Washington - A Life Part 17

Bring Out Your Dead THE FORCE THAT COOLED, at least temporarily, the fervid agitation of the Democratic-Republican clubs was not political but medical: the yellow fever epidemic that lashed the capital during the summer of 1793. Later on John Adams was adamant that "nothing but the yellow fever . . . could have saved the United States from a total revolution of government."1 One of its first victims was a treasured figure in the presidential household, Polly Lear, the wife of Was.h.i.+ngton's secretary Tobias, who had a.s.sisted Martha with numerous household duties. Martha had converted her into another surrogate daughter, while George valued her as "an amiable and inoffensive little woman." One of its first victims was a treasured figure in the presidential household, Polly Lear, the wife of Was.h.i.+ngton's secretary Tobias, who had a.s.sisted Martha with numerous household duties. Martha had converted her into another surrogate daughter, while George valued her as "an amiable and inoffensive little woman."2 When Polly died on July 28, age twenty-three, Was.h.i.+ngton honored her with the sort of full-dress funeral that might have bid farewell to a cabinet officer. Deviating from his strict policy of never attending funerals, he led a procession that included Hamilton, Jefferson, Knox, and three Supreme Court justices as pallbearers. It was the one time that Was.h.i.+ngton attended a funeral as president. When Tobias Lear, after a seven-year a.s.sociation with Was.h.i.+ngton, resigned his post to make money in business, he was replaced by Martha's nephew Bartholomew Dandridge and George's nephew Howell Lewis. "In whatever place you may be, or in whatever walk of life you may move," Was.h.i.+ngton a.s.sured Lear, "my best wishes will attend you, for I am and always shall be your sincere friend." When Polly died on July 28, age twenty-three, Was.h.i.+ngton honored her with the sort of full-dress funeral that might have bid farewell to a cabinet officer. Deviating from his strict policy of never attending funerals, he led a procession that included Hamilton, Jefferson, Knox, and three Supreme Court justices as pallbearers. It was the one time that Was.h.i.+ngton attended a funeral as president. When Tobias Lear, after a seven-year a.s.sociation with Was.h.i.+ngton, resigned his post to make money in business, he was replaced by Martha's nephew Bartholomew Dandridge and George's nephew Howell Lewis. "In whatever place you may be, or in whatever walk of life you may move," Was.h.i.+ngton a.s.sured Lear, "my best wishes will attend you, for I am and always shall be your sincere friend." 3 3 As August progressed, the yellow fever scourge spread from the wharves to the city's interior: victims ran high fevers, spewed black vomit, hemorrhaged blood from every orifice, and developed jaundice before they expired. By late August the sights and smells of death saturated the city, especially the groaning carts, stacked high with corpses, that trundled through the streets as their drivers intoned, "Bring out your dead."4 To stem the fever, the authorities tried burning barrels of tar, which polluted the air with a potent, acrid stench. The epidemic was by then carrying away twenty victims daily. Emptied by spreading panic, most public office buildings shut down, and government employees decamped from the city. The Supreme Court sat for only two days before deciding to swell the general exodus. To stem the fever, the authorities tried burning barrels of tar, which polluted the air with a potent, acrid stench. The epidemic was by then carrying away twenty victims daily. Emptied by spreading panic, most public office buildings shut down, and government employees decamped from the city. The Supreme Court sat for only two days before deciding to swell the general exodus.

Whether from instinctive courage or a stoic belief in death as something fore-ordained, George Was.h.i.+ngton again behaved as if endowed with supernatural immunity. He showed the same sangfroid as when bullets whizzed past him during the French and Indian War. He urged Martha to return with their grandchildren to Mount Vernon, but she refused to desert him. By early September yellow fever had taken a grim toll on government workers: six clerks died in the Treasury Department, seven in the customs service, and three in the Post Office. On September 6, upon learning that Hamilton had shown early symptoms of the fever, Was.h.i.+ngton rushed to him six bottles of wine, coupled with a sympathetic message. Treated by his childhood friend Dr. Edward Stevens, Hamilton survived the disease and then fled with his wife, Elizabeth, to the Schuyler mansion in Albany. Since Martha wouldn't abandon him, Was.h.i.+ngton opted to leave for Mount Vernon on September 10, departing in sufficient haste that he left behind his official papers. He and Martha invited Eliza Powel to escape with them to Virginia. Though deeply touched by the gesture, Powel decided that she could not abandon her husband, then the speaker of the Pennsylvania Senate, lest he get sick and require help. "The conflict between duty and inclination is a severe trial of my feelings," she told the Was.h.i.+ngtons, "but, as I believe it is always best to adhere to the line of duty, I beg to decline the pleasure I proposed to myself in accompanying you to Virginia at this time."5 Her caution was prophetic: three weeks later her husband joined the growing list of fatalities. Ironically, Eliza was off at her brother's farm at the time and experienced "a lasting source of affliction" for not having been present at her husband's bedside at the end. Her caution was prophetic: three weeks later her husband joined the growing list of fatalities. Ironically, Eliza was off at her brother's farm at the time and experienced "a lasting source of affliction" for not having been present at her husband's bedside at the end.6 After urging him to safeguard the War Department clerks, Was.h.i.+ngton left Henry Knox in charge as acting president, with instructions to submit a weekly report on developments in the now-deserted capital. The doughty Knox was the last high-ranking official to depart. "All my efficient clerks have left me from apprehension," Knox reported in mid-September, noting that fatalities in the capital had zoomed to one hundred per day. "The streets are lonely to a melancholy degree. The merchants generally have fled . . . In fine, the stroke is as heavy as if an army of enemies had possessed the city without plundering it."7 After Jefferson found only a single clerk toiling at the State Department, he decided it was high time to head for Virginia. By mid-October 3,500 Philadelphians, or one-tenth of the population, had succ.u.mbed to yellow fever, leaving the city, in Was.h.i.+ngton's words, "almost depopulated by removals and deaths." After Jefferson found only a single clerk toiling at the State Department, he decided it was high time to head for Virginia. By mid-October 3,500 Philadelphians, or one-tenth of the population, had succ.u.mbed to yellow fever, leaving the city, in Was.h.i.+ngton's words, "almost depopulated by removals and deaths."8 Eager to resume government operations and show that the republic could function even under extreme duress, Was.h.i.+ngton wanted to convene emergency sessions of Congress outside the capital, but he was unsure of their const.i.tutionality. To his credit, he did not automatically a.s.sume autocratic powers in a crisis but tried to conform faithfully to the letter of the law. As alternate sites, he considered several nearby cities, among them Germantown, Wilmington, Trenton, Annapolis, and Reading. When he stopped at Mount Vernon, Jefferson, a strict constructionist, gave Was.h.i.+ngton his opinion that the government could lawfully a.s.semble only in Philadelphia, even if Congress had to meet in an open field. Reluctant to be ham-strung by this restrictive view, Was.h.i.+ngton turned to the one person guaranteed to serve up a more liberal view of federal powers: Alexander Hamilton. In tapping his treasury secretary, Was.h.i.+ngton hinted broadly at his preferred outcome, telling him that "as none can take a more comprehensive view and . . . a less partial one on the subject than yourself . . . I pray you to dilate fully upon the several points here brought to your consideration."9 Engaging in fancy semantic footwork, Hamilton cracked open the legal logjam by saying that Was.h.i.+ngton could Engaging in fancy semantic footwork, Hamilton cracked open the legal logjam by saying that Was.h.i.+ngton could recommend recommend that the government meet elsewhere, although he couldn't that the government meet elsewhere, although he couldn't order order it. Hamilton favored Germantown, close to Philadelphia, as the optimal site, and it was duly chosen. it. Hamilton favored Germantown, close to Philadelphia, as the optimal site, and it was duly chosen.

Was.h.i.+ngton decided to convene a cabinet meeting there in early November. On October 28 he packed and left Mount Vernon, teamed up with Jefferson in Baltimore, and arrived in Germantown on November 1. The small village was scarcely impervious to the troubles crippling the nearby capital, and hundreds of Philadelphia refugees milled about, fearful of venturing back to their homes. After renting the meager home of Isaac Franks, Was.h.i.+ngton had furniture carted out from Philadelphia. The sage of Monticello was reduced to sleeping in a bed tucked into the corner of a local tavern. As the weather cooled, the yellow fever epidemic in Philadelphia waned, although the city would still struggle for months to return to normal. In early December, amid lightly falling snow, Was.h.i.+ngton saddled his horse and returned to a place sadly transformed by disaster. "Black seems to be the general dress in the city," Martha noted. "Almost every family has lost some of their friends."10 Out of respect for the dead, plays and dances were canceled, and as the town's foremost citizen, Was.h.i.+ngton took the lead in dispensing charity to widows and orphans left stranded by the epidemic. Out of respect for the dead, plays and dances were canceled, and as the town's foremost citizen, Was.h.i.+ngton took the lead in dispensing charity to widows and orphans left stranded by the epidemic.

Members of Congress were now rapidly flocking back to the capital, and as soon as Was.h.i.+ngton learned on December 2 that a quorum had been mustered, he decided to deliver his fifth annual address to Congress the next day, escorted for the last time by his first-term cabinet, the warring triumvirate of Jefferson, Hamilton, and Knox. As war raged in Europe, Was.h.i.+ngton felt the need to combat pacifist fantasies and insisted upon the need for sufficient "arms and military stores now in [our] magazine and a.r.s.enals."11 As always, he touted military preparedness as the best way to prevent war and gently raised the question of whether militias were adequate to the country's defensive needs. He also defended his neutrality proclamation and explained the rationale behind the seeming betrayal of the historic French alliance. Beyond its policy particulars, the speech reaffirmed that the government had weathered the yellow fever epidemic and would now revert to some semblance of normality. As always, he touted military preparedness as the best way to prevent war and gently raised the question of whether militias were adequate to the country's defensive needs. He also defended his neutrality proclamation and explained the rationale behind the seeming betrayal of the historic French alliance. Beyond its policy particulars, the speech reaffirmed that the government had weathered the yellow fever epidemic and would now revert to some semblance of normality.

WHILE THE TEMPORARY CAPITAL suffered from the horrors of yellow fever, the permanent capital was beginning to emerge in all its splendor. That September Was.h.i.+ngton had been on hand in the federal city for the ceremonial laying of the cornerstone for the U.S. Capitol. Among his endless responsibilities, he was bogged down in administrative minutiae related to the new capital, having to approve personally, for example, the contract for a bridge over Rock Creek. The Residence Act of 1790 had stipulated that government buildings in the district should be ready by December 1800, and an impatient public clamored for visible signs of progress.

Disclaiming any special talent as an architect, Was.h.i.+ngton nonetheless endorsed a design for the new home of Congress sketched by Dr. William Thornton, a versatile doctor, inventor, and abolitionist. Thornton came up with a clever amalgam of cla.s.sical architecture and modern American themes. Jefferson rejoiced in the building's style as "Athenian" and, to emphasize the parallel with antiquity, changed its name from the plain-sounding Congress House to the far more grandiose Capitol. 12 12 Was.h.i.+ngton was especially enamored of the dome, which he thought would lend "beauty and grandeur to the pile," its visual effect enhanced by a magnificent colonnade. Was.h.i.+ngton was especially enamored of the dome, which he thought would lend "beauty and grandeur to the pile," its visual effect enhanced by a magnificent colonnade.13 Was.h.i.+ngton's approval also helped the Irish architect James Hoban win the commission for the President's House, later known as the White House. "He has been engaged in some of the first buildings in Dublin," Was.h.i.+ngton wrote admiringly of Hoban, "appears a master workman, and has a great many hands of his own." Was.h.i.+ngton's approval also helped the Irish architect James Hoban win the commission for the President's House, later known as the White House. "He has been engaged in some of the first buildings in Dublin," Was.h.i.+ngton wrote admiringly of Hoban, "appears a master workman, and has a great many hands of his own."14 The White House cornerstone was laid on October 13, 1792. As in all matters pertaining to the capital, Was.h.i.+ngton wanted an elastic design that would accommodate future growth. "It was always my idea . . . that the building should be so arranged that only a part of it should be erected at present," he told the commissioners, "but upon such a plan as to make the part so erected an entire building, and to admit of an addition in future." The White House cornerstone was laid on October 13, 1792. As in all matters pertaining to the capital, Was.h.i.+ngton wanted an elastic design that would accommodate future growth. "It was always my idea . . . that the building should be so arranged that only a part of it should be erected at present," he told the commissioners, "but upon such a plan as to make the part so erected an entire building, and to admit of an addition in future."15 Curiously enough, the Supreme Court was then held in such low regard that it did not merit its own edifice and had to settle for a room in the Capitol. Curiously enough, the Supreme Court was then held in such low regard that it did not merit its own edifice and had to settle for a room in the Capitol.

Was.h.i.+ngton's strategy of building slowly and allowing for future expansion was an apt metaphor for his strategy for developing the entire country. An unintended metaphor perhaps cropped up in the composition of the downtrodden workforce laboring to complete the capital. Was.h.i.+ngton had favored importing indentured servants to do the building-he praised Germans for their steady work habits, Scots for their mechanical abilities-but there was no way that a southern capital could emerge without drawing heavily on slaves, given the local shortage of free labor. Hundreds of slaves pulled up stumps, leveled trees, made bricks, and scooped out trenches. Because Congress had authorized no money to acquire property and construct buildings, the project had to subsist on the proceeds of land auctions, and using slave labor helped cus.h.i.+on the budgetary stringency. By 1795 three hundred slaves were hard at work in the federal district, hurrying to finish public or private buildings.

On September 18, 1793, at Mount Vernon, Was.h.i.+ngton greeted a fife and drum corps from Alexandria and presided over a festive procession to install the cornerstone of the Capitol. After he crossed the Potomac, many Masons gathered to receive him, appareled in their order's ceremonial garb. The grand parade to the Capitol site proceeded under the auspices of Lodge No. 22 of Alexandria and the Grand Lodge of Maryland and its a.s.sorted chapters. Officiating as Grand Master, Was.h.i.+ngton donned the elaborately embroidered Masonic ap.r.o.n that, in happier times, had been a gift from Lafayette's wife. To the sharp reports of cannon, Was.h.i.+ngton stepped into a trench, hoisted a trowel, and spread cement on the cornerstone before pouring oil, corn, and wine over it as spectators offered up Masonic chants. Incorporated into this southeast corner of the Capitol was a silver plate engraved with the words "the year of Masonry 5793."16 That Was.h.i.+ngton performed Masonic rituals at the new capital proved not that he was in thrall to a secret society but probably something more ba.n.a.l: that he believed that the "grand object of Masonry" was "to promote the happiness of the human race," and that n.o.body could possibly object to such an inarguable, community-minded goal. That Was.h.i.+ngton performed Masonic rituals at the new capital proved not that he was in thrall to a secret society but probably something more ba.n.a.l: that he believed that the "grand object of Masonry" was "to promote the happiness of the human race," and that n.o.body could possibly object to such an inarguable, community-minded goal.17 After parading by the President's House, the gathering settled down to celebrate by dining on the barbecued remains of a five-hundred-pound ox. After parading by the President's House, the gathering settled down to celebrate by dining on the barbecued remains of a five-hundred-pound ox.

With the town named after him, Was.h.i.+ngton was especially solicitous about the course of its building campaign and bought four lots there. At many points he prodded the three commissioners to speed up their work, insisting that they live in the federal district to expedite flagging construction. As he surveyed the muddy terrain, he worried that, should the project lag behind schedule, the southern states might well lose the capital to the avid boosters of Philadelphia. "The year 1800 is approaching with hasty strides," he warned. "So ought the public buildings to advance towards completion."18 The pace of progress seemed so sluggish that James Madison began to despair that the capital would ever escape from the great "whirlpool of Philadelphia." The pace of progress seemed so sluggish that James Madison began to despair that the capital would ever escape from the great "whirlpool of Philadelphia." 19 19 Whenever the project stagnated, Was.h.i.+ngton purchased more parcels to give things a timely fillip. He preferred selling individual lots to modest investors rather than multiple lots to large speculators, persuaded that the former would work harder to make long-term improvements. At every turn, Was.h.i.+ngton advanced his pet project for a national university in the new capital where students could attend congressional debates and absorb the basic principles of representative government. It had long disturbed Was.h.i.+ngton that American students attended universities abroad, where they might imbibe foreign ideas inimical to a republican polity. Whenever the project stagnated, Was.h.i.+ngton purchased more parcels to give things a timely fillip. He preferred selling individual lots to modest investors rather than multiple lots to large speculators, persuaded that the former would work harder to make long-term improvements. At every turn, Was.h.i.+ngton advanced his pet project for a national university in the new capital where students could attend congressional debates and absorb the basic principles of representative government. It had long disturbed Was.h.i.+ngton that American students attended universities abroad, where they might imbibe foreign ideas inimical to a republican polity.

ONCE WAs.h.i.+NGTON AGREED to serve a second term, the decision only fueled his apprehension about the state of his business affairs at Mount Vernon. There had been some improvements during his presidency, most notably the innovative, sixteen-sided thres.h.i.+ng barn that Was.h.i.+ngton had designed. But in his absence, despite such scientific strides, Mount Vernon was overtaken by general decay, and his letters are replete with long-running complaints about dilapidated buildings, fences, hedges, barns, gates, and stables needing repair.

Having lost the services of George Augustine and Anthony Whitting, Mount Vernon lacked a guiding hand, and it was all Was.h.i.+ngton could do to keep the place running from afar. He never overcame his chronic financial anxieties, which only worsened with the distractions of his political career, and he remained a notably relentless, hard-driving boss. His incomparable success in life seemed not to soften his views or lighten his touch with employees, as if his economic insecurity were too deeply rooted ever to be extirpated. It never seemed to dawn on him to apply the same courtesy to his employees that he did to colleagues in Philadelphia, where he was such an exquisitely tactful politician. In December 1792 he badgered Anthony Whitting to keep a slave named Gunner hard at work, even though Gunner was probably around eighty-three years old. "It may be proper for Gunner to continue throwing up brick earth," the president wrote.20 Despite his theoretical opposition to slavery, he cautioned his overseers against the "idleness and deceit" of slaves if not treated with a firm hand. Despite his theoretical opposition to slavery, he cautioned his overseers against the "idleness and deceit" of slaves if not treated with a firm hand.21 Was.h.i.+ngton's business letters home have an unpleasantly caustic tone, as if he felt himself at the mercy of so many dunces and knaves. He was constantly on guard against inept overseers, whom he thought too lax in dealing with slaves. If overseers weren't up with the sun, he warned, slaves would sleep late, loaf, and cost him money. In essence, the overseers became slaves to the long hours of the slaves they supervised. In petulant weekly letters to the consumptive Whitting in 1792 and 1793, Was.h.i.+ngton scarcely ever offered an encouraging syllable. With painful consistency, he faulted Whitting's work, loaded him with advice, and seemed to accuse everyone of malingering.

In mid-March 1793, as Whitting was spitting up blood, Was.h.i.+ngton informed f.a.n.n.y Ba.s.sett Was.h.i.+ngton that the doctors had p.r.o.nounced his tuberculosis "critical and dangerous."22 Whitting himself wrote pathetically to the president: "I am just now able to walk a little. Am very much reduced and very weak." Whitting himself wrote pathetically to the president: "I am just now able to walk a little. Am very much reduced and very weak."23 Nonetheless that spring, as he grappled with neutrality and Citizen Genet, Was.h.i.+ngton continually lambasted Whitting and talked to him as if he were a fool or a child. When he thought Whitting did not respond adequately to his questions, he told him to take a slip of paper, jot down all the instructions, then cross off each item on the checklist as it was accomplished. At the time Whitting was so weak that he could scarcely mount a horse; a month later he lay in critical condition. Bedridden, barely able to speak, he nonetheless fretted about his failure to file weekly reports with Was.h.i.+ngton. As Tobias Lear reported from the scene: "Mr. Whitting was much concerned at your not having received the reports of last week, but observed that he had directed [James] Butler [the Mansion House overseer] to take them, as he was unable to do it himself." Nonetheless that spring, as he grappled with neutrality and Citizen Genet, Was.h.i.+ngton continually lambasted Whitting and talked to him as if he were a fool or a child. When he thought Whitting did not respond adequately to his questions, he told him to take a slip of paper, jot down all the instructions, then cross off each item on the checklist as it was accomplished. At the time Whitting was so weak that he could scarcely mount a horse; a month later he lay in critical condition. Bedridden, barely able to speak, he nonetheless fretted about his failure to file weekly reports with Was.h.i.+ngton. As Tobias Lear reported from the scene: "Mr. Whitting was much concerned at your not having received the reports of last week, but observed that he had directed [James] Butler [the Mansion House overseer] to take them, as he was unable to do it himself." 24 24 A few days later the estate manager was dead. A few days later the estate manager was dead.

