pretension to wear the crown as another. They must have peaceably arranged among themselves, who should be masters and who should be servants. A king would need dukes and lords to prop him up. Who were to be selected for such dignity, and who excluded? Who but Thomas Jefferson would impute to men, who certainly had some claim to common sense, and who had done all they could to establish republican liberty, the project of a peaceable arrangement of a monarchy.

Royalty by force, was a still more absurd project. The federalists must have had command of men and money. How were either to be obtained? The federalists had no money, wherewith to maintain a military force; and the people must have submitted to military exactions to have kept any force on foot, for a single week. Mr. Jefferson presumed too much on the credulity of his countrymen, in supposing that they would believe him; or he had been spoiled in finding that his assertions had been so long received by them as truths. The more probable solution is, that Mr. Jefferson's readiness to believe what he had hoped was true, had convinced him that it was true. He somewhere says, that an often asserted falsehood, comes at length to be a truth in the mind of him who asserts it.

Mr. Jefferson did no credit to his own book learning, of which he had a great deal, in assuming, that a republic can be converted into a monarchy, in either of the modes which he imputes to the federalists. He knew, or ought to have known, that republics have never changed into monarchies, but always into despotisms. He must have known that when despotism overwhelms this country, it will come by the usurpation of men, who can delude the multitude under the guise of being their friends. No man that has lived in the United States in the last fifty years, has done so much as Mr. Jefferson himself, to prepare the public mind for such usurpation. All the misrule which now afflicts this country, can be fairly traced to him. He may have been far enough, from any such design; but the effect is a sorrowful fact, as a large proportion of the thinking men of the country see with dismay. If there be, in the present chief magistrate, indications of a desire to exercise an absolute authority, he proposes to do it, in virtue of being the popular favorite. As such, his friends sustain him.

LETTER XXXVII.

JUNE 15, 1833.

The

THE Jeffersonian dominion began in the United States on the 4th of March, 1801. The opponents of the federal constitution had, (by means well known, that is, by all manner of appeals to popular prejudice,) been gaining strength. The same means persevered in, would, in another four years, have given the administration to them. experience of the last thirty years proves, that the majority of the American people can always be ruled by their friends. In other words, combinations of adroit men who want office, emolument, and distinction, and who consider all these to be only prizes to be gamed for, can always find the means of winning them. Those who have the principles and feelings of the founders of the government, by whatsoever name dintinguished, must content themselves with opposition to what they conscientiously believe to be destructive of the original purposes for which the government was instituted. This they must do, or prefer, as Mr. Jefferson "the says, "calm of despotism to the tempestuous sea of liberty," under very disagreeable masters.

When the votes were counted, it appeared that Mr. Jefferson had seventy-three, Aaron Burr, seventy-three, John Adams, sixty-five, C. C. Pinckney, sixty-four. As the constitution then was, two persons were to be voted for, both of whom could not be resident in the state in which the vote was given. The highest number of votes, being a majority of all the votes cast, made the President; the next highest, being a like majority, made the Vice President. Jefferson and Burr having an equal number, the choice devolved on the House of Representatives. Mr. Jefferson took care to have this" procedure corrected" by a change of the constitution before another election. The House vote, on such occasions, by states. If the number of representatives from a state was seven, a majority of this number constituted the vote of the state. If the number was equal, the vote of the state might be divided; but by a regulation adopted by the House, the vote was not lost in case of division, but was counted; though for neither party. From New Hampshire

there were four; from Massachusetts, fourteen; from Connecticut, seven; from Vermont, two; from Rhode Island, two; from New York, ten; from New Jersey, five; from Pennsylvania, thirteen; from Delaware, one; from Maryland, eight; from Virginia, nineteen; from North Carolina, ten; from South Carolina, five; from Georgia, one; from Kentucky, two; from Tennessee, one. Among the members spoken of, from personal observation, were Sedgwick, Thacher, Otis, Lincoln, Griswold, Dana, Goodrich, Smith, Champlin, all of New England. Jonas Platt, New York; Edward Livingston, New York; Gallatin, Pennsylvania; James A. Bayard, Delaware; Samuel Smith, Maryland; Henry Lee, Virginia; John Randolph, Virginia; Littleton W. Tazewell, Virginia; N. Macon, North Carolina; R. G. Harper, South Carolina; Thomas Pinckney, South Carolina; John Rutledge, South Carolina.

The House voted, among other regulations, to attend to no business, but the election, while it was pending, and not to adjourn until an election was effected. The balloting began on Wednesday, the 11th of February, and continued until Tuesday, the 17th, at one o'clock; recurring at longer or shorter intervals. In thirty-five ballotings, the vote stood eight for Thomas Jefferson, six for Aaron Burr, and two states were divided. On the thirty-sixth ballot, Jefferson had ten states; Burr, four; and two states gave a blank vote. The presence of every member during this extraordinary scene, which lasted seven days, was indispensable. Some of them were infirm or indisposed, and were accommodated with beds or couches; and one member was so indisposed as to be attended by his wife. The whole number present was one hundