From John Adams to John Trumbull, 24 January 1795
To John Trumbull
Philadelphia January 24. 1795
My dear Sir
In one of your Letters you once expressed a Wish to know some Circumstances of the Negotiation of Peace, which might serve to shew whether Mr Jay brought me over to his opinion that We ought not to treat with Mr Oswald, without a Commission to treat with The United states, or whether I brought him over to mine. The inclosed Copies of Letters to Congress, to Vergennes and to Mr Jay himself will throw some light upon that Question.1
Ld Bacon once Said that a Man and his office were never better united than Ld Coke, and the office of C. J. in a certain Cause.2 I say too that a Man and his office were never better matched, than Mr Jay and the Commission for Peace. No Man did or could behave better but he had not the honour if it could be any to bring me over to that Opinion, which I had strenuously contended for while I was alone in the Commission, and before he was united with me in it.
The Passage inclosed in Crochetts in the Letter to Livingston, must be kept a secret. it was not sent.— upon Reflection I thought I ought not to resign—and that although I had Information that convinced me, that Mr Alexander, an Intimate of Dr Franklin had told in England, that a Commission acknowledging our Independence would not be insisted on, I had not proof that I could produce of the fact, without doing Mischief and there might possibly be some misrepresentation. You will in it the Anxiety and Agitation of my mind at that time, on that subject.
I wrote in August 1782 and thereabouts to many other Persons upon the same subject, who I thought might have some Influence on My Colleagues to animate them to Stand out—3 But it is too much to trouble you with these, on a Point at present of so little Importance. Be so good as to acknowledge the Rect, of this Letter as soon as convenient, and keep the Passage in Crotchetts secret.
I am with much Affection and / great Esteem
John Adams
RC (NjP:Andre De Coppet Coll.); internal address: “John Trumbull Esqr”; endorsed: “Jany 24 1795.”
1. Five years earlier, JA and Trumbull had exchanged letters analyzing the negotiation of the definitive Anglo-American peace treaty. Here, JA enclosed a copy of his 31 Oct. 1782 Dft of a letter to Robert R. Livingston, no longer extant, threatening resignation unless the American commissioners pursued a separate peace with Great Britain (vols. 14:2–6; 20:300–301, 331).
2. This was Francis Bacon’s assessment of jurist Edward Coke (1552-1634), who served as lord chief justice of England ().
3. JA echoed his long-held belief that negotiations for the Anglo-American peace should not begin until U.S. independence was recognized. John Jay agreed, and he wrote to JA on 1 Sept. 1782 explaining that he had communicated that information to the British commissioners. For JA’s further efforts to broadcast news of a forthcoming Anglo-American peace treaty throughout the summer of 1782 and link it to American independence, see, especially, his Memorial to the Sovereigns of Europe (vol. 13:160–164, 236, 238–239, 412–413).