Preoccupied with political problems, Was.h.i.+ngton was thrown into turmoil by Whitting's death and promptly launched a search for a successor, looking for an honest, sober bachelor between the ages of thirty-five and forty-five. Only after Whitting's death did Was.h.i.+ngton learn to appreciate his virtues, telling one correspondent, "If I could get a man as well qualified for my purposes as the late Mr. Whitting . . . I sh[oul]d esteem myself very fortunate."25 Even so, Was.h.i.+ngton continued to defame Whitting, claiming that he "drank freely, kept bad company at my house and in Alexandria, and was a very debauched person." Even so, Was.h.i.+ngton continued to defame Whitting, claiming that he "drank freely, kept bad company at my house and in Alexandria, and was a very debauched person."26 In late September, Was.h.i.+ngton hired William Pearce as the new estate manager and quickly trained him in his own exacting style, telling him how he liked everything in tip-top shape, humming smoothly along. As with Whitting, he told Pearce to keep a checklist of his instructions and review them often, "because I expect to have them complied with or reasons a.s.signed for not doing it."27 By this point Was.h.i.+ngton was convinced that Mount Vernon was veering toward chaos and that he had to crack down on overseers and slaves alike. In the same language he had long used with his military and political a.s.sociates, he coached Pearce on how to handle recalcitrant overseers: "To treat them civilly is no more than what all men are ent.i.tled to, but my advice to you is to keep them at a proper distance; for they will grow upon familiarity in proportion as you will sink in authority, if you do not."28 He gave Pearce scathing character sketches of the five overseers, calling one "a sickly, slothful, and stupid fellow," and urging him to correct the abuses that had crept into the daily workings of Mount Vernon. He gave Pearce scathing character sketches of the five overseers, calling one "a sickly, slothful, and stupid fellow," and urging him to correct the abuses that had crept into the daily workings of Mount Vernon.29 Ironically, the only one of the five overseers for whom he spared a kind word was the one black: "Davy at Muddy Hole carries on his business as well as the white overseers and with more quietness than any of them. With proper directions, he will do very well." Ironically, the only one of the five overseers for whom he spared a kind word was the one black: "Davy at Muddy Hole carries on his business as well as the white overseers and with more quietness than any of them. With proper directions, he will do very well."30 Priding himself on being a progressive farmer, Was.h.i.+ngton was frustrated by his inability to introduce modern methods. When Henry Lee told him about a new thres.h.i.+ng machine, Was.h.i.+ngton responded that "the utility of it among careless Negroes and ignorant overseers will depend absolutely absolutely upon the simplicity of the construction, for if there is anything complex in the machinery, it will be no longer in use than a mushroom is in existence." upon the simplicity of the construction, for if there is anything complex in the machinery, it will be no longer in use than a mushroom is in existence."31 His letters teem with regrets that his overseers refused to apply the crop-rotation system that had been his will-o'-the-wisp for many years. His letters teem with regrets that his overseers refused to apply the crop-rotation system that had been his will-o'-the-wisp for many years.

Finally, on December 23, 1793, right before Christmas, Was.h.i.+ngton devoted a large portion of the day to writing five consecutive letters to his five overseers, blaming them for ruining his hopes for crop rotation and for the general decline of his business. In terms of pure, unadulterated rage, these five letters have no equal in Was.h.i.+ngton's papers: they suggest a daylong temper tantrum and show just how sharp-tongued and frustrated he could be. Their jeering tone is almost willfully cruel, as if Was.h.i.+ngton wanted to say things with brutal clarity and telegraph a tough new regimen. They show how exceedingly anxious he was about his financial position and the economic situation at Mount Vernon. They may also express some displaced anger from the violent attacks being made on him in the Jeffersonian press and by the Democratic-Republican Societies. Not mincing words, Was.h.i.+ngton wrote to overseer Hiland Crow that he had been so much disturbed at your insufferable neglect [of plowing] that it is with difficulty I have been restrained from ordering you instantly off the plantation. My whole place for next year is ruined by your conduct. And look ye, Mr. Crow, I have too good reasons to believe that your running about and entertaining company at home . . . is the cause of this now irremediable evil in the progress of my business . . . I am very willing and desirous to be your friend, but if your conduct does not merit it, you must abide the consequences from Y[ou]rs.32 Crow was a savage overseer in flogging slaves, Was.h.i.+ngton describing him to Pearce as "swayed more by pa.s.sion than by judgment in all his corrections."33 Was.h.i.+ngton criticized overseer Henry McCoy for failing to plow after the late October rains, jeopardizing his spring oat crop: "How durst you disobey this order and, instead of bringing the whole force of your plows to this, you employ them now and then only, or one or two a week, as if it were for amus.e.m.e.nt, thereby doing everything which was in your power to derange my whole plan for the next year."34 If McCoy remained inattentive to business, Was.h.i.+ngton threatened to banish him "at any season of the year without paying you a s.h.i.+lling . . . If I suffer by your neglect, you shall not benefit by the money of one who wishes to be your friend." If McCoy remained inattentive to business, Was.h.i.+ngton threatened to banish him "at any season of the year without paying you a s.h.i.+lling . . . If I suffer by your neglect, you shall not benefit by the money of one who wishes to be your friend."35 Overseer William Stuart suffered a similar drubbing for his failure to plow as soon as the October rains had ceased. Overseer William Stuart suffered a similar drubbing for his failure to plow as soon as the October rains had ceased.

