Abigail Adams to William Smith, 7 July 1798
Abigail Adams to William Smith
Philadelphia July 7th 1798
my dear sir
I have received your two kind favours this week of June 29 & July 2d as Hot a day as I ever experienced.1 I was therefore upon that and the succeeding day unfit for any exertion, and thought it would be impossible for me to go through the fatigues of the 4th without a Change of weather which fortunately took place on twesday afternoon, otherways it must have proved fatal to the Young troops, when many of them had fainted the morg’ before at their excercise— the day was however Propitious, and the exhibitions truly Military and Patriotic. good order and strictest dissipline were attended to & tho the various companies dinned in different places & parties, not a disguised man appeard amongst them all. they serenaded us at various parts of the Evening & night, but all was harmony— I should however except from the Number a company of 15 republican Blews as they were call’d all of whom partook of Liberty and equality—2 the city was quiet, tho thousands were gatherd in our street & a pass allowd only for the troops who with Some difficulty could keep a passage open—
I rejoice in the firm & decided conduct of the Legislature of my Native state, whose Patriotism shews it self by more than words. I take pride in belonging to it. with less than half the Numbers of Nyork, Boston appears in front, not in the Background whilst 70 thousand dollors are repeated, & repeated, and the labouring oar can scarcly stem the tide, Boston rides triumphant upon the wave— I have been astonishd at the Langour of Nyork, so much exposed, and so much to lose—yet torpid, unfealing as dutch men, with a Representation in Congress which is a disgrace to the state, and made still worse by their late Election—3
two Printers in the city every day libelling the President and the Government. Burk who could not find food in Boston, and who was driven from his own Country for sedition, is now employd in publishing the Time Peice which Freaneu could no longer carry on— this wretch in a paper of this week, says in the most Possitive language, that the Letters sent to Congress by the President as from mr Gerry, were altogether a forgery palmd upon the publick to answer his particular views—4 you see the concert between the Printers. Bache asserted a similar falshood, and was arrested in concequence of it as Burk will be— I hope a similiar prossecution will take place in Boston if the Chronical ventures upon so dareing an outrage— as you take Fennos paper, you will see, in that of July the 6th a peice signd Themistocles with an extract from Burks time peace—5 the peice which I allude to, and for which a prossecution is orderd, is still worse than that. yet the Bill to punish sedition sent down from the senate will be hard fought in the House, and will have the old french faction opposed to it.6 the Bill you see for declaring the Treaties void past by a majority of ten— these Antis are possesst by the devil; or they could not at such a time as the present make such a stand against the voice of Reason Religion Property, all that is dear and valuable to Man, and without which Human Nature is more savage than the Beasts of the field— Let Russel print the peice under the signature of Themistocles. the more these wretches are seen, the more they must be detested. that wretch is a hireling of France to defame the Government. we shall see who will be his bale—7 the President will immediatly Revoke all the Exequators of the consuls.8 the amendment to the Constitution of the us proposed is a good one I wish it may succeed— a Leiut is this day Nominated for this cruize only for the Constitution, the other to fill it when he returns. a Sailing Master has never been yet recommended, nor does the President know whom to appoint—9
I hope Congress will rise next week, but I cannot absolutely say— I have written to dr Welch—.10 Many applications reachd here for the Loan office after the place was filld— I am glad you approve the appointment, as you must I trust of Commander in Chief tho some were exerting every power and faculty for Col H——n the President decided without communication, and sent in the nomination of the old General, without the least intimation what his own mind will be. he sends the Secretary of War on Monday with the commission You can hardly conceive what a powerfull interest is made for H——n11 I am surprizd at the want of knowledge of Human Nature— that man would in my mind become a second Buonaparty if he was possessd of equal power yet my opinion is singular. what is the sentiment your way would any man there like he should have been made Commander in Chief? that he will make an able and active officers I have not a doubt, and will do in his place— oh how many passion are sit at work by ambition, by an asspiring Genious— virtue virtue, how little consideration is paid to it in these days— “these are the old opinions of which” Burk complains.12 What I have written of H——n is between ourselves, and in confidence. I should like to learn the opinions of others. What is Knox’s what is Lincolns? would they have advocated his being first—13 I hope Washington will not decline— he must not, he cannot— our good Friend Mr Sewall has been very timid this Session. how few of the sons of Men, are qualified for bold decisive action when danger threatens? a very upright honest man and an able one—varnun. pray do not let our state have one Black sheep amongst the flock—
My kind and affectionate Regards to mrs Smith and to the Children from Your / Friend
A Adams
RC (MHi:Smith-Carter Family Papers).
1. For Smith’s 2 July letter to AA, see AA to Smith, 26 June, note 4, above.
2. A company of Republican Blues dined together on the night of 4 July, offering toasts to Thomas Jefferson, America as “an asylum to those who fly from despotic tyranny,” and “Peace to the universe and happiness to man” (Philadelphia Aurora General Advertiser, 7 July).
3. The 1798 New York congressional elections resulted in the election of six Democratic-Republicans and four Federalists, a loss of two Federalist seats in the 6th Congress (Philadelphia Carey’s United States’ Recorder, 21 June; ).
