Even while Death had the great soldier by the throat, choking his life out with frightful cruelty, the precious old Federalist clique was planning to run Washington again for the presidency in order that they might remain in the high places from which the people were about to cast them!

CHAPTER XXXVII

ADAMS AS PRESIDENT

So rapid had been the growth of opposition to the policies of Washington's administration that it was only by what Hamilton called "a kind of miracle" that he did not receive his rebuke at the next election. Had Thomas Jefferson been our sec ond President, owing his success, as he would have done, to his disapproval of the Federalist measures, history would have been compelled to say that Washington retired from office under a vote of cen

sure.

Aided by all the advantages of patronage, position, and Washington's overshadowing influence, John Adams defeated Thomas Jefferson by only three votes, and these were due to some accidental circumstances.

A more pathetic figure than Adams during the four years of his presidency has seldom been seen in that high office.

An approved patriot, a man of great ability and experience, he entered upon his duties heavily handicapped by his surroundings and by the infirmities of his own character. Mr. Adams was

learned, honest, and capable, but his vanity, jealousy, and irritability amounted almost to monomania. His situation was even worse than his temper, for the election had shown that he was practically the President of a minority. To make his lot peculiarly wretched, this minority was factious. It worshiped three gods, the least of whom was Adams. Washington first, Hamilton second, Adams third and last, was the order in which Federalism bowed to its divinities.

Besides all this, Adams inherited the complications Washington had made, without succeeding to Washington's capacity to deal with them.

The woes of our second President began with his inauguration. On that day, when all rightminded people should have worshiped the rising sun, Adams, they had perversely prostrated themselves before Washington, the setting sun. Everybody had eyes and acclamations for Washington; few, indeed, paid proper attention to Adams. The ingoing President would have been more than human had he not been hurt; and being just human, he suffered.

This, however, was trivial and temporary; Washington would go to Mount Vernon, and Philadelphia would then belong to President Adams. Such would have been the case had not Adams himself ordered otherwise. Making the mistake which doomed him, he took Washington's Cabinet just as

he found it, thus saddling himself with councilors who had grown accustomed to the dictation of Hamilton.

Fastened in this way to policies and to advisers which he could not control, the President stumbled along from one defeat and humiliation to another, until he had turned his political friends into enemies, without having changed enemies into friends. For the first of his troubles Mr. Adams was not responsible.

President Washington had sent James Monroe on a mission to France, and had recalled him in disgrace.

Monroe was not the ablest of Virginians, but George Washington himself was not a truer, cleaner man. As a mere schoolboy James Monroe had run off to the war, had fought gallantly, had led the attack on the British in the streets of Trenton, and had got a bullet in his shoulder which he carried the remainder of his life. Monroe had served with the French, appreciated the help the French gave us at that crisis, and carried to France a lively recollection of the days when he and the French officers had gone into battle side by side to face British guns.

Gouverneur Morris had been our minister to France succeeding Jefferson, and Morris had given the republicans such offense that they insisted upon his recall.

Washington sent Monroe, after having tendered the place to others, who declined.

Monroe was young, and had not yet lost capacity for enthusiasm. Caught up in the whirlwind of democratic passion in Paris, the young Virginian's conduct was very different from that of the aristocrat, Gouverneur Morris.

The National Convention of France (which had just overthrown Robespierre and put an end to the Reign of Terror) gave Monroe a public reception. Overlooking Genet's treatment, making no references to the broken alliance of 1778, nor to our refusal to pay France some of the debt we owed her when her need was so great, the French National Convention greeted James Monroe with loud applause, and the President gave him the brotherly embrace.

The Convention decreed that the flags of the United States and of France should be intertwined; and, thus joined together, should be displayed in the hall of the Convention as a sign to all the world of the union and the eternal friendship of the two people of the sister republics!

Join the flags together; hang them in the hall where the universe can see; France is not ashamed nor afraid to let every monarchy in Europe know how her people love Americans and their republic!

Thus the voice of France! And this was at a