Was.h.i.+ngton chastised overseer Thomas Green for failing to perform work at the Dogue Run barn. "I know full well," Was.h.i.+ngton told him, "that to speak to you is of no more avail than to speak to a bird that is flying over one's head; first, because you are lost to all sense of shame and to every feeling that ought to govern an honest man, who sets any store by his character; and, secondly, because you have no more command of the people over whom you are placed than I have over the beasts of the forests." If Green did not shape up, Was.h.i.+ngton threatened to "discharge you that mom[en]t and to dispossess your family of the house they are in, for I cannot, nor will not, submit to such infamous treatment as I meet with from you."36 After instructing overseer John Christian Ehlers on how to graft fruit and plant trees properly, Was.h.i.+ngton administered a stern lecture on the evils of alcohol: "I shall not close this letter without exhorting you to refrain from spirituous liquors. They will prove your ruin if you do not. Consider how little a drunken man differs from a beast; the latter is not endowed with reason, the former deprives himself of it; and when that is the case acts like a brute, annoying and disturbing everyone around him . . . Don't let this be your case." Then, punning harshly on Ehlers's middle name, Was.h.i.+ngton concluded, "Show yourself more of a man and a Christian than to yield to so intolerable a vice."37 The stress of managing Mount Vernon had finally become so draining for Was.h.i.+ngton that he wanted to free himself of the burden of supervising overseers and slaves. Since he contemplated stepping down as president in a year, his mind already dwelt on retirement, and he felt oppressed by a surplus of both slaves and white indentured servants. So he concocted an ambitious plan to rent out four of the Mount Vernon farms to four capable English farmers, retaining only the Mansion House farm for himself. In expounding this rental scheme to Tobias Lear, Was.h.i.+ngton admitted candidly that his motive was "that the remainder of my days may thereby be more tranquil and freer from cares; and that I may be enabled . . . to do as much good with it as the resource will admit. For although in the estimation of the world I possess a good and clear estate, yet, so unproductive is it, that I am oftentimes ashamed to refuse aids which I cannot afford, unless I was to sell part of it to answer the purpose."38 The cash-strapped Was.h.i.+ngton knew that the world reckoned him a much richer man than he really was. Mount Vernon's glorified facade of wealth and grandeur covered up an operation that was, at best, only marginally profitable. Running the estate forced Was.h.i.+ngton to keep up appearances and act with the openhanded largesse of an affluent planter. He still felt hounded by visitors stopping by Mount Vernon and partaking liberally of his food and drink. (In one letter, he expressed exasperation with f.a.n.n.y for giving away dozens of bottles of expensive wine to voyeuristic travelers and listed only three cla.s.ses of people who deserved those coveted bottles: close friends, foreign dignitaries, and members of Congress and other politicos.) Part of Was.h.i.+ngton's plan called for raising cash by selling more than thirty thousand acres of western land at a time when prices were appreciating sharply.

To help find suitable English farmers, Was.h.i.+ngton turned to the English agronomist Arthur Young, summarizing for him the riches of the four farms in question, which then had 3,260 acres of arable land, 54 draft horses, 12 working mules, 317 head of black cattle, and hogs that "run pretty much at large in the woodland."39 Was.h.i.+ngton had no qualms about touting the proximity of the farms to the federal capital rising nearby. "The federal city in the year 1800 will become the seat of the general government of the United States. It is increasing fast in buildings and rising into consequence and will, I have no doubt . . . become the emporium of the United States." Was.h.i.+ngton had no qualms about touting the proximity of the farms to the federal capital rising nearby. "The federal city in the year 1800 will become the seat of the general government of the United States. It is increasing fast in buildings and rising into consequence and will, I have no doubt . . . become the emporium of the United States."40 Was.h.i.+ngton's rental plan gave him yet another economic incentive to accelerate the dilatory pace of construction of the new capital. Was.h.i.+ngton's rental plan gave him yet another economic incentive to accelerate the dilatory pace of construction of the new capital.

The most momentous aspect of the plan concerned the destiny of the 170 to 180 slaves confined on the four farms. It was Was.h.i.+ngton's fervent hope that the new owner would free the slaves and then rehire them "as he would do any other laborers which his necessity w[oul]d require him to employ."41 Emanc.i.p.ating slaves was a startling innovation for any major Virginia planter to contemplate, especially if he was president of the United States. The scheme harked back to the plan that Lafayette had proposed for his experimental farm in French Guiana. In disclosing the idea to Lear, Was.h.i.+ngton explained that he had a motive "more powerful than all the rest, namely to liberate a certain species of property which I possess, very repugnantly to my own feelings, but which imperious necessity compels." Emanc.i.p.ating slaves was a startling innovation for any major Virginia planter to contemplate, especially if he was president of the United States. The scheme harked back to the plan that Lafayette had proposed for his experimental farm in French Guiana. In disclosing the idea to Lear, Was.h.i.+ngton explained that he had a motive "more powerful than all the rest, namely to liberate a certain species of property which I possess, very repugnantly to my own feelings, but which imperious necessity compels."42 From the timing of his decision, one suspects that Was.h.i.+ngton's disgust with slavery owed something to pure principle but also much to the pure fatigue of trying to wrest profits from an intractable workforce held in bondage. The realistic and idealistic sides of George Was.h.i.+ngton both conspired to rebel against the peculiar inst.i.tution. Interestingly enough, when he mentioned possible obstacles to his plan, he talked of the difficulty of mingling white workers with black, but he never mentioned a far more glaring problem: a political backlash in the South against such a courageous move by the country's foremost citizen.

As always, Was.h.i.+ngton had manifold reasons for his actions, and his response to slavery was shaped by a complex blend of impulses. On November 23, 1794, he wrote a revealing letter to his nephew Alexander Spotswood that dealt with his views on slavery-a subject, Was.h.i.+ngton admitted, that "I do not like to even think, much less talk of."43 Was.h.i.+ngton suggested that the main hindrance to emanc.i.p.ating his slaves related to his fear of auctioning them off indiscriminately and breaking up families: "Were it not, then, that I am principled ag[ains]t selling Negroes, as you would cattle in the market, I would not, in twelve months from this date, be possessed of one as a slave." Was.h.i.+ngton suggested that the main hindrance to emanc.i.p.ating his slaves related to his fear of auctioning them off indiscriminately and breaking up families: "Were it not, then, that I am principled ag[ains]t selling Negroes, as you would cattle in the market, I would not, in twelve months from this date, be possessed of one as a slave."44 He went on to say that he feared trouble might be brewing with the slave population and that a day of reckoning might soon be at hand: "I shall be happily mistaken if they are not found to be a very troublesome species of property 'ere many years pa.s.s over our heads." He went on to say that he feared trouble might be brewing with the slave population and that a day of reckoning might soon be at hand: "I shall be happily mistaken if they are not found to be a very troublesome species of property 'ere many years pa.s.s over our heads."45 The anxious foreboding about slave revolts was immeasurably heightened by the ma.s.sive slave revolt in the French colony of St. Domingue (modern-day Haiti), led by Toussaint Louverture starting in August 1791. This, the largest slave revolt in history, had led to thousands of deaths among rebel slaves and white masters, fomenting hysterical fears among American planters. When Charles Pinckney worried about the impact of these events on southern slaves, Was.h.i.+ngton shared his alarm: "I feel sincerely those sentiments of sympathy which you so properly express for the distresses of our suffering brethren [the slave owners] in that quarter and deplore their causes."46 It seemed a terrifyingly vivid realization of the nightmares of slaveholders who feared the hatred that simmered deep inside their slaves. In response, Virginia enacted more stringent rules against slave gatherings as well as an "act against divulgers of false news." It seemed a terrifyingly vivid realization of the nightmares of slaveholders who feared the hatred that simmered deep inside their slaves. In response, Virginia enacted more stringent rules against slave gatherings as well as an "act against divulgers of false news."47 President Was.h.i.+ngton extended money and arms to the French government to combat the insurrection and also made a personal donation of $250 to relieve the affected white colonists. By July 1793 thousands of white refugees from St. Domingue had streamed into American ports, where they retailed hideous tales of rape and ma.s.s killings by enraged slaves. That month Thomas Jefferson wrote to James Monroe, saying that the situation of these fugitive planters "calls aloud for pity and charity. Never was so deep a tragedy presented to the feelings of man Never was so deep a tragedy presented to the feelings of man . . . I become daily more convinced that all the West India islands will remain in the hands of the people of color and a total expulsion of the whites sooner or later take place. It is high time we should foresee the b.l.o.o.d.y scenes which our children certainly and possibly ourselves (south of Potomac) will have to wade through and try to avert them." . . . I become daily more convinced that all the West India islands will remain in the hands of the people of color and a total expulsion of the whites sooner or later take place. It is high time we should foresee the b.l.o.o.d.y scenes which our children certainly and possibly ourselves (south of Potomac) will have to wade through and try to avert them."48 In February 1794 France decided to free the slaves in its empire, partly to hold on to St. Domingue by appeasing the agitated black population. Was.h.i.+ngton's comments to Alexander Spotswood must be set against the backdrop of the slave revolt in St. Domingue and the conviction of many southern planters, reflected in Jefferson's comment, that it was only a matter of time before American slaves took matters into their own hands, rebelling in b.l.o.o.d.y wrath against their masters. In February 1794 France decided to free the slaves in its empire, partly to hold on to St. Domingue by appeasing the agitated black population. Was.h.i.+ngton's comments to Alexander Spotswood must be set against the backdrop of the slave revolt in St. Domingue and the conviction of many southern planters, reflected in Jefferson's comment, that it was only a matter of time before American slaves took matters into their own hands, rebelling in b.l.o.o.d.y wrath against their masters.

