Representative William Branch Giles of Virginia in December had challenged
Hamilton’s bill to borrow money for payment of the French debt in order to
finance the government’s 20% share of the US Bank’s stock, and on
23 January 1793 his nine resolutions initiated an investigation of the Treasury Department.
Alexander Hamilton made reasonable and detailed responses to the charges,
which were all rejected by the House of Representatives on March 1.
On February 4 Congress enacted the first fugitive slave law forcing judges
to return runaway slaves to their masters wherever they were caught,
and President Washington signed it into law on February 12.
Washington occasionally let his household slaves go to town,
and he gave them money to spend on entertainment.
In February Washington persuaded Thomas Jefferson
to stay on as Secretary of State until the end of the 1993.
On March 4 George Washington and John Adams were
inaugurated
for their second terms as President and Vice President.
Having been criticized for his birthday party on February 22, Washington on March 4
gave the shortest inaugural address in United States history.
He said,
Fellow-Citizens:
I am again called upon by the voice of my Country
to execute the functions of its Chief Magistrate.
When the occasion proper for it shall arrive,
I shall endeavor to express the high sense I entertain
of this distinguished honor, and of the confidence which
has been reposed in me by the people of United America.
Previous to the execution
of any official act of the President,
the Constitution requires an Oath of Office.
This Oath I am now about to take, and in your presence,
that if it shall be found
during my administration of the Government
I have in any instance violated willingly, or knowingly,
the injunction thereof, I may
(besides incurring Constitutional punishment)
be subject to the upbraiding of all
who are now witnesses of the present solemn Ceremony.1
The next day both houses of Congress went into recess until December 2.
Gouvernor Morris had become the United States Minister to France in early 1792,
and France had abolished its monarchy on September 21.
Morris advised Washington not to try to help his
imprisoned friend Lafayette because of his virulent enemies.
Morris gave 100,000 livres to Lafeyette’s wife, and on March 16
Washington wrote a letter to her and deposited 2,300 guilders in Amsterdam for her.
On March 25 Washington wrote to Gouverneur Morris,
If you, who are at the fountain head of those great
and important transactions which have lately engrossed
the attention of Europe and America,
cannot pretend to say what will be their event,
surely we, in this distant quarter,
should be presumptuous indeed, in venturing to predict it.
And unwise should we be in the extreme to involve
ourselves in the contests of European Nations,
where our weight could be but Small;
though the loss to ourselves would be certain.
I can however with truth aver, that this Country
is not guided by such narrow and mistaken policy
as will lead it to wish the destruction of any nation,
under an idea that our importance will be increased
in proportion as that of others is lessened.
We should rejoice to see every nation enjoying all the
advantages that nature and its circumstances would admit,
consistent with civil liberty and the rights of other nations.
Upon this ground the prosperity of this Country
would unfold itself every day,
and every day would it be growing in political importance.
Mr. Jefferson will communicate to you
such official information as we have to give,
and will transmit the Laws, public papers &c.
I have thought it best, My Dear Sir, not to let slip
this opportunity of acknowledging the receipt of your letter
lest no other should occur to me very soon,
as I am called to Mount Vernon by the death
of my Nephew, Major Washington,
and am on the point of setting out for that place tomorrow.
I need not tell you that
this is of course a very busy moment with me;
it will therefore account for the conciseness of this letter
by which however you must not measure my regard.
You see me again entering upon
the arduous duties of an important Office.
I do it so contrary to my intention,
that it would require more time
than I have prescribed myself, to assign the reasons,
and therefore, I shall leave them to your own suggestion,
aided by the publications
which you will find in the Gazettes.2
Washington on March 27 left to go to Mount Vernon, and in early April he received
a letter from Hamilton telling him that a war had begun between England and France.
On April 12 Hamilton and Jefferson told Washington that
France had declared war against Britain, Spain, and Holland.
On that day Washington wrote to Secretary of State Jefferson,
War having actually commenced between France
and Great Britain, it behooves the Government
of this Country to use every means in its power to prevent
the citizens thereof from embroiling us
with either of those powers,
by endeavoring to maintain a strict neutrality.
I therefore require that you will give the subject
mature consideration, that such measures
as shall be deemed most likely to effect
this desirable purpose may be adopted without delay;
for I have understood that vessels are already
designated as Privateers, and preparing accordingly.
Such other measures as may be necessary for us
to pursue against events which it may not be
in our Power to avoid or control, you will also think of,
and lay them before me at my arrival in Philadelphia,
for which place I shall set out Tomorrow;
but will leave it to the advices which I may receive
tonight by the Post, to determine whether it is to be
by the most direct Route, or by the one I proposed
to have come—that is, by Reading, the Canals between
the Rivers of Pennsylvania, Harrisburg, Carlisle &ca.3
Washington wanted the United States to be strictly neutral,
and he returned to the capital on April 17.
He sent 13 questions on the crisis to the four department heads,
and the cabinet met the next day.
Jefferson had sympathy for the French, and he opposed neutrality,
hoping the two nations would bid for America’s help.
Hamilton argued for a neutrality proclamation, and on the 19th they all agreed
to make a proclamation forbidding American citizens from participating
in the hostilities on the seas or against belligerent powers.
Attorney General Edmund Randolph wrote the neutrality proclamation
that they issued with the President’s signature on April 22 which stated,
Whereas it appears that a state of war exists between
Austria, Prussia, Sardinia, Great Britain,
and the United Netherlands, of the one part,
and France on the other,
and the duty and interest of the United States require,
that they should with sincerity and good faith
adopt and pursue a conduct friendly
and impartial toward the belligerent powers:
I have therefore thought fit by these presents to declare
the disposition of the United States to observe the conduct
aforesaid towards those powers respectively;
and to exhort and warn the citizens of the United States
carefully to avoid all acts and proceedings whatsoever,
which may in any manner
tend to contravene such disposition.
And I do hereby also make known that whosoever
of the citizens of the United States shall render himself
liable to punishment or forfeiture under the law of nations,
by committing, aiding or abetting hostilities
against any of the said powers,
or by carrying to any of them those articles, which
are deemed contraband by the modern usage of nations,
will not receive the protection of the United States,
against such punishment or forfeiture:
and further, that I have given instructions to those officers,
to whom it belongs, to cause prosecutions
to be instituted against all persons, who shall,
within the cognizance of the Courts of the United States,
violate the law of nations,
with respect to the powers at war, or any of them.4
They also agreed that they should receive a minister from France.
On April 22 Washington wrote in a letter to his British friend, the Earl of Buchan,
I believe it is the sincere wish of United America
to have nothing to do with the political intrigues,
or the squabbles of European Nations;
but on the contrary, to exchange commodities and live
in peace and amity with all the inhabitants of the Earth.
And this I am persuaded they will do,
if rightfully it can be done.
To administer justice to, and receive it from every power
with whom they are connected will, I hope,
be always found the most prominent feature
in the Administration of this Country;
and I flatter myself that nothing short of imperious necessity
can occasion a breach with any of them.
Under such a system if we are allowed to pursue it,
the agriculture and Mechanical Arts;
the wealth and population of these States will increase
with that degree of rapidity as to baffle all calculation
and must surpass any idea your Lordship can,
hitherto, have entertained on the occasion.5
On April 28 Jefferson published his long “Opinion on the French Treaties”
that discussed the “Law of nations,” and he quoted the views
of the international law experts Grotius, Pufendorf, Christian Wolff, and Vattel.
Also in April news had arrived that the French had executed King Louis XVI for treason,
and on February 1 they had declared war on England, Holland, and Spain.
The Girondists were in power and sent Citizen Edmond Charles Genêt
as their minister to the United States.
Blaming bad winds, his ship landed at Charleston on April 8.
Citing the treaty of 1778 allying France and the United States, Genêt began
by fitting out four privateers with mostly American crews to attack British shipping.
He had persuaded the French naturalist André Michaux to give up
his planned expedition to travel across the continent to the Pacific Ocean
that had been supported by the American Philosophical Society and Jefferson.
Instead Genêt urged him to join George Rogers Clark and Benjamin Logan
in Kentucky in recruiting forces to attack Spanish Florida and Louisiana.
The alcoholic Clark was hired as Genêt gave commissions in the Armée du Mississippi
and the Armée des Florides; but Spanish agents in Philadelphia warned
President Washington, and Senator William Blount of Kentucky gave up
his effort to work for England and canceled Clark’s expedition.
On May 15 Washington and his Cabinet decided to restore the British ship Grange
which had been captured in United States waters, and they liberated the crew.
While Citizen Genêt was traveling by land to Philadelphia,
he was welcomed by enthusiastic crowds who supported the
Republicans and favored the French Revolution over the British.
He reached Philadelphia on May 16 and was invited to banquets.
Genêt wanted to negotiate a new treaty with the United States,
and he insisted on at least fulfilling the previous one.
He asked the United States to pay off its $5.6 million debt to France as soon as possible.
Genêt helped organize the Democratic Society of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia in May,
the first of more than forty such voluntary organizations that sprang up around the country.
There would be 11 democratic societies by the end of 1793 and 24 more in 1794.
Genêt presented his credentials to Washington on May 18,
and the President treated him coolly.
Four days later Genêt gave a letter to Secretary of State Jefferson with France’s requests.
The next day he enclosed a decree of February 19 showing that France had opened
the West Indies to American trade, and Genêt proposed
balancing that by liquidating France’s $2.3 million war debt.
Genêt promised that he would keep the Little Sarah
that he outfitted as a privateer moored at Philadelphia.
Jefferson advised Genêt and informed him that any new treaty
would have to be confirmed by the Senate which was not in session.
On June 5 Jefferson told him that every nation had the right to prohibit
the arming of privateers or the recruiting of its citizens, and six days later
Genêt learned that the United States would maintain the schedule for paying the French debt.
The young Genêt wrote three letters to Jefferson which were received on the same day.
He complained that Philadelphia authorities had stopped the sale of prizes
taken by a French privateer and that another privateer had been detained in New York.
On June 17 Jefferson sent Genêt an explanation of neutrality,
international law, the 1778 treaties, and the position of the American government
which would not interfere with civil suits over control of a prize.
Two days later he made it clear that the United States would not issue
assignments on the debt for the payment of supplies.
On the 22nd Genêt expressed his anger in a letter.
Men associated with Genêt on July 4 formed the
Pennsylvania Democratic Society in Philadelphia.
On that day Hamilton learned that Genêt had renamed
the Little Sarah the Petite Démocrate and that it was heavily armed.
Washington had left for Mount Vernon.
Until he returned on July 11, the French Minister Genêt would be given no reply.
On July 4 Washington wrote to Secretary of State Jefferson,
I send for the information and consideration of the heads
of the Departments, a letter which I recd. by the post
of yesterday, from the Governor of No. Carolina,
stating the measures which he had taken relative
to a privateer which had been fitted out from South Carolina
under a French Commission, and which had arrived,
with a prize, in the Port of Wilmington in North Carolina.6
Also on July 4 Washington responded to a letter
from the inhabitants of Alexandria and wrote,
Deeply impressed with the important advantages, which
the United States will experience by remaining in peace,
during the present contest among the powers of Europe;
it is with the highest satisfaction that I receive this
manifestation of your wishes for the preservation of that
invaluable blessing: and the approbation which you express,
of the measures which have been taken to secure
a continuance of our present happy situation.
To complete the American character, it remains for
the citizens of the United States to shew to the world,
that the reproach heretofore cast on republican
Governments for their want of stability,
is without foundation, when that government is
the deliberate choice of an enlightened people:
and I am fully persuaded, that every well-wisher
to the happiness and prosperity of this Country will evince
by his conduct, that we live under a government of laws;
and that, while we preserve inviolate our national faith,
we are desirous to live in amity with all mankind.7
Jefferson realized that the Republicans should support
the policy of neutrality to keep themselves in the right.
He visited Genêt and said the Little Sarah would be detained.
When Washington returned, he learned that Genêt was promoting
the sailing of the Petite Démocrate and provided it with 14 cannons.
If the United States protested, he threatened to appeal to the people.
On July 12 Washington and his cabinet decided to ask France to recall minister Genêt,
and their minister Gouverneur Morris was recalled from France.
Washington asked for the opinions of the Supreme Court justices about Genêt’s activities.
The American citizens Henfield and Singletary were arrested
for serving on a French privateer in Charleston.
During this crisis Madison argued that the President did not have
the constitutional authority to proclaim neutrality while Hamilton
writing seven newspaper essays believed that he did.
The position of the United States was that the defensive alliance
with France did not apply because the French had started an offensive war.
The Federalists had held meetings in New York, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland,
and Virginia where they condemned Genêt and defended Washington in resolutions.
The English had reacted on 8 June 1793 by ordering
neutral ships going to France detained and purchased.
On June 29 Treasury Secretary Hamilton began publishing newspaper articles in
support of the President’s Neutrality using the pseudonyms “Pacificus” and “Americanus.”
On July 7 Jefferson wrote to James Madison urging him to challenge the views of Pacificus,
and on August 24 Madison began writing letters as “Helvidius” in August and September.
In the first five he argued that the presidential proclamation of neutrality
had violated Congress’s power to declare war, and in the first one he wrote,
In the general distribution of powers, we find that
of declaring war expressly vested in the congress,
where every other legislative power
is declared to be vested; and without any other qualification
than what is common to every other legislative act.
The constitutional idea of this power would seem
then clearly to be, that it is of a legislative
and not an executive nature.8
In August the entire Cabinet agreed to demand the recall of Genêt.
On November 6 the British began seizing any vessel trading with the French West Indies;
but the British foreign ministry modified the latter on 8 January 1794.
The American minister Thomas Pinckney wrote to Washington that the British
foreign
secretary William Grenville wanted to be “on good terms” with the United States.
Jefferson warned Washington against declaring war on the Republican party
because it would change him from being head of the nation to head of a party.
Washington met with him on August 6 and agreed not to make the Genêt affair a public issue.
Two days later Chief Justice John Jay informed the President that the Supreme Court
would not offer an advisory opinion on the 29 questions Washington had submitted
on July 18 about treaties and the French seizure of ships in American waters.
He reasoned that the Constitution set up the legislative, executive,
and judiciary as three independent branches of government.
They declined to comment unless it was a legal case before them.
Washington’s Cabinet then issued rules prohibiting belligerent
from arming privateers or bringing captured prizes in American
waters which were defined as three miles from the coast,
though Jefferson had recommended twenty miles.
On August 3 the following “Rules on Neutrality” were submitted
to Washington by the Cabinet officers Thomas Jefferson,
Alexander Hamilton, Henry Knox, and Edmund Randolph:
1. The original arming and equipping of vessels in the ports
of the United States by any of the belligerent parties, for
military service offensive or defensive, is deemed unlawful.
2. Equipment of merchant vessels by either of the
belligerent parties in the ports of the United States, purely
for the accommodation of them as such, is deemed lawful.
3. Equipment in the ports of the United States of vessels
of war in the immediate service of the Government of any
of the belligerent parties, which if done to other vessels
would be of a doubtful nature, as being applicable either
to commerce or war, are deemed lawful;
except those which shall have made prize of the subjects,
people, or property of France coming with their prizes
into the Ports of the United States pursuant
to the seventeenth Article of our Treaty of Amity
and commerce with France.
4. Equipment in the Ports of the united States,
by any of the parties at war with France, of vessels fitted
for Merchandize and war, whether with or without
Commissions, which are doubtful in their nature as being
applicable either to commerce or war, are deemed lawful;
except those which shall have made prize, &c.
5. Equipment of any of the vessels of France, in the Ports
of the United States, which are doubtful in their nature, as
being applicable to commerce or war, are deemed lawful.
6. Equipment of every kind in the Ports of the
United States, of privateers of the Powers
at war with France, are deemed unlawful.
7. Equipment of vessels in the Ports of the United States,
which are of a nature solely adapted to war, are deemed
unlawful; except those stranded or wrecked, as mentioned
in the eighteenth Article of our Treaty with France,
the sixteenth of our Treaty with the United Netherlands,
the ninth of our Treaty with Prussia, and except those
mentioned in the nineteenth Article of our Treaty with
France, the seventeenth of our Treaty with the United
Netherlands, the eighteenth of our Treaty with Prussia.
8. Vessels of either of the parties not armed, or armed
previous to their coming into the ports of the United States,
which shall not have infringed any of the foregoing rules,
may lawfully engage or enlist therein their own Subjects
or Citizens, not being inhabitants of the United States;
except privateers of the Powers at War with France,
and except those vessels which
shall have made prize, &c.9
During the excitement over the French Revolution and the visit by Genêt
the Republicans in the South and Middle states formed many
Democratic-Republican Societies, and they emulated the French ways they admired.
Jefferson on July 31 submitted a letter of resignation
that might become effective at the end of September.
An epidemic broke out in Philadelphia in August,
and on the 19th Dr. Benjamin Rush diagnosed that it was yellow fever.
Although he noted that mosquitoes were bad that month,
he said it was caused by rotten coffee imported from the West Indies.
He saw hundreds of patients; but his purges and bleeding treatments
resulted in many deaths, and he was severely criticized.
Hamilton nearly died, and his friend Ned Stevens advised patients
to eat and drink liquids and use peppermint oils to avoid vomiting.
Twenty or more were dying each day, and 325 passed on in the last 12 days of August.
In early September the death toll climbed to 40 per day.
Washington left for Mount Vernon early in September.
Until cold weather killed off the mosquitoes in October,
the disease took 4,000 lives in Philadelphia and spread in
the
other big cities of New York, Baltimore, Boston, and Charleston.
Philadelphia newspapers stopped publishing except for Freneau’s National Gazette
which had dwindling readers and closed after October 23.
On December 3 Washington presented this Fifth Annual Message to Congress:
Fellow-Citizens of the Senate and House of Representatives:
Since the commencement of the term for which
I have been again called into office
no fit occasion has arisen for expressing
to my fellow Citizens at large the deep and respectful sense
which I feel of the renewed testimony of public approbation.
While on the one hand it awakened my gratitude
for all those instances of affectionate partiality
with which I have been honored by my Country,
on the other it could not prevent an earnest wish
for that retirement from which no private consideration
should ever have torn me.
But influenced by the belief that my conduct would be
estimated according to its real motives, and that the people,
and the authorities derived from them,
would support exertions having nothing personal
for their object, I have obeyed the suffrage
which commanded me to resume the Executive power;
and I humbly implore that Being on whose Will
the fate of Nations depends, to crown with success
our mutual endeavors for the general happiness.
As soon as the War in Europe had embraced those powers
with whom the United States have the most extensive
relations there was reason to apprehend that
our intercourse with them might be interrupted
and our disposition for peace drawn into question by
the suspicions too often entertained by belligerent Nations.
It seemed, therefore, to be my duty to admonish
our Citizens of the consequences of a contraband trade
and of hostile Acts to any of the parties,
and to obtain by a declaration of the existing legal state
of things an easier admission of our right
to the immunities belonging to our situation.
Under these impressions the Proclamation
which will be laid before you was issued.
In this posture of affairs, both new and delicate,
I resolved to adopt general rules which should conform
to the treaties and assert the privileges of the United States.
These were reduced into a system,
which will be communicated to you.
Although I have not thought of myself at liberty to forbid
the Sale of the prizes permitted by our treaty of Commerce
with France to be brought into our ports,
I have not refused to cause them to be restored
when they were taken within the protection of our territory,
or by vessels commissioned or equipped in a warlike form
within the limits of the United States.
It rests with the wisdom of Congress to correct,
improve, or enforce this plan of procedure;
and it will probably be found expedient to extend
the legal code and the Jurisdiction of the Courts
of the United States to many cases which,
though dependent on principles already recognized,
demand some further provisions.
Where individuals shall, within the United States,
array themselves in hostility
against any of the powers at war,
or enter upon Military expeditions or enterprises
within the jurisdiction of the United States,
or usurp and exercise judicial authority
within the United States, or where the penalties on violations
of the law of Nations may have been indistinctly marked,
or are inadequate; these offenses cannot receive
too early and close an attention,
and require prompt and decisive remedies.
Whatsoever those remedies may be,
they will be well administered by the judiciary,
who possess a long-established course of investigation,
effectual process, and officers in the habit of executing it.
In like manner, as several of the courts have doubted,
under particular circumstances, their power to liberate
the vessels of a nation at peace,
and even of a citizen of the United States,
although seized under a false color of being hostile property,
and have denied their power to liberate certain captures
within the protection of our territory, it would seem proper
to regulate their jurisdiction in these points.
But if the Executive is to be the resort in either
of the two last mentioned cases, it is hoped that
he will be authorized by law to have facts ascertained by
the courts when for his own information he shall request it.
I can not recommend to your notice measures
for the fulfillment of our duties to the rest of the world
without again pressing upon you the necessity
of placing ourselves in a condition of complete defense
and of exacting from them
the fulfillment of their duties toward us.
The United States ought not to indulge a persuasion that,
contrary to the order of human events,
they will forever keep at a distance those painful appeals to
arms with which the history of every other nation abounds.
There is a rank due to the United States among Nations
which will be withheld, if not absolutely lost,
by the reputation of weakness.
If we desire to avoid insult, we must be able to repel it;
if we desire to secure peace, one of the most powerful
instruments of our rising prosperity,
it must be known that we are at all times ready for War.
The documents which will be presented to you
will shew the amount and kinds of Arms and
military stores now in our Magazines and Arsenals;
and yet an addition even to these supplies cannot
with prudence be neglected, as it would leave nothing
to the uncertainty of procuring warlike apparatus
in the moment of public danger.
Nor can such arrangements, with such objects,
be exposed to the censure or jealousy
of the warmest friends of Republican Government.
They are incapable of abuse in the hands of the Militia,
who ought to possess a pride in being
the depository of the force of the Republic,
and may be trained to a degree of energy
equal to every military exigency of the United States.
But it is an inquiry which cannot be too solemnly pursued,
whether the act “more effectually to provide
for the National defense by establishing an uniform Militia
throughout the United States” has organized them
so as to produce their full effect;
whether your own experience in the several States
has not detected some imperfections in the scheme,
and whether a material feature in an improvement
of it ought not to be to afford an opportunity
for the study of those branches of the Military art
which can scarcely ever be attained by practice alone.
The connection of the United States with Europe
has become extremely interesting.
The occurrences which relate to it and have passed
under the knowledge of the Executive will be exhibited
to Congress in a subsequent communication.
When we contemplate the war on our frontiers,
it may be truly affirmed that every reasonable effort
has been made to adjust the causes of dissension
with the Indians north of the Ohio.
The Instructions given to the Commissioners
evince a moderation and equity proceeding
from a sincere love of peace, and a liberality
having no restriction but the essential interests
and dignity of the United States.
The attempt, however, of an amicable negotiation
having been frustrated,
the troops have marched to act offensively.
Although the proposed treaty did not arrest
the progress of military preparation,
it is doubtful how far the advance of the Season,
before good faith justified active movements,
may retard them during the remainder of the year.
From the papers and intelligence which relate
to this important subject you will determine whether
the deficiency in the number of Troops granted by law
shall be compensated by succors of Militia,
or additional encouragements shall be proposed to recruits.
An anxiety has been also demonstrated by the Executive
for peace with the Creeks and the Cherokees.
The former have been relieved with Corn and with clothing,
and offensive measures against them
prohibited during the recess of Congress.
To satisfy the complaints of the latter,
prosecutions have been instituted
for the violence committed upon them.
But the papers which will be delivered to you
disclose the critical footing on which
we stand in regard to both those tribes,
and it is with Congress to pronounce what shall be done.
After they shall have provided for the present emergency,
it will merit their most serious labors to render tranquility
with the Savages permanent by creating ties of interest.
Next to a rigorous execution of justice on the violators
of peace, the establishment of commerce
with the Indian nations in behalf of the United States
is most likely to conciliate their attachment.
But it ought to be conducted without fraud, without extortion,
with constant and plentiful supplies, with a ready market
for the commodities of the Indians and a stated price
for what they give in payment and receive in exchange.
Individuals will not pursue such a traffic unless they be
allured by the hope of profit; but it will be enough
for the United States to be reimbursed only.
Should this recommendation accord with the opinion of
Congress, they will recollect that it cannot be accomplished
by any means yet in the hands of the Executive.Gentlemen of the House of Representatives:
The Commissioners charged with the settlement
of accounts between the United States and individual States
concluded their important function within the time limited
by Law, and the balances struck in their report,
which will be laid before Congress,
have been placed on the Books of the Treasury.
On the first day of June last an installment
of one million florins became payable
on the loans of the United States in Holland.
This was adjusted by a prolongation of the period
of reimbursement in nature of a new loan
at an interest of five per cent for the term of ten years;
and the expenses of this operation
were a commission of three per Cent.
The first installment of the loan of two millions of dollars
from the Bank of the United States has been paid,
as was directed by Law.
For the second, it is necessary
that provision should be made.
No pecuniary consideration is more urgent than the
regular redemption and discharge of the public debt:
on none can delay be more injurious
or an economy of time more valuable.
The productiveness of the public revenues hitherto
has continued to equal the anticipations which were
formed of it, but it is not expected to prove commensurate
with all the objects which have been suggested.
Some auxiliary provisions will therefore, it is presumed,
be requisite, and it is hoped that these may be made
consistently with a due regard to the convenience
of our Citizens, who cannot but be sensible of the true
wisdom of encountering a small present addition to their
contributions to obviate a future accumulation of burthens.
But here, I cannot forbear to recommend a repeal
of the tax on the transportation of public prints.
There is no resource so firm for the Government
of the United States as the affections of the people,
guided by an enlightened policy;
and to this primary good, nothing can conduce more,
than a faithful representation of public proceedings,
diffused without restraint throughout the United States.
An estimate of the appropriations, necessary for the
current service of the ensuing year and a statement of
a purchase of Arms and Military stores made
during the recess will be presented to Congress.Gentlemen of the Senate and of the House of Representatives:
The several subjects, to which I have now referred
open a wide range to your deliberations and involve
some of the choicest interests of our common country.
Permit me to bring to your remembrance
the magnitude of your task.
Without an unprejudiced coolness
the welfare of the Government may be hazarded;
without harmony as far as consists with
freedom of Sentiment its dignity may be lost.
But as the Legislative proceedings of the United States
will never, I trust, be reproached for the want of temper or
of candor, so shall not the public happiness languish from
the want of my strenuous and warmest cooperations.10
On December 16 Jefferson submitted to Congress his long
“Report on the Privileges and Restrictions on the Commerce
of the United States in Foreign Countries.”
In a letter to Congress on December 16 Washington wrote,
The situation of Affairs in Europe, in the course
of the year 1790, having rendered it possible that a moment
might arrive favorable for the arrangement of our unsettled
matters with Spain, it was thought proper to prepare
our representative at that Court to avail us of it.
A confidential person was therefore dispatched to be
the bearer of instructions to him, and to supply
by verbal communications any additional information
of which he might find himself in need.
The Government of France was at the same time
applied to for its aid and influence in this negotiation.
Events however took a turn which
did not present the occasion hoped for.
About the close of the ensuing year I was informed
through the representatives of Spain here, that
their Government would be willing to renew at Madrid
the former conferences on these subjects, though the
transfer of scene was not what would have been desired,
yet I did not think it important enough
to reject the proposition; and therefore,
with advice and consent of the Senate,
I appointed Commissioners plenipotentiary for negotiating
and concluding a treaty with that Country on the several
subjects of boundary, navigation and commerce,
and gave them the instructions now communicated.
Before these negotiations however could be got into train,
the new troubles which had arisen in Europe had
produced new combinations among the powers there,
the effects of which are but too visible
in the proceedings now laid before you.
In the meantime, some other points of discussion
had arisen with that Country, to wit, the restitution
of property escaping into the territories of each other,
the mutual exchange of fugitives from justice,
and above all the mutual interferences
with the Indians lying between us.
I had the best reason to believe that the hostilities
threatened and exercised by the southern Indians on our
border were excited by the Agents of that Government.
Representations were thereon directed to be made,
by our Commissioners, to the Spanish government,
and a proposal to cultivate with good faith
the peace of each other with those people.
In the meantime, corresponding suspicions were
entertained, or pretended to be entertained on their part,
of like hostile excitements by our Agents
to disturb their peace with the same nations.
These were brought forward by the representatives of Spain
here, in a stile which could not fail to produce attention.
A claim of patronage and protection of those Indians
was asserted, a mediation between them and us,
by that sovereign assumed, their boundaries with us
made a subject of his interference, and at length,
at the very moment when these savages were committing
daily inroads on our frontier, we were informed by them
that “the continuation of the peace, good harmony,
and perfect friendship of the two nations was very
problematical for the future unless the United States
should take more convenient measures and of greater
energy than those adopted for a long time past.”
If their previous correspondence had worn
the appearance of a desire to urge on a disagreement,
this last declaration left no room to evade it,
since it could not be conceived we would submit
to the scalping knife and tomahawk of the savage,
without any resistance.
I thought it time therefore to know if these were the views
of their sovereign, and dispatched a special messenger
with instructions to our Commissioners, which
are among the papers now communicated.
Their last letter gives us reason to expect
very shortly to know the result.
I must add that the Spanish representatives here,
perceiving that their last communication had made
considerable impression, endeavored to abate this
by some subsequent professions which being also
among the communications to the legislature,
they will be able to form their own conclusions.11
Jefferson challenged Sheffield’s 1783 Observations on the Commerce
of the American States and the Hawkesbury Report, arguing that the
British Navigation Law had robbed Americans and that only the threat
of retaliation would get the British to give up their advantageous system.
Jefferson’s resignation went into effect at the end of 1793, and he retired at Monticello.
Hamilton and Knox also wanted to resign,
but Washington persuaded them to stay on for another year.
Exhilarated by American and French revolutions, Jefferson came to believe
that changes in debts, laws, and constitutions were needed every generation, estimated
to be nineteen years by the French naturalist George-Louis Leclerc, the Comte de Buffon.
Thomas Jefferson believed that his republican sentiments
were shared by 99 out of 100 citizens.
From 1789 to 1793 real income in the United States increased by 9% per year.
On 1 January 1794 President Washington wrote this to Thomas Jefferson:
I yesterday received with sincere regret your resignation
of the office of Secretary of State.
