and other States, and the venerable Dr. Franklin, as president of the Pennsylvania Society for Promoting the Abolition of Slavery, sent in a memorial, early in February, asking the serious attention of Congress to the importance and duty of extending to the negroes the blessings of freedom. The subject was discussed at great length and with much warmth on both sides, and toward the close of March it was resolved, "That Congress have no authority to interfere in the emancipation of slaves, or in the treatment of them within any of the States." Laws for the naturalization of aliens, after two years' residence, for the patenting of useful inventions, and for securing to authors the copyright of their works; and others, regulating the mercantile marine of the Union, in respect to the seamen engaged in it; and forming a groundwork for a criminal code; for the ordering of what was called "the military establishment," only 1,216 rank and file; and for arranging the means of intercourse with the Indians in respect to trade and the acquisition of their hunting-grounds, and with European governments for the larger commerce which required the superintendence of resident ministers—these were duly considered and framed. Much other business was done, such as voting for the public service, under the heads of the civil list, pensions for revolutionary services, the military establishment, lighthouses, embassies, and outstanding debts, the moderate sum of about $725,000.

Both houses, having returned thanks to the corporation of the city of New York, "for the elegant and convenient accommodations furnished the Congress of the United States," adjourned on the 12th of August (1790), to meet again in December, in the city of Philadelphia.

Washington's old and valued friend, Dr. Franklin, after painful and protracted sufferings, closed a life of four-score and four years on the 17th of April, 1790. He was buried in the cemetery of Christ Church, Philadelphia, and his funeral was attended by more than 20,000 of his fellow-citizens. Congress resolved to wear the customary badge of mourning for one month, "as a mark of veneration due to the memory of a citizen, whose native genius was not more an ornament to human nature than his various exertions of it have been precious to science, to freedom, and to his country." In the National Assembly of France, Mirabeau eloquently dilated in praise of the illustrious deceased, and Lafayette seconded the motion for a decree, ordering the members to wear the usual badge of mourning for three days, and there was not a land blessed with the light of civilization which did not lament his death and pour forth expressions of sorrow for the loss which not only America, but the world had sustained.

An act was passed by Congress to accept the cession of the claims of the State of North Carolina, to a certain district of western territory, and on the 20th of May, provision was made for its government, under the title of "The Territory of the United States south of the river Ohio."

On the 29th of May, 1790, Rhode Island, having become somewhat more alive to her true interests and to the ill results which must certainly follow her exclusion from the Union, adopted the constitution and cast in her lot with the sister States for the great future which was opening before them all.

A treaty of peace was concluded in August of this year with the Creek Indians which restored tranquility to the people of Georgia. The pacific overtures made to the Indians of the Wabash and the Miamis had not been equally successful. The western frontiers were still exposed to their incursions, and there was much reason to apprehend that the people of Kentucky and of the western counties of the middle States could only be relieved from the horrors of savage warfare by an exertion of the military strength of the Union. In the opinion of the President, the emergency required the immediate employment of a force competent to the object and which should carry terror and destruction into the heart of the hostile settlements. The people of the West, however, declared their opinion in favor of desultory military expeditions, and Congress indulged their wishes. The desire of the executive for a military establishment equal to the exigency was not regarded and the distresses of the frontier inhabitants therefore still continued.