CHAPTER FIFTY-EIGHT.

Hercules in the Field THE WINTER OF 1793-94 was a cold and dreary one in Philadelphia; the Delaware River was so choked with ice floes that vessels could not navigate. After the yellow fever epidemic, the capital remained a ghostly place, with the usual diversions of theater and dancing still temporarily taboo. "We have been very dull here all winter," wrote Martha Was.h.i.+ngton, lapsing into the general funk. "There has been two a.s.semblies and it is said that the players are to be here soon. If they come and open the new theater, I suppose it will make a very great change."1 On December 31, 1793, Thomas Jefferson resigned as secretary of state, thereby liberating himself from the intolerable company of Alexander Hamilton. For all their p.r.o.nounced differences, Was.h.i.+ngton and Jefferson had experienced parallel frustrations with public service. Both men gave the impression of serving under duress, yearned to regain the domestic pleasures of their plantations, and disclaimed political ambition, however dubious that notion seemed to impartial observers. A worn-out Jefferson could not wait to return to the repose of Monticello, telling one correspondent in late November, "I hope to spend the remainder of my days in occupations infinitely more pleasing than those to which I have sacrificed 18 years of the prime of my life."2 Since the political animosity toward him had spilled over into Federalist-dominated high society, he wished to retire "from the hated occupations of politics and sink into the bosom of my family, my farm, and my books." Since the political animosity toward him had spilled over into Federalist-dominated high society, he wished to retire "from the hated occupations of politics and sink into the bosom of my family, my farm, and my books."3 In a parting shot as secretary of state, Jefferson proposed to Congress a series of trade restrictions designed to throttle commerce with Great Britain. In Hamilton's scornful opinion, Jefferson "threw this firebrand of discord" on congressional desks "and instantly decamped to Monticello." In a parting shot as secretary of state, Jefferson proposed to Congress a series of trade restrictions designed to throttle commerce with Great Britain. In Hamilton's scornful opinion, Jefferson "threw this firebrand of discord" on congressional desks "and instantly decamped to Monticello."4 Outwardly, Was.h.i.+ngton's parting with Jefferson was amicable enough, and he sent him a civil farewell letter, but privately he felt that Jefferson had betrayed him by deserting him at a troubling moment in foreign affairs. Outwardly, Was.h.i.+ngton's parting with Jefferson was amicable enough, and he sent him a civil farewell letter, but privately he felt that Jefferson had betrayed him by deserting him at a troubling moment in foreign affairs.

Jefferson's preferred self-image was that of a bookish, unworldly fellow, more at home with intellectual pursuits than in the hurly-burly of politics. Once back at Monticello, he presented himself as a monkish stranger to all political striving, as if it were a youthful folly he had outgrown. "The little spice of ambition, which I had in my younger days," he told Madison, "has long since evaporated . . . The question is forever closed to me."5 To less friendly observers, however, the matter was far from closed. As early as 1792 Hamilton claimed to penetrate the secret workings of Jefferson's mind and discover it was worm-eaten with ambition: " 'Tis evident beyond a question, from every movement, that Mr. Jefferson aims with ardent desire at the presidential chair." To less friendly observers, however, the matter was far from closed. As early as 1792 Hamilton claimed to penetrate the secret workings of Jefferson's mind and discover it was worm-eaten with ambition: " 'Tis evident beyond a question, from every movement, that Mr. Jefferson aims with ardent desire at the presidential chair."6 He interpreted Jefferson's withdrawal from the scene as a temporary maneuver until the time had ripened for his triumphant return. Similarly, John Adams dismissed gruffly Jefferson's pose of philosophical detachment, declaring upon the latter's exit from Philadelphia: "A good riddance of bad ware . . . He is as ambitious as Oliver Cromwell . . . His soul is poisoned with ambition." He interpreted Jefferson's withdrawal from the scene as a temporary maneuver until the time had ripened for his triumphant return. Similarly, John Adams dismissed gruffly Jefferson's pose of philosophical detachment, declaring upon the latter's exit from Philadelphia: "A good riddance of bad ware . . . He is as ambitious as Oliver Cromwell . . . His soul is poisoned with ambition."7 For Adams, Jefferson's resignation was a calculated first step in a determined campaign for the presidency. "The whole anti-Federal party at that time considered this retirement as a sure and certain step towards the summit of the pyramid," he said in later life. For Adams, Jefferson's resignation was a calculated first step in a determined campaign for the presidency. "The whole anti-Federal party at that time considered this retirement as a sure and certain step towards the summit of the pyramid," he said in later life.8 As he observed tartly, "Political plants grow in the shade." As he observed tartly, "Political plants grow in the shade."9 At first Jefferson professed sublime indifference to politics. "I live on my horse from morning to night," he declared to Henry Knox. "I rarely look into a book or take up a pen. I have proscribed newspapers."10 In departing from office, Jefferson maintained that his political activity would henceforth be restricted to his hobbyhorse, "the shameless corruption of a portion" of Congress and "their implicit devotion to the treasury." In departing from office, Jefferson maintained that his political activity would henceforth be restricted to his hobbyhorse, "the shameless corruption of a portion" of Congress and "their implicit devotion to the treasury."11 But when asked whether Was.h.i.+ngton was "governed by British influence," Jefferson supposedly replied, facetiously, that no danger existed so long as Was.h.i.+ngton "was influenced by the wise advisers or advice, which [he] at present had." But when asked whether Was.h.i.+ngton was "governed by British influence," Jefferson supposedly replied, facetiously, that no danger existed so long as Was.h.i.+ngton "was influenced by the wise advisers or advice, which [he] at present had."12 When Governor Henry Lee told him about this patent gibe that he was biased toward Britain and hoodwinked by Hamilton's malevolent influence, Was.h.i.+ngton reacted with fury. Jefferson could not honestly accuse him of such bias, he retorted, unless "he has set me down as one of the most deceitful and uncandid men living," because Jefferson had heard him "express very different sentiments with an energy that could not be mistaken by When Governor Henry Lee told him about this patent gibe that he was biased toward Britain and hoodwinked by Hamilton's malevolent influence, Was.h.i.+ngton reacted with fury. Jefferson could not honestly accuse him of such bias, he retorted, unless "he has set me down as one of the most deceitful and uncandid men living," because Jefferson had heard him "express very different sentiments with an energy that could not be mistaken by anyone anyone present." present."13 Two years later, hotly rejecting the accusation of being a "party man," Was.h.i.+ngton insisted to Jefferson that he had ruled against Hamilton in the cabinet as often as he had sided with him. Two years later, hotly rejecting the accusation of being a "party man," Was.h.i.+ngton insisted to Jefferson that he had ruled against Hamilton in the cabinet as often as he had sided with him.14 After leaving office, Jefferson was demoted to a lower rung in Was.h.i.+ngton's ever-s.h.i.+fting hierarchy of relations.h.i.+ps. Their correspondence, however friendly, centered on mundane matters, such as crops and seeds, and Was.h.i.+ngton never again sought him out for policy advice. He dropped the salutation "My dear Sir" in favor of the cooler "Dear Sir." Thus did the subtle Was.h.i.+ngton consign ex-colleagues to slow oblivion. If Was.h.i.+ngton suspected that Jefferson belonged to a cabal against him, Jefferson was no less insistent that "federal monarchists" had captured the president's ear in order to vilify him, Jefferson, as a "theorist, holding French principles of government, which would lead infallibly to licentiousness and anarchy."15 For someone as cordial as Was.h.i.+ngton, the avoidance of meetings with an old friend underlined the true depth of his hostility toward Jefferson. For someone as cordial as Was.h.i.+ngton, the avoidance of meetings with an old friend underlined the true depth of his hostility toward Jefferson.