Since it has been impossible to prevail upon you, to forego
any longer the indulgence of your desire for private life;
the event, however anxious I am to avert it,
must be submitted to.
But I cannot suffer you to leave your Station,
without assuring you, that the opinion, which I had formed,
of your integrity and talents,
and which dictated your original nomination,
has been confirmed by the fullest experience;
and that both have been eminently displayed
in the discharge of your duties.12
Washington made Edmund Randolph Secretary of State on January 2 and appointed
as Attorney General William Bradford, the Chief Justice of Pennsylvania’s Supreme Court.
On January 3 James Madison presented a series of commercial resolutions based
on Jefferson’s proposed remedies calling for duties on British ships and merchandise.
American exports were increasing while imports from British ships
were decreasing sharply and would continue to do so through 1796.
Coached by Hamilton, the Federalist William L. Smith
of South Carolina opposed Madison’s resolutions in the House.
The eloquent Fisher Ames argued that since American trade
was improving, Madison was proposing unnecessary self-denial.
In January 1794 Senators began asking the administration to show them
copies of the diplomatic communication with Gouverneur Morris in France.
Congress began debating naturalization in December 1793,
and they passed the bill on 8 January 1794.
On December 31 they learned that John Jay had
made a treaty with the British in late November.
On December 28 and January 7 the Georgia legislature passed laws
that made 50 million acres of Indian land available for speculators to buy.
Washington was concerned that this would work
against welfare and peace in the United States.
Fisher Ames of Massachusetts spoke well on this issue, and on February 27
the Senate voted for a bill to stop incursions on the southern border,
though it was defeated in the House of Representatives two days later.
The new French minister Jean-Antoine Fauchet arrived in Philadelphia on February 21.
Robespierre’s Jacobins had taken power in France, and they ordered Genêt arrested.
When Washington learned that the Jacobins had sent
Fauchet to arrest Genêt for crimes against the revolution,
he did not want to send him to his death in France and granted him asylum.
Genêt recalled the commissions he gave to Clark and others,
reducing the chance of war with Spain.
Genêt married Governor Clinton’s daughter, and he spent
the rest of his life as a private citizen in upstate New York.
In 1794 the British had 1,000 soldiers stationed
in the Northwest Territory of the United States.
The British Navy did not respect American neutrality
and seized 130 of their ships at the island of St. Eustacia.
Quebec’s Governor Guy Carleton (Lord Dorchester) had made a speech
on February 10 urging Indians to help the British redraw the border.
That month the British captured Martinique and every American ship
in the harbor, and they put 250 sailors in a prison ship.
On March 4 they funded repairing fortifications in all sea-coast ports.
On the 7th news arrived of a British Order in Council issued
on 6 November 1793 which imposed a blockade on the
French West Indies and had been kept secret until late December.
The British had seized more than 250 unsuspecting
American ships, confiscating 150 already.
Although the Federalists controlled the Senate, they passed
the embargo resolution against British ships on March 26.
The next day Washington signed the bill authorizing $688,889 for building the six frigates,
the beginning of the United States Navy,
though the first two were not launched until late 1797.
On March 29 the President proclaimed the 30-day embargo
on foreign trade passed by the Congress.
Alexander Chisholm in South Carolina had tried to sue
the state of Georgia on behalf of the estate of Robert Farquhar
who had sold Georgia £64,000 worth of goods during the Revolution.
Georgia denied jurisdiction, though the United States Supreme Court in 1793 had decided
4-1 for the plaintiff, upholding the right of citizens to sue another state in federal court.
On 4 March 1794 the Congress proposed the following amendment to the Constitution:
The Judicial power of the United States shall not be
construed to extend to any suit in law or equity,
commenced or prosecuted against one of the
United States by Citizens of another State,
or by Citizens or Subjects of any Foreign State.13
After ratification by twelve states the 11th amendment
would go into effect on 7 February 1795.
On April 3 a message arrived from Thomas Pinckney, the American minister to Britain
that Foreign Minister Grenville was being conciliatory.
On April 16 Washington sent this letter to the United States Senate
on the appointing of Chief Justice John Jay as Envoy Extraordinary to Britain.
The communications, which I have made to you
during your present session, from the dispatches
of our Minister in London, contain a serious aspect
of our affairs with Great Britain.
But as peace ought to be pursued with unremitted zeal,
before the last resource, which has so often been
the scourge of nations, and cannot fail to check the
advanced prosperity of the United States, is contemplated;
I have thought proper to nominate, and do hereby nominate,
John Jay, as Envoy extraordinary
of the United States, to his Britannic Majesty.
My confidence in our Minister plenipotentiary
in London continues undiminished.
But a mission, like this, while it corresponds
with the solemnity of the occasion, will announce
to the world a solicitude for a friendly adjustment
of our complaints, and a reluctance to hostility.
Going immediately from the United States,
such an envoy will carry with him a full knowledge
of the existing temper and sensibility of our Country;
and will thus be taught to vindicate our rights
with firmness, and to cultivate peace with sincerity.14
The Senate confirmed Jay's diplomatic mission three days later.
Washington worked for 17 days on the instructions for Jay’s mission.
This made Republicans angry, and Democratic Societies burned Jay in effigy in some towns.
Madison proposed an amendment to suspend trade with the British,
and it passed the House of Representatives 58-38; but on April 28
Vice President Adams broke the tie in the Senate by voting against that.
The embargo was discontinued by general agreement on May 12.
In May hundreds of artisans and tradesmen in Philadelphia protested
the excise taxes on snuff (powdered tobacco), refined sugar, and carriages.
After riots broke out in Philadelphia, President Washington sent John Jay
with the instructions to negotiate with the British on the evacuation of the forts
and compensation for the American property losses in the Revolution.
On May 12 a thousand people in New York turned out to see Jay
embark for Britain to rectify the unfulfilled 1783 peace treaty.
Fauchet had asked Washington to recall Gouverneur Morris from France,
and on May 27 the President nominated the Republican James Monroe to replace him.
William Short was transferred from The Hague to be minister to Spain,
and the Vice President’s son John Quincy Adams was confirmed
as Minister to the United Netherlands on May 29.
The Senate confirmed the first six captains in the Navy on June 3,
and the Congress adjourned on June 9.
After a cabinet meeting in early August as they were discussing whether
to publish Genêt’s writing, Jefferson in his diary described how Washington lost his temper:
The President was much inflamed.
He got into one of those passions when he cannot
command himself; ran on much on the personal abuse
which had been bestowed on him;
defied any man on earth to produce one single act
of his since he had been in the government
which was not done on the purest motives.
That he had never repented but once having lost
the moment of resigning his office
and that was every moment since.
That by God he had rather be in his grace
than in his present situation.
That he had rather be on his farm
than to be made Emperor of the World.
And yet they were charging him with wanting to be a King.
That rascal Freneau sent him three of this papers every day
as if he thought he would become
the distributor of his papers.
That he could see in this nothing
but an impudent design to insult him.15
On August 15 Monroe became the United States Minister to France,
and he made a speech admiring the French Convention.
He also urged the United States to loan France $5,000,000 and advocated military action
against the British while Jay was trying to negotiate with Grenville in England.
In that August over 6,000 people died of yellow fever in Philadelphia.
John Jay had arrived in London on July 5, and Washington wrote to him on August 30,
Your letter of the 23d of June from London
(and the duplicate) have both been received;
and your safe arrival after so short a passage,
gave sincere pleasure, as well on private
as on public account, to all your friends in this Country;
and to none in a greater degree,
I can venture to assure you, than it did to myself.
As you will receive letters from the Secretary of States
Office giving an official account of the public occurrences
as they have arisen, and progressed, it is unnecessary
for me to re-touch any of them:
and yet, I cannot restrain myself from making some
observations on the most recent of them, the communication
of which was received this morning, only.
