X. to the imitation of his successors by both houses of Con- CHAPTER gress, and by the voice of the Legislatures, and of the people throughout the nation. "On this subject it might become me better to be silent, or to speak with diffidence; but as something may be expected, the occasion, I hope, will be admitted as an apology if I venture to say that, if a preference upon principle, of a free republican government, formed upon. long and serious reflection, after a diligent and impartial inquiry after truth; if an attachment to the Constitution of the United States, and a conscientious determination to support it until it shall be altered by the judgment and wishes of the people, expressed in the mode prescribed in it; if a respectful attention to the Constitutions of the individual states, and a constant caution and delicacy toward the state governments; if an equal and impartial regard to the rights, interests, honor, and happiness of all the states in the Union, without preference or regard to a northern or southern, an eastern or western position, their various political opinions on unessential points, or their personal attachments; if a love of virtuous men of all parties and denominations; if a love of science and letters, and a wish to patronize every rational effort to encourage schools, colleges, universities, academies, and every institution for propagating knowledge, virtue, and religion among all classes of the people, not only for their benign influence on the happiness of life in all its stages and classes, and of society in all its forms, but as the only means of preserving our Constitution from its natural enemies, the spirit of sophistry, the spirit of party, the spirit of intrigue, the profligacy of corruption, and the pestilence of foreign influence, which is the angel of destruction to elective governments; if a love of equal laws, of justice and humanity 1797. CHAPTER in the interior administration; if an inclination to im X. prove agriculture, commerce, and manufactures for ne1797. cessity, convenience, and defense; if a spirit of equity. and humanity toward the aboriginal nations of America, and a disposition to meliorate their condition by inclining them to be more friendly to us, and our citizens to be more friendly to them; if an inflexible determination to maintain peace and inviolable faith with all nations, and that system of neutrality and impartiality among the belligerent powers of Europe which has been adopted by this government, and so solemnly sanctioned by both houses of Congress, and applauded by the Legislatures of the states and the public opinion, until it shall be otherwise ordained by Congress; if a personal esteem for the French nation, formed in a residence of seven years chiefly among them, and a sincere desire to preserve the friendship which has been so much for the honor and interest of both nations; if, while the conscious honor and integrity of the people of America, and the internal sentiment of their own power and energies must be preserved, an earnest endeavor to investigate every just cause, and remove every colorable pretense of complaint; if an intention to pursue by amicable negotiation a reparation for the injuries that have been committed on the commerce of our fellow-citizens, by whatever nation, and if success can not be obtained, to lay the facts before the Legislature, that they may consider what further measures the honor and interest of the government and its constituents demand; if a resolution to do justice, as far as may depend upon me, at all times and to all nations, and to maintain peace, friendship, and benevolence with all the world; if an unshaken confidence in the honor, spirit, and resources of the American people, on which I have so often hazarded my all, and never been deceived; if elevated ideas X. of the high destinies of this country, and of my own du- CHAPTER ties toward it, founded on a knowledge of the moral principles and intellectual improvements of the people, deeply 1797. engraven on my mind in early life, and not obscured, but exalted by experience and age; and with humble reverence I feel it to be my duty to add, if a veneration for the religion of a people who profess and call themselves Christians, and a fixed resolution to consider a decent respect for Christianity among the best recommendations for the public service, can enable me in any degree to comply with your wishes, it shall be my strenuous endeavor that this sagacious injunction of the two houses shall not be without effect. "With this great example before me, with the sense and spirit, the faith and honor, the duty and interest of the same American people, pledged to support the Constitution of the United States, I entertain no doubt of its continuance in all its energy, and my mind is prepared, without hesitation, to lay myself under the most solemn obligations to support it to the utmost of my power. "And may that Being who is supreme over all, the Patron of order, the Fountain of justice, and the Protector, in all ages of the world, of virtuous liberty, continue his blessing upon this nation and its government, and give it all possible success and duration consistent with the ends of his Providence!" This elaborate address, as we learn by a letter of Adams to his wife, was intended as "an appeal to foreign nations and posterity," "so strangely used as he had been, so hated and so undefended." Yet it seems also to have been an appeal to the present, a disavowal of the anti-Republican doctrines which had been so freely imputed to him during the late presidential canvass, and a X. CHAPTER holding out to the opposition of the hand of reconciliation by way of public answer to the private overtures al1797. ready made to him by some of the leaders. Adams's profession of respect and veneration for the Christian religion, though no doubt perfectly sincere on his part, had yet much the appearance of a reflection on Jefferson. That, however, was a delicate point, since Adams's own opinions, verging closely on Socinianism, might seem to many almost as objectionable as the freethinking of which Jefferson was accused. The allusions to Washington drew out floods of tears, rather too copiously, indeed, for the jealous temper of Adams, who seems, from the same letter already quoted, to have entertained some disagreeable doubts whether those tears might not be as much for his accession as for Washington's retirement. The speech ended, the oath was energetically administered by the chief justice, and as energetically repeated by Adams. This ceremony over, the new president took his seat, but rose shortly after, bowed to all around, and retired. He was soon followed by the vice-president, not, however, without ceremonious efforts on his part to induce Washington to take the precedence. This was the last time that Jefferson and Washington ever met, As Washington followed the vice-president, the shouts were redoubled both in and out of the House. He was sumptuously entertained that same evening by the merchants and other citizens of Philadelphia, and having been the first person to pay his respects to the new president, by waiting upon him at his own house, he departed a few days after for Mount Vernon, receiving on his way every mark of attention and regard. This homage to Washington, and the strong hold he still maintained on the affections of the American peo X. ple, were gall and wormwood to the Aurora and the more CHAPTER furious Democrats. Indeed, the open countenance and support which the Aurora received from Jefferson and 1797. other leaders of the Republican party, made them, in a certain degree at least, the endorsers of its sentiments.. The following communication, dated on the day of Adams's inauguration-believed to be from the pen of Dr. Michael Leib, a member of the Pennsylvania Assembly, whose maiden speech the year before had called out from Jefferson, in a letter to Giles, warm congratulations that "honest republicanism" had made such an acquisition, and expressions of high hopes from a career which began on such elevated ground-appeared in that paper of the sixth of March: "Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace, for mine eyes have seen thy salvation,' was the pious ejaculation of a man who beheld a flood of happiness rushing in upon mankind. If ever there. was a time which would license the reiteration of this exclamation"-so wrote this correspondent of the Aurora "that time is now arrived, for the man who is the source of all the misfortunes of our country is this day reduced to a level with his fellow-citizens, and is no longer possessed of power to multiply evils upon the United States. If ever there was a period for rejoicing, this is the moment. Every heart in unison with the freedom and happiness of the people ought to beat high with exultation that the name of Washington from this day ceases to give a currency to political iniquity and to legalized corruption. A new era is now opening upon us -an era which promises much to the people, for public measures must now stand upon their own merits, and nefarious projects can no longer be supported by a name. When a retrospect is taken of the Washingtonian administration for eight years, it is a subject of the great |