CHAPTER XIV

RELATIONS WITH FRANCE DURING THE ADMINISTRATION OF JOHN ADAMS

THE "blunt and irascible old John Adams" became President of the United States on the 4th of March, 1797. He was much more, however, than merely blunt and irascible. He was a man of force and ability, of high ideals and incorruptible integrity. There were occasions when he gave unseemly exhibitions of irritation, and even of anger. His temper was at times uncontrollable. He was some

times petulant and even petty. His vanity was inordinate and his sensitiveness excessive. Yet these were not the predominant traits of his character. Notwithstanding these objectionable personal qualities, John Adams was a pure, high-minded, and patriotic man. He had the courage of his convictions, was honest in word and deed, and was generally correct in his opinions on governmental policy. His effectiveness in public life was lessened somewhat by his egotism and jealousy, yet he must be ranked among the strongest of our administrators.

In addition to his forceful personal qualities, he had had a long experience in public affairs. He was well and favorably known both in Europe and America long before he became president. He was born in Braintree, Massachusetts, in 1735, and was graduated from Harvard College at the age of twenty. He studied law, and took up the practice of his profession in his native town. He soon removed

to Boston, which was only a short distance away and presented many attractions for able and ambitious young men. He early became a leader in the distinguished band of Massachusetts patriots in which his cousin, Samuel Adams, and John Hancock were conspicuous. In 1774 he was a delegate to the first Continental Congress and quickly made an excellent record in that body. He was the kind of man demanded by the times. He was rugged in his honesty; bold, outspoken, and effective in speech. His diplomatic experience, too, was exceptional. He had represented his country in Great Britain, France, and Holland with credit, and with as much success as he could well hope for. He had aided in the organization of the government under the new Constitution, and had served for four years in the vice-presidency, which office he termed a "respectable situation."

John Adams was, then, well equipped for the work which he was about to undertake. In fact, he was the best available man in the United States at the time. Washington had positively declined a third term, and Hamilton and Jefferson, though abler men, were not so safe as Adams. Jay was pure, spotless in integrity, and of great ability, but not so determined and aggressive as Adams. The hard-fisted tactics of the latter were necessary if the battles of the times were to be won. Then again, Hamilton and Jay were partial to Great Britain, and Jefferson to France. Adams was comparatively impartial. He had no love for either country. He was opposed to France by race, instincts, and traditions, and had been alienated from Great Britain in the Revolution and during his subsequent residence in that country. He spoke his true sentiments when in an audience with King George III. he remarked: "I must avow to your majesty that I have no attachment but to my own country." He was the best man in the United States to carry out the policy of neutrality which was then so essential to our national well-being. Jefferson, though at times his bitter enemy, appreciated this independence of spirit. "I do not

believe," he said, "Mr. Adams wishes war with France, nor do I believe he will truckle to England as servilely as has been done." The Adams administration was not a brilliant success in some respects, but the fault did not all lie with the President.

Violent party contentions and bitter personal rivalries and jealousies characterize the administration of John Adams. Affairs were in a state of constant turmoil from the day Washington retired to Mount Vernon until Adams discourteously slipped out of the capital city without giving his successor the customary greeting. The troubles of the President began on the day of his inauguration. Washington was, greatly to the vexation of Adams, the centre of attraction on this occasion. He was about to retire from public life after having devoted forty-five years to the loyal service of his country. The case was an exceptional one. The people followed Washington in tears as he departed, while Adams was, as he sadly remarked, the "unbeloved one." The vain and sensitive nature of the President was sorely grieved, and he began his administration in a greatly perturbed spirit.

His inaugural address was dignified, but not striking. It contained many generalities and conventionalities and a few platitudes, but no definite statement of public policy. In fact, the difficulty with France, which was destined to absorb almost the entire time and attention of the Adams administration, had not yet assumed a serious aspect. There was no great subject before the people upon which a definite and official utterance might be expected. The views of Adams were well known, and a continuation of Washington's policy was confidently expected. Under these circumstances, Adams contented himself with declaring his allegiance to the Constitution and his faith in the prosperity of republican institutions. The forms and ceremonies of monarchy had no attractions for him. "Can anything essential," he asked, "anything more than mere ornament or decoration, be added to this by robes or diamonds?"

At the opening of the administration the personal relations existing between Adams and his chief opponents in the Republican party were decidedly cordial. The President was very bitter toward Hamilton and his friends, but an effort was made by Jefferson and others to win his favor. The Republicans represented to him that he had been very shabbily treated. They bore reports of all sorts of Federalist treachery to his willing ears, and Jefferson addressed a letter to him—which, by the way, was never delivered— congratulating him that he had not been "cheated out of his succession by a trick worthy the subtlety of his archfriend of New York." To Madison, Jefferson wrote: "If Mr. Adams could be induced to administer the government on its true principles, quitting his bias for an English constitution, it would be worthy of consideration whether it would not be for the public good to come to a good understanding with him as to his future elections." Jefferson was personally very courteous and cordial toward Adams. called on the President promptly when the latter came to Washington and he spoke of him in very complimentary terms when he took the chair in the Senate. Mrs. Adams added her voice to the chorus of conciliation, and it really seemed that all the elements of a love feast were at hand. John Adams, however, was the last man in the world to yield to such blandishments. Jefferson, the most astute political manager of his time, should have known this. Adams was very willing to be placated on purely personal matters, but he would not consent to waive fundamental political principles. He was a Federalist by training, instinct, and traditions, and could not be reconciled to the tenets of the opposing party. The Republicans soon discovered this, apparently, and their ardor abated. Then bitter animosity sprang up between the administration and the opposition.

He

The difficulty with France, which was the all-absorbing topic of the Adams administration, in so far as foreign affairs were concerned, was a legacy from the previous administration. When Jefferson came home from France to take a

seat in the Cabinet, Washington appointed Gouverneur Morris minister to Paris in his stead. The contrast between the two men in their attitude toward France was very marked. Jefferson was infatuated with the French ideas of liberty, fraternity, and equality, while Morris looked upon the whole revolutionary movement as a wild delirium. When Genet was recalled Morris became persona non grata, and his recall was asked for and promptly granted. His successor at the French post was James Monroe, a future president of the United States. The appointment, made on May 28, 1794, was an unfortunate one, and the mission, a miserable and humiliating failure, ended in his being recalled by Washington. Monroe was a member of the United States Senate at the time, an ardent Republican, with no sort of sympathy for the existing administration. He arrived in Paris on the 2d of August, 1794, and immediately began to embarrass his government by indulging in foolish and extravagant exhibitions of love for the revolutionary party in France. His reception by the Convention was theatrical. It included the address of the President and the customary accolade, or fraternal embrace. The address was of the gushing kind. In conclusion the President remarked to Monroe: "You see here the effusion of soul that accompanies this simple and touching ceremony. I am impatient to give you the fraternal embrace, which I am ordered to give in the name of the French people. Come and receive it in the name of the American people, and let this spectacle complete the annihilation of an impious coalition of tyrants." Monroe caught the infection of the moment, and his reply was in bad taste. The result was a well-deserved censure from Edmund Randolph. The secretary of state objected to the "extreme glow" of some parts of the address and informed Monroe that his duty was "to cultivate the French Republic with zeal, but without any unnecessary éclat." Monroe then proceeded to ignore both the letter and the spirit of his instructions. He was intensely Republican at this time, but not broadly American.