I mean the protest of the Gov. of Upper Canada
(delivered by Lt. Sheaffe) against our occupying Lands
far from any of the Posts which, long ago,
they ought to have surrendered; and far within the known,
and until now, the acknowledged limits of the United States.
On this irregular, and high handed proceeding
of Mr. Simcoe, which is no longer masked,
I would rather hear what the Ministry of G. Britain will say,
than pronounce my own sentiments thereon.
But can that government or will it attempt,
after this official act of one of their governors, to hold out
ideas of friendly intentions towards the United States,
and suffer such conduct to pass with impunity?
This may be considered as the most open and daring act
of the British Agents in America;
though it is not the most hostile, or cruel;
for there does not remain a doubt in the mind
of any well informed person in this country
(not shut against conviction) that all the difficulties
we encounter with the Indians; their hostilities, the murders
of helpless women and innocent children along our frontiers,
results from the conduct of
the Agents of Great Britain in this Country.
In vain is it then for its Administration, in Britain, to disavow
having given orders which will warrant such conduct,
whilst their Agents go unpunished;
whilst we have a thousand corroborating circumstances
and indeed almost as many evidences
(some of which cannot be brought forward);
to prove that they are seducing from our alliances
(endeavoring to remove them over the line)
tribes that have hitherto been kept in peace and friendship
with us, at a heavy expense, and who have no cause
of complaint except pretended ones, of their creating;
whilst they keep in a state of irritation the tribes
who are hostile to us, and are instigating those
who know little of us, or we of them,
to unite in the War against us;
and whilst it is an undeniable fact that they are furnishing
the whole with Arms, Ammunition, clothing,
and even provisions, to carry on the War;
I might go further, and if they are not much belied,
add men also, in disguise.
Can it be expected I ask, so long as these things
are known in the United States, or at least firmly believed,
and suffered with impunity by Great Britain, that there ever
will or can be any cordiality between the two Countries.
I answer NO! and I will undertake, without the gift
of prophecy, to predict, that it will be impossible to keep
this Country in a state of amity with Great Britain long,
if the Posts are not surrendered.
A knowledge of these being my sentiments, would have
little weight I am persuaded with the British Administration;
nor perhaps with the Nation, in effecting the measure:
but both may rest satisfied that if they want to be in Peace
with this Country, and to enjoy the benefits of its trade
&ca. to give up the Posts is the only road to it,
and withholding them, and the consequences we feel
at present, continuing, war will be inevitably.16
In the elections of 1794 the Federalists took three seats away from the Republicans.
In the House of Representatives the Federalists
gained five seats while the Republicans lost 4.
On 19 November 1794 Washington
delivered this 6th Annual Message to Congress:
When we call to mind the gracious indulgence of Heaven
by which the American People became a nation;
when we survey the general prosperity of our country,
and look forward to the riches, power, and happiness
to which it seems destined, with the deepest regret
do I announce to you that during your recess
some of the citizens of the United States
have been found capable of insurrection.
It is due, however, to the character of our government
and to its stability, which cannot be shaken by the enemies
of order, freely to unfold the course of this event.
During the session of the year 1790 it was expedient
to exercise the legislative power granted by the constitution
of the United States “to lay and collect excises.”
In a majority of the States scarcely an objection
was heard to this mode of taxation.
In some, indeed, alarms were at first conceived,
until they were banished by reason and patriotism.
In the four western counties of Pennsylvania a prejudice,
fostered and imbittered by the artifice of men who labored
for an ascendency over the will of others by the guidance
of their passions, produced symptoms of riot and violence.
It is well known that Congress did not hesitate
to examine the complaints which were presented,
and to relieve them as far as justice dictated
or general convenience would permit.
But the impression which this moderation made on the
discontented did not correspond with what it deserved.
The arts of delusion were no longer confined
to the efforts of designing individuals.
The very forbearance to press prosecutions
was misinterpreted into a fear
of urging the execution of the laws,
and associations of men began to denounce
threats against the officers employed.
From a belief that by a more formal concert their operation
might be defeated, certain self-created societies
assumed the tone of condemnation.
Hence, while the greater part of Pennsylvania itself
was conforming themselves to the acts of excise,
a few counties were resolved to frustrate them.
It is now perceived that every expectation
from the tenderness which had been hitherto pursued
was unavailing, and that further delay could only create
an opinion of impotency or irresolution in the government.
Legal process was therefore delivered to the marshal
against the rioters and delinquent distillers.
No sooner was he understood to be engaged in this duty
than the vengeance of armed men was aimed at his person
and the person and property of the inspector of the revenue.
They fired upon the marshal, arrested him,
and detained him for some time as a prisoner.
He was obliged, by the jeopardy of his life,
to renounce the service of other process
on the west side of the Allegheny mountain,
and a deputation was afterwards sent to him
to demand a surrender of that which he had served.
A numerous body repeatedly attacked
the house of the inspector, seized his papers of office,
and finally destroyed by fire his buildings
and whatsoever they contained.
Both of these officers, from a just regard to their safety,
fled to the seat of government, it being avowed that
the motives to such outrages were to compel the resignation
of the inspector, to withstand by force of arms
the authority of the United States,
and thereby to extort a repeal of the laws of excise
and an alteration in the conduct of government.
Upon testimony of these facts an associate justice
of the Supreme Court of the United States notified to me
that “in the counties of Washington and Allegheny,
in Pennsylvania, laws of the United States were opposed,
and the execution thereof obstructed,
by combinations too powerful to be suppressed
by the ordinary course of judicial proceedings
or by the powers vested in the marshal of that district.”
On this call, momentous in the extreme,
I sought and weighted what might best subdue the crisis.
On the one hand the judiciary was pronounced
to be stripped of its capacity to enforce the laws;
crimes which reached the very existence of social order
were perpetrated without control;
the friends of government were insulted, abused,
and overawed into silence or an apparent acquiescence;
and to yield to the treasonable fury of so small a portion
of the United States would be to violate
the fundamental principle of our constitution,
which enjoins that the will of the majority shall prevail.
On the other, to array citizen against citizen, to publish
the dishonor of such excesses, to encounter the expense
and other embarrassments of so distant an expedition,
were steps too delicate, too closely interwoven
with many affecting considerations, to be lightly adopted.
I postponed, therefore, the summoning of the militia
immediately into the field, but I required them
to be held in readiness, that if my anxious endeavors
to reclaim the deluded and to convince the malignant
of their danger should be fruitless,
military force might be prepared
to act before the season should be too far advanced.
My Proclamation of the 7th of August last
was accordingly issued, and accompanied
by the appointment of Commissioners,
who were charged to repair to the scene of insurrection.
They were authorized to confer
with any bodies of men or individuals.
They were instructed to be candid and explicit in stating
the sensations which had been excited in the Executive,
and his earnest wish to avoid a resort to coercion;
to represent, however, that, without submission,
coercion must be the resort;
but to invite them, at the same time,
to return to the demeanor of faithful citizens,
by such accommodations as lay
within the sphere of executive power.
Pardon, too, was tendered to them
by the government of the United States
and that of Pennsylvania, upon no other condition
than a satisfactory assurance of obedience to the laws.
Although the report of the commissioners marks their
firmness and abilities, and must unite all virtuous men,
by showing that the means of conciliation have been exhausted,
all of those who had committed or abetted
the tumults did not subscribe the mild form
which was proposed as the atonement,
and the indications of a peaceable temper were neither
sufficiently general nor conclusive to recommend
or warrant the further suspension of the march of the militia.
Thus the painful alternative could not be discarded.
I ordered the militia to march,
after once more admonishing the insurgents
in my proclamation of the 25th of September last.
It was a task too difficult to ascertain with precision
the lowest degree of force competent
to the quelling of the insurrection.
From a respect, indeed, to economy and the ease
of my fellow citizens belonging to the militia,
it would have gratified me to accomplish such an estimate.
My very reluctance to ascribe too much importance
to the opposition, had its extent been accurately seen,
would have been a decided inducement
to the smallest efficient numbers.
In this uncertainty, therefore, I put into motion
fifteen thousand men, as being an army which, according
to all human calculation, would be prompt and adequate
in every view, and might, perhaps, by rendering
resistance desperate, prevent the effusion of blood.
Quotas had been assigned to the states of New Jersey,
Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Virginia,
the governor of Pennsylvania having declared
on this occasion an opinion which justified
a requisition to the other States.
As commander in chief of the militia
when called into the actual service of the United States,
I have visited the places of general rendezvous
to obtain more exact information
and to direct a plan for ulterior movements.
Had there been room for a persuasion
that the laws were secure from obstruction;
that the civil magistrate was able to bring to justice
such of the most culpable as have not embraced
the proffered terms of amnesty,
and may be deemed fit objects of example;
that the friends to peace and good government
were not in need of that aid and countenance
which they ought always to receive, and, I trust,
ever will receive, against the vicious and turbulent,
I should have caught with avidity the opportunity
of restoring the militia to their families and homes.
But succeeding intelligence has tended to manifest
the necessity of what has been done,
it being now confessed by those who were not inclined
to exaggerate the ill conduct of the insurgents
that their malevolence was not pointed merely
to a particular law, but that a spirit inimical
to all order has actuated many of the offenders.
If the state of things had afforded reason
for the continuance of my presence with the army,
it would not have been withheld.
But every appearance assuring such an issue
as will redound to the reputation
and strength of the United States, I have judged it most
proper to resume my duties at the seat of Government,
leaving the chief command with the governor of Virginia.
Still, however, as it is probable that in a commotion
like the present, whatsoever may be the pretense,
the purposes of mischief and revenge may not be laid aside,
the stationing of a small force for a certain period
in the four western counties of Pennsylvania
will be indispensable, whether we contemplate the situation
of those who are connected with the execution of the laws
or of others who may have exposed themselves
by an honorable attachment to them.
Thirty days from the commencement of this session
being the legal limitation of the employment of the militia,
Congress cannot be too early occupied with this subject.
Among the discussions which may arise
from this aspect of our affairs, and from the documents
which will be submitted to Congress, it will not escape
their observation that not only the inspector of the revenue,
but other officers of the United States in Pennsylvania have,
from their fidelity in the discharge of their functions,
sustained material injuries to their property.
The obligation and policy of indemnifying them
are strong and obvious.
It may also merit attention whether policy will not enlarge
this provision to the retribution of other citizens who,
though not under the ties of office, may have suffered
damage by their generous exertions
for upholding the constitution and the laws.
The amount, even if all the injured were included,
would not be great, and on future emergencies
the government would be amply repaid by the influence
of an example that he who incurs a loss in its defense
shall find a recompense in its liberality.
While there is cause to lament that occurrences
of this nature should have disgraced the name
or interrupted the tranquility of any part of our community,
or should have diverted to a new application any portion
of the public resources, there are not wanting
real and substantial consolations for the misfortune.
It has demonstrated, that our prosperity rests
on solid foundations; by furnishing an additional proof,
that my fellow citizens understand the true principles
of government and liberty;
that they feel their inseparable union;
that notwithstanding all the devices which have been used
to sway them from their interest and duty,
they are not as ready to maintain the authority of the laws
against licentious invasions as they were
to defend their rights against usurpation.
It has been a spectacle displaying to the highest advantage
of Republican Government to behold the most and the least
wealthy of our citizens standing in the same ranks as
private soldiers, pre-eminently distinguished
by being the army of the constitution;
undeterred by a march of three hundred miles over
rugged mountains, by approach of an inclement season,
or by any other discouragement.
Nor ought I to omit to acknowledge the efficacious
and patriotic cooperation which I have experienced
from the chief magistrates of the States
to which my requisitions have been addressed.
To every description of citizens, let praise be given.
But let them persevere in their affectionate vigilance
over that precious depository of American happiness,
the constitution of the United States.
Let them cherish it, too, for the sake of those who,
from every clime, are daily seeking a dwelling in our land.
And when in the calm moments of reflection they shall
have retraced the origin and progress of the insurrection,
let them determine whether it has not been fomented
by combinations of men who, careless of consequences
and disregarding the unerring truth that those who rouse
cannot always appease a civil convulsion,
have disseminated, from an ignorance
or perversion of facts, suspicions, jealousies,
and accusations of the whole government.
Having thus fulfilled the engagement which I took
when I entered into office, “to the best of my ability
to preserve, protect, and defend the constitution of
the United States,” on you, Gentlemen, and the people
by whom you are deputed, I rely for support.
In the arrangements, to which the possibility
of a similar contingency will naturally draw your attention
it ought not to be forgotten that the militia laws
have exhibited such striking defects as could not
have been supplied by the zeal of our citizens.
Besides the extraordinary expense and waste,
which are not the least of the defects, every appeal
to those laws is attended with a doubt on its success.
The devising and establishing of a well-regulated militia,
would be a genuine source of legislative honor
and a perfect title to public gratitude.
I therefore entertain a hope that the present session
will not pass without carrying to its full energy
the power of organizing, arming, and disciplining the militia,
and thus providing, in the language of the constitution,
for calling them forth to execute the laws of the union,
suppress insurrections, and repel invasions.
As auxiliary to the state of our defense, to which Congress
can never too frequently recur, they will not omit to inquire
whether the fortifications which have been already
licensed by law be commensurate with our exigencies.
The intelligence from the army under the command
of general Wayne is a happy presage to our military
operations against the hostile Indians north of the Ohio.
From the advices which have been forwarded,
the advance which he has made must have damped
the ardor of the savages and weakened their obstinacy
in waging war against the United States.
And yet, even at this late hour,
when our power to punish them cannot be questioned,
we shall not be unwilling to cement a lasting peace
upon terms of candor, equity, and good neighborhood.
Toward none of the Indian tribes
have overtures of friendship been spared.
The Creeks in particular are covered from encroachment
by the imposition of the General Government
and that of Georgia.
From a desire also to remove the discontents
of the Six Nations, a settlement mediated at Presque Isle
on Lake Erie, has been suspended;
and an agent is now endeavoring to rectify
any misconception into which they may have fallen.
But I cannot refrain from again pressing upon
your deliberations, the plan which I recommended
at the last session for the improvement of harmony with
all the Indians within our limits by the fixing and conducting
of trading houses upon the principles then expressed.Gentlemen of the House of Representatives:
The time which has elapsed since the commencement
of our fiscal measures has developed
our pecuniary resources so as to open the way
for a definite plan for the redemption of the public debt.
It is believed that the result is such as to encourage
Congress to consummate this work without delay.
Nothing can more promote
the permanent welfare of the nation,
and nothing would be more grateful to our constituents.
Indeed, whatsoever is unfinished of our system
of public credit cannot be benefited by procrastination;
and as far as may be practicable we ought to place
that credit on grounds which cannot be disturbed,
and to prevent that progressive accumulation of debt
which must ultimately endanger all governments.
An estimate of the necessary appropriations,
including the expenditures into which we have been driven
by the insurrection, will be submitted to Congress.Gentlemen of the Senate
and of the House of Representatives:
The mint of the United States
has entered upon the coinage of the precious metals;
and considerable sums of defective coins and bullion
have been lodged with the director by individuals.
There is a pleasing prospect that the institution
will at no remote day realize the expectation
which was originally formed of its utility.
