Gayoso, who was in command, had replied that the evacuation had been delayed for want of suitable vessels; but, on March 1, Carondelet himself had arrived and declared that the forts could not be given up until he should be informed from Madrid whether they were to be surrendered as they stood, or should be first dismantled.1

This was obviously a pretext, and the real reason of Spain's sudden anxiety to retain the forts soon appeared. England and Spain had declared war upon one another, and it was rumored that a British expedition was shortly to start from Canada, for the invasion of Louisiana. In September, Ellicott received from the Federal Government as precise information concerning this projected expedition as could be furnished under the circumstances. He was informed that the British plans included an attempt to join the West in alliance with England against Spain, and that Colonel William Blount, of Tennessee, had been convicted of complicity in the plot, and had (July 8, 1797) been expelled from the United States Senate, with only one dissenting voice.

The scheme, as matured, was that a British fleet should ascend the Mississippi, and coöperate with an army of four thousand frontiersmen, under the direction of Blount and Orr of Tennessee, Whitely of Kentucky, and certain others, among whom was a Captain Chesholm, vaguely referred to in the letter which had convicted Blount.3

The real object of England was doubtless to prevent the

1 Message of John Adams, June 12, 1797, published in "Kentucky Gazette," July 5, 1797.

2 Winsor's "Westward Movement," p. 568.

3 Copy of the letter from Blount to Carey, dated Colonel King's Iron Works, April 21, 1797, in G. S. Taft's "Senate Election Cases," pp. 76–77.

Kentucky-14

wily French minister, Talleyrand,' from consummating a plan for securing possession of Florida and Louisiana; but whatever it was, the United States did not consider it sufficient cause to justify Spain in refusing to live up to the terms of the recent Pinckney treaty. In December Ellicott's little force in Natchez was increased by a detachment of United States troops, a circumstance which convinced Gayoso, who, during the previous July, had succeeded Governor Carondelet, that the treaty was regarded as a finality by the United States, and that its provisions would be insisted upon, even at the cost of an open rupture with His Catholic Majesty. To that length Spain was not prepared to go. Orders were therefore issued for the evacuation of Natchez, Walnut Hills, and other posts north of the thirty-first meridian, and, after a further delay of several months, the Spanish troops marched out (March 30, 1798), leaving the forts intact." The American flag was raised over the region so long in dispute, and the pioneers of the West found themselves in the possession of the long coveted right of freely navigating the great River, which formed their only highway to the markets of the world.

1 "Kentucky Gazette," May 20, 1797. 2 Fuller's "Florida Purchase," p. 92.

CHAPTER VIII

THE KENTUCKY RESOLUTIONS OF 1798 AND 1799

IN March, 1797, John Adams found himself at the head of a nation, stirred by violent political excitement. On the one side were the Federalists, who, though broken by factions, were responsible for his election, on the other, the new Democratic-Republicans, who, having succeeded in electing Jefferson as Vice-President, recalled with bitterness that the rejection of four disputed votes would have placed their leader in the White House. The vast majority of the Kentucky people belonged to this new party, which had been saddled with the blame for the Whiskey Rebellion, the Jacobin Clubs, and the attempt to defeat the carrying out of Jay's treaty. In spite of repeated reverses, however, it had gradually increased in power, until it was now fully as strong as the Federalists, while it enjoyed the exceptional advantage of being led by a statesman, ever ready to profit by the mistakes of his opponents.

It is not our province to pass judgment upon the character of Thomas Jefferson, but as he chose to use the Kentucky Legislature for the accomplishment of his political ends, we must trace, in outline at least, the events in national affairs which gave him his opportunity.

As no absorbing subject of domestic policy at this time. presented itself, to serve as a battle ground between the two parties, foreign affairs continued to hold the atten

tion of both; and if we seek for the central fact of John Adams' administration we shall find it in the single word, France. Washington and Jay had, temporarily, settled the English question; but just so fast as our relations with that country improved, our relations with France and Napoleon grew worse. Jay's treaty had enraged France, and we must admit that her anger was not wholly unjust. She charged us with the willful violation of two solemn treaties, the first, of offensive and defensive alliance, the second, of friendship, navigation and commerce; and claimed that, far from keeping our sacred agreements, we had, without a word of notice to her, signed a treaty with her enemy, England, which placed that nation in a position of favor, denied to her.

This was, undoubtedly, a reasonable complaint, from the point of view of the French Directory, and they at once selected an heroic method of showing their displeasure. They passed a law which declared, in effect, that "as neutrals suffer themselves to be treated by England, so shall they be treated by France."

James Monroe, a follower of Jefferson, whom Washington had sent to France to soothe her anger, had shown his democratic spirit by exhibiting sympathy with France, and by listening to remarks such as no American, in governmental service, has a right to hear. Washington had, therefore, just before his retirement, recalled him, and sent Chas. C. Pinckney, of South Carolina, to take his place. France objected to the change, and refused to recognize Pinckney, or to receive his credentials, while, a little later, it was learned that she had gone so far as to threaten him with arrest if he remained in France. Here, then, was a critical condition of affairs, and war seemed unavoidable;

but Alexander Hamilton, the founder and genius of the Federalist party, was, as usual, ready with a solution. If war should be declared against France, he argued, without a strong effort at reconciliation, the Government would lose the support of a large body of the Republican party, whose tendency had always been to favor that country; and he therefore urged President Adams to appoint a commission of three men to be sent to France, with instructions to make an honorable settlement, if such were possible. Pinckney, John Marshall and Gerry, were accordingly selected, and departed upon this mission, upon the outcome of which peace or war was believed to depend.

As little hope of a peaceful adjustment was felt by the Federalist leaders, they considered it the part of wisdom to prepare for war; but the Republicans in Congress opposed all measures looking toward armament, and President Adams was almost in despair, when dispatches arrived from France which proved, to the satisfaction of the Administration, that the last hope of peace had failed.

Our ambassadors had been subjected to persistent and continued insult. Unofficial personages had been sent by Talleyrand (Minister for Foreign Affairs), to demand. that large sums of money be paid to the French Directory, before any official communication1 would be held with them, and to make other proposals equally insulting to the dignity and honor of a free nation."

Adams straightway declared that he saw no hope of a peaceful and honorable settlement with France. The Republicans, however, openly questioned the honesty of the

1 Compare article in "Kentucky Gazette," April 25, 1798.

• Detailed account of these insults, "Kentucky Gazette," May 2, 1798.