4. John Daly Burk took over the editorship of the New York Time Piece from Philip Freneau on 13 June. On 2 July, in an article reporting on the 16 April letter from Elbridge Gerry to JA, for which see AA to Smith, 26 June, and note 2, above, Burk expressed his belief that portions of the letter were “a F—adapted to promote certain ends in this country.” As a result, on 6 July, Burk was arrested on a common law charge of seditious libel and released on $4,000 bail with sureties provided by leading New York Democratic-Republicans. The Time Piece briefly continued publication following Burk’s arrest but closed by the end of August. The case against Burk was ultimately dismissed when, under a settlement facilitated by Aaron Burr, Burk agreed to leave the United States (, p. 206, 210–211, 212, 216–218).
5. The Philadelphia Gazette of the United States, 6 July, reprinted an article from the New York Commercial Advertiser, 3 July, by Themistocles in which the author claimed to have heard Burk applaud a supposed French invasion of Ireland and express a hope that the French would invade the United States as well. Themistocles quoted an article from the New York Time Piece, 27 June, criticizing JA as a “mock Monarch, with his court composed of tories and speculators.”
6. While the House of Representatives had originally desired an omnibus alien and sedition bill, the Senate chose to take up the matters separately. James Lloyd of Maryland introduced a bill on 26 June that not only would “define and punish the crime of sedition” but also would expand the definition of treason to include actions taken in peace-time. Lloyd’s bill made any statement accusing government officials of malevolent motives or defending the actions of the French government punishable. Senate Federalists, concerned about stirring sympathy for Democratic-Republicans, removed the language on treason and France. The bill passed along party lines on 4 July. The following day, the House debated amendments and the constitutionality of the bill. Robert Goodloe Harper proposed further limiting the Senate bill by making truth a defense and adding intent as an element of the crime. The Democratic-Republicans argued that the bill both violated the Constitution and was unnecessary because the public could judge the accuracy of what the press published. The resulting joint bill marked a significant expansion of the law of seditious libel. On 10 July it passed the House, 44 to 41, with only four votes coming from the South. The bill, which included a provision that it would expire at the end of JA’s term as president, received his signature on 14 July (, p. 592–593; , p. 106–112, 125–126, 128–130, 142–144).
7. The article by Themistocles did not appear in the Boston Columbian Centinel but was reprinted in the Salem Gazette, 17 July.
8. After Congress voided the treaties with France, JA wrote to Timothy Pickering on 7 July (LbC, APM Reel 117) requesting guidance on preparing letters and a proclamation that would revoke the government’s recognition of all the French consuls in the United States. The exequaturs of the consul general, Philippe André Joseph de Létombe; vice consuls, Jean Antoine Bernard de Rozier and Louis Arcambal; and consul, Theodore Charles Mozard, were subsequently revoked on 13 July (Philadelphia Gazette, 14 July).
9. JA nominated Patrick Fletcher (d. 1800) on 7 July to serve as first lieutenant on the frigate Constitution until the return of Edward Preble. Preble was nominated in April but was in the West Indies serving as captain of the merchant ship Dauphin. He was delayed in returning, however, when the Dauphin was captured by a French privateer and taken into Havana. When Preble finally returned to Boston in mid-November, he asked for a further delay in order to arrange his private affairs. By the time he was ready to serve in Jan. 1799, he was ordered instead to take command of the 14-gun brig Pickering. Charles Swain served as sailing master on the Constitution (, 5th Cong., 2d sess., p. 268, 285; Christopher McKee, Edward Preble: A Naval Biography, 1761–1807, Annapolis, Md., 1972, p. 50–52, 56–57; General Register of the United States Navy and Marine Corps, ed. Thomas H. S. Hamersly, Washington, D.C., 1882, p. 255, 693).
10. AA’s letter to Thomas Welsh has not been found but was dated 7 July 1798. Welsh’s reply is at 15 July, below.
11. A number of Federalists pushed for a more active role for Alexander Hamilton as the crisis with France deepened. In April Harper discussed with JA the possibility of Hamilton’s taking over as secretary of war from James McHenry. With the establishment of the provisional army, Pickering tried to convince JA to nominate Hamilton as commander in chief and failing that as George Washington’s second (, 21:449; , 2:386–387; , p. 230–233). See also AA to AA2, 19 July, and note 3, below.
12. AA was quoting the extract Themistocles included in his criticism of Burk, for which see note 5, above. Burk claimed that JA had been “jostled into the chief magistracy by the ominous combination of old Tories with old opinions, and old Whigs with new.”
13. Smith in his 13 July reply to AA (Adams Papers) wrote, “None of the persons you mention wou’d have advocated H. being first.” Henry Knox was indignant that Hamilton was given a higher rank than his in the provisional army when the nominations were made in July. In a 29 July letter to Washington, Knox wrote, “I flattered myself with your esteem and respect in a military point of view. But I find that others greatly my juniors in rank, have been, upon a scale of comparison, preferred before me.” Knox ultimately refused to serve under Hamilton (, 2:469–472, 3:178; , p. 243).