In subsequent communications certain circumstances
of our intercourse with foreign nations
will be transmitted to Congress.
However, it may not be unseasonable to announce
That my policy in our foreign transactions
has been to cultivate peace with all the world;
to observe the treaties with pure and absolute faith;
to check every deviation from the line of impartiality;
to explain what may have been misapprehended
and correct what may have been injurious to any nation,
and having thus acquired the right,
to lose no time in acquiring the ability
to insist upon justice being done to ourselves.
Let us unite, therefore,
in imploring the Supreme Ruler of nations,
to spread his holy protection over these United States:
to turn the machinations of the wicked
to the confirming of our constitution:
to enable us at all times to root out internal sedition,
and put invasion to flight:
to perpetuate to our country that prosperity,
which his goodness has already conferred,
and to verify the anticipations of this government
being a safe guard to human rights.17
Washington reviewed the reaction to the excise tax on alcohol in
“four western counties of Pennsylvania” where he said that
prejudice fostered “riot and violence,” and he suggested that
“certain self-created societies assumed the tone of condemnation.”
In the legal process a marshal was sent, and he was
“fired upon,” arrested, and held as a prisoner.
“A numerous body repeatedly attacked the house of the inspector,
seized his papers of office, and finally destroyed by fire, his buildings.”
James Madison criticized Washington’s speech in the House of Representatives
for denouncing what he considered to be the censure of legitimate political clubs.
The Genêt affair and events in France dampened the enthusiasm
for the French Revolution, and the Democratic Societies faded away.
In 1794 President Washington sent consuls to Gibraltar, Leghorn,
Bremen, Amsterdam, Teneriffe, St. Petersburg, and Dublin.
On 20 January 1793 the chiefs of the Six Nations came to Philadelphia,
and Washington instructed his officers not to talk about buying land.
Secretary of War Henry Knox explained that the United States
was not going to return land that Indians had ceded.
Washington in February advised Knox to prepare for war.
In April peace commissioners were sent out for the meeting
by the Sandusky River
in northern Ohio, and representatives of 16 tribes gathered by the Maumee rapids
near a British trading post run by Alexander Mckee.
Canadian governors Carleton (Dorchester) and John G. Simcoe sent agents
to persuade Indians to be a buffer between them and the Americans,
and in the spring of 1793 in a conference at Sandusky the Indians met
with American commissioners and demanded the Ohio River as the boundary.
The commissioners returned and told the President there would be war.
Washington had appointed General “Mad” Anthony Wayne in 1792
and he spent two years training his soldiers, building Fort Greenville in 1793.
On July 2 General Wayne wrote to Secretary of War Knox that the British
were working to prevent American peace commissioners from meeting with
the northwestern Indians, and they were sending agents to the southern Indians.
Using 3,229 of the 3,861 men in the standing army, Wayne began an expedition
to the Ohio frontier with the 2,600 fit for duty on October 7.
In February 1794 Governor Carleton told the Indians that
the British would fight on their side against the Americans.
On June 20 Blue Jacket led 1,200 warriors in an attack on the Americans
at Fort Recovery, but they were driven off by cannon fire with heavy losses.
Wayne’s legionnaires moved north and established Fort Defiance
before going down the Maumee River.
That summer Cherokees were attacking settlers.
The Northwestern Confederacy sent delegates south
to ask the Creeks to fight with them.
Bloody Fellow was a Chickamauga and had told Washington they wanted
plows and hoes for growing corn and raising cattle, but in late August 1793
Chickamaugas led by Doublehead and others attacked settlers in the Cumberland Valley.
A month later John Watts led Creek, Chickamauga, and Cherokee warriors,
and they killed 13 men defending Alexander Cavet’s station near Knoxville.
Col. John Sevier led 700 men in the territorial militia who retaliated
by destroying Creek and Lower Cherokee towns.
Annoyed by this unauthorized expedition which cost the federal government over $29,000,
Washington’s administration refused to pay Sevier’s militia for several years.
In three years Indians had killed 200 settlers and destroyed property worth
more than $100,000, and in February 1794 elected representatives at Knoxville
wanting to make Tennessee a state petitioned for more federal protection.
General James Robertson sent Major James Ore with 550 mounted troops, and
on September 13 they burned the Chickamauga towns of Nickajack and Running Water.
Federal troops garrisoned Tellico Blockhouse, and the Chickamauga wars
ended with a peace treaty signed on November 8.
In the spring of 1794 Washington and Knox asked a Cherokee delegation
to visit Philadelphia, and about twenty chiefs arrived in an American warship in early June.
Washington offered to increase their $1,500 annuity to $5,000,
and 13 chiefs including Doublehead promised to uphold the Holston Treaty.
Doublehead and Bloody Fellow signed the Treaty of Philadelphia on June 26.
Washington appointed Silas Dinsmoor the “beloved agent” to the Cherokees,
and he worked with them for four years.
Dinsmoor urged the government to mark more clearly the boundary line
between the land of the Cherokees and the United States.
Washington wrote a letter about this to the Secretary of War on 18 July 1796.
Dinsmoor, Benjamin Hawkins, and General Andrew Pickens were made
commissioners to survey and mark the line, but Congress delayed it until 1797.
In July five more chiefs traveled a thousand miles to Philadelphia,
and Washington said, “I love the Chickasaws, and it will always afford me
sincere satisfaction, to be instrumental to their happiness in any way or manner.”18
He was glad to introduce them to the blessings of civilization.
General Wayne, knowing that the Indians fasted before fighting,
waited several days until they went to the British Fort Miami to eat.
Then at Fallen Timbers on August 20 General Wayne with about 3,000 men defeated
about 1,400 warriors including Miamis led by Little Turtle, Blue Jacket’s Shawnees,
Delawares, Wyandots, Ojibwas, Odawa, Potawatomi, and Canadian militiamen
disguised as Native Americans under Lt. Col. William Caldwell.
The Americans had 33 men killed and a hundred wounded
while the Indians lost about 40 dead.
Wayne did not attack the British at Fort Miami;
instead he ordered Indian towns and crops pillaged, and they burned 5,000 acres.
The British did not want a war with the United States and did not defend the Indians,
though they did help prevent them from starving in the winter
and discouraged them from negotiating with the Americans.
After establishing Fort Wayne, the American army withdrew for the winter
so that the Indians could prepare for a peace council.
In Georgia the Creeks were in conflict with settlers and land companies
who were being granted millions of acres by Georgia’s corrupt legislature.
In his Annual Message to Congress on 3 December 1795 Washington
would speak about the efforts to make peace with the Indian nations.
Notes
1. Washington Writings, p. 835.
2. Ibid., p. 836-837.
3. Ibid., p. 837.
4. Ibid., p. 840.
5. Ibid., p. 838-839.
6. The Writings of George Washington from Original Manuscript Sources 1745-1799,
Volume 33: July 1, 1793-October 9, 1794 ed. John C. Fitzpatrick, p. 3.
7. Ibid., p. 3-4.
8. George Washington by Thomas S. Langston and Michael G. Sherman, p. 197-198.
9. Rules on Neutrality, 3 August 1793 - Founders Online.
10. Washington Writings, p. 846-851.
11. From George Washington to the United States Senate and ... (on line)
12. Ibid., p. 864.
13. The Constitution of the United States, 24.
14. The Writings of George Washington from Original Manuscript Sources 1745-1799,
Volume 33, p. 332-333.
15. George Washington: A Life by Willard Sterne Randall, p. 486-487.
16. Washington Writings, p. 879-880.
17. Ibid., p. 887-895.
18. The Indian World of George Washington: The First President, the First Americans,
and the Birth of the Nation by Colin G. Calloway, p. 427.
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