We are accustomed to viewing the founding era as endowed with an inexhaustible supply of superlatively able men available for public service. But once the most gifted public servants-Jefferson, Hamilton, Adams, Madison, and Jay-were already accounted for, Was.h.i.+ngton, like many later presidents, had a fiendishly hard time finding replacements for his sterling first-term cabinet and turned by default to comparative mediocrities. Moreover, some worthy figures weren't prepared to make the financial sacrifice that accompanied public office. To perpetuate some modic.u.m of geographic and political diversity, Was.h.i.+ngton tapped Edmund Randolph as his new secretary of state and brought in a Federalist, William Bradford of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court, to replace him as attorney general. Nevertheless Randolph fell woefully short of Jefferson's intellectual standard and was viewed in Republican quarters as an unreliable partner. His shortcomings tilted the cabinet's power balance decisively toward Hamilton, giving a far more Federalist tint to Was.h.i.+ngton's second term. Both Hamilton and Knox had promised to stay on until the end of 1794; Hamilton's stature was only enhanced after a second House inquiry into his conduct granted him a full vindication in May 1794.

One of the first challenges for the new team was to figure out how to deal with the lawless North African, or "Barbary," states-Algiers, Tripoli, and Tunis-which plundered foreign vessels in the Mediterranean and enslaved their crews. Many European powers had grown resigned to paying "tribute"-a polite word for ransom money-to win the release of their crews. As American crews succ.u.mbed to these pirates and were threatened with forced conversion to Islam, Was.h.i.+ngton was offended by the need to pay bribes, especially after Algiers seized eleven American merchant s.h.i.+ps and a hundred prisoners. Reluctantly, he authorized the payment of money to Algiers and even tried to negotiate a treaty of amity and commerce with the city-state, but he thought the time had come to back up American diplomacy with military might. In March 1794 Congress approved a proposal, backed by Was.h.i.+ngton and Knox, to build six frigates "adequate for the protection of the commerce of the U.S. against Algerian corsairs."16 This action officially inaugurated the U.S. Navy, although it would take four more years before a separate Navy Department was born. While the six frigates represented a landmark in Was.h.i.+ngton's plan to foster a professional military, he never neglected diplomacy and wrested treaties from both Morocco and Algiers. This action officially inaugurated the U.S. Navy, although it would take four more years before a separate Navy Department was born. While the six frigates represented a landmark in Was.h.i.+ngton's plan to foster a professional military, he never neglected diplomacy and wrested treaties from both Morocco and Algiers.

Another foreign policy crisis arose from the swelling casualties sp.a.w.ned by the French Revolution and the concomitant European turmoil. Supported by his cabinet, Was.h.i.+ngton made a private overture to the king of Prussia, asking him to release Lafayette as a gesture of friends.h.i.+p toward America. Although Was.h.i.+ngton failed to win his freedom, the king eased the shockingly bad conditions of Lafayette's confinement and allowed him books, fresh air, and more appetizing food. The respite, alas, was brief. Lafayette was soon transferred to the Austrian authorities, who shut him up in a filthy, fly-infested cell in Olmutz, where he lay in chains and ragged clothing. After Lafayette's wife was arrested in France, Gouverneur Morris interceded on her behalf, leading Robespierre to spare her from the guillotine, but her mother, sister, and grandmother wound up as victims of the Terror.

In April 1793 the French government had established the Committee of Public Safety, giving it sweeping powers to arrest people for treason and try them under its jurisdiction; by September a Reign of Terror ensued that would claim as many as forty thousand lives.17 As an eyewitness to the bloodletting, Gouverneur Morris provided Was.h.i.+ngton with a running commentary on the atrocities. "The Queen was executed the day before yesterday," he wrote of Marie-Antoinette that October. "Insulted during her trial and reviled in her last moments"-she had been taken through the streets of Paris in an open cart to the guillotine-"she behav'd with dignity throughout." As an eyewitness to the bloodletting, Gouverneur Morris provided Was.h.i.+ngton with a running commentary on the atrocities. "The Queen was executed the day before yesterday," he wrote of Marie-Antoinette that October. "Insulted during her trial and reviled in her last moments"-she had been taken through the streets of Paris in an open cart to the guillotine-"she behav'd with dignity throughout."18 The perceptive Morris saw that the violence was no incidental by-product of the revolution but fundamental to its spirit. As he put it in lapidary prose, "In the groves [of the revolution], at every end of every vista, you see nothing but gallows." The perceptive Morris saw that the violence was no incidental by-product of the revolution but fundamental to its spirit. As he put it in lapidary prose, "In the groves [of the revolution], at every end of every vista, you see nothing but gallows."19 An essential difference between the American and French revolutions was that the American version allowed a search for many truths, while French zealots tried to impose a single sacred truth that allowed no deviation. An essential difference between the American and French revolutions was that the American version allowed a search for many truths, while French zealots tried to impose a single sacred truth that allowed no deviation.

By July 1794 the revolutionary tribunal in Paris accelerated the tempo of its trials and issued nine hundred death sentences per month.20 Many victims of the Terror had been stalwart friends of the American Revolution. Pulled from his quarters in the middle of the night, Thomas Paine had been tossed into prison and stayed there for months. From Paris, James Monroe, who replaced Gouverneur Morris as American minister, informed Madison that Paine was loudly blaming Was.h.i.+ngton for his predicament: "He thinks the president winked at his imprisonment and wished he might die in gaol, and bears his resentment for it; also he is preparing an attack upon him of the most virulent kind." Many victims of the Terror had been stalwart friends of the American Revolution. Pulled from his quarters in the middle of the night, Thomas Paine had been tossed into prison and stayed there for months. From Paris, James Monroe, who replaced Gouverneur Morris as American minister, informed Madison that Paine was loudly blaming Was.h.i.+ngton for his predicament: "He thinks the president winked at his imprisonment and wished he might die in gaol, and bears his resentment for it; also he is preparing an attack upon him of the most virulent kind."21 Whatever displeasure Was.h.i.+ngton might have felt toward Paine, there is no evidence that he wanted him either abused or incarcerated. Whatever displeasure Was.h.i.+ngton might have felt toward Paine, there is no evidence that he wanted him either abused or incarcerated.

Many Frenchmen who had admired or even partic.i.p.ated in the American Revolution were casualties of its b.l.o.o.d.y Gallic sequel. After testifying in favor of Marie-Antoinette, the former Count d'Estaing was beheaded. The erstwhile Count de Rochambeau, locked up in the Conciergerie in Paris, was condemned to the guillotine and survived only because Robespierre fell from power as he was about to be decapitated. The ma.s.sacre of French aristocrats widened the rift between Federalists, who feared that France would export anarchy, and Republicans, who cheered the radical spirit of events in Paris, whatever their unfortunate excesses.

At the same time that France was testing American patience, England, at war with France, was straining Anglo-American relations as never before. Starting in June 1793, the British government directed the Royal Navy to intercept neutral s.h.i.+ps bearing foodstuffs destined for French ports and seize their cargo; five months later the policy was briefly expanded into a total blockade of the French West Indies. In short order, British wars.h.i.+ps stopped and seized 250 American s.h.i.+ps, confiscating their wares. At the same time, to boost manpower in the depleted Royal Navy, captains grabbed British deserters aboard American s.h.i.+ps-a practice known as "impressment"-accidentally tangling in their nets many innocent Americans. These high-handed maneuvers summoned up old memories of British arrogance and precipitated a political firestorm. Even Federalists waxed indignant that England was pursuing a counterproductive policy that would feed sympathy for France, foster a vengeful mood toward England, and threaten the neutrality proclamation.

Having authorized a new navy, Federalist leaders in Congress worked to marshal support for a 25,000-man army to deal with any foreign threats that materialized. They made plans to fortify harbors and, to combat the old bugaboo of a standing army, mobilize militiamen on short notice. For Republicans, such measures raised the specter of an oppressive military establishment that might be directed against homegrown dissidents. Those who deemed George Was.h.i.+ngton an uncritical admirer of Great Britain would have been surprised by the venomous letters he wrote that spring. In one, he mocked those "who affect to believe that Great Britain has no hostile intention towards this country" and insisted that its political conduct "has worn a very hostile appearance latterly."22 He was convinced that Britain was inciting Indian nations against America and angling to alter the U.S.-Canadian border in Britain's favor. He was convinced that Britain was inciting Indian nations against America and angling to alter the U.S.-Canadian border in Britain's favor.

The impression grew among Federalists that it would be wise to dispatch a special envoy to London to avert war, maintain trade, seek reparations for plundered s.h.i.+ps, and settle outstanding disputes, including many lingering from the end of the war, such as Britain's failure to evacuate forts in the northwest. Among other things, Was.h.i.+ngton wanted to forestall any trade sanctions against England in the Congress. When Hamilton's name surfaced as the Federalists' first choice for the new envoy, Was.h.i.+ngton seriously considered it until Republicans protested that Hamilton, a patent Anglophile, would lack all credibility at home. Was.h.i.+ngton was swayed by this objection, especially after Hamilton removed himself from consideration and pushed forward Chief Justice Jay as an ideal subst.i.tute. To Republican eyes, the Anglophile Jay was hardly free of sin; indeed, Madison whispered in Was.h.i.+ngton's ear that Jay was a secret monarchist. But Was.h.i.+ngton proceeded with the appointment. The choice of Jay, less controversial than Hamilton, still caused an enormous uproar among government critics, and Madison affirmed that it was "the most powerful blow ever suffered by the popularity of the president."23 For Was.h.i.+ngton, negotiation with England seemed the only alternative to outright war, and he stuck courageously by his decision to display Jay. For Was.h.i.+ngton, negotiation with England seemed the only alternative to outright war, and he stuck courageously by his decision to display Jay.

During his diplomatic mission Jay remained as chief justice, which struck some observers as unconst.i.tutional. At the very least it softened the lines between the executive and judicial branches-lines that Jay himself had tried to sharpen. As Senator Aaron Burr argued, the decision created the prospect of the executive branch exercising a "mischievous and impolitic" influence over the judiciary.24 Was.h.i.+ngton was agile in making appointments, and to make the choice of Jay more palatable, he shrewdly juggled political forces. To mollify Republicans, he recalled Gouverneur Morris from France, sending in his stead the Francophile senator James Monroe. Hamilton's influence had not been entirely neutralized, for when Jay sailed to England on May 12, 1794, applauded by a thousand bystanders on the New York docks, the instructions he carried bore Hamilton's imprint. Among other things, Jay would enjoy the leeway to negotiate a full-fledged commercial treaty, should the English prove amenable-something that was anathema to the Republicans. In his own instructions to Jay, Was.h.i.+ngton breathed fire against English intransigence. Of the British surrender of the frontier posts, he said: "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 G[reat] Britain long if the posts are not surrendered." Was.h.i.+ngton was agile in making appointments, and to make the choice of Jay more palatable, he shrewdly juggled political forces. To mollify Republicans, he recalled Gouverneur Morris from France, sending in his stead the Francophile senator James Monroe. Hamilton's influence had not been entirely neutralized, for when Jay sailed to England on May 12, 1794, applauded by a thousand bystanders on the New York docks, the instructions he carried bore Hamilton's imprint. Among other things, Jay would enjoy the leeway to negotiate a full-fledged commercial treaty, should the English prove amenable-something that was anathema to the Republicans. In his own instructions to Jay, Was.h.i.+ngton breathed fire against English intransigence. Of the British surrender of the frontier posts, he said: "I will undertake, without the gift of prophecy, to predict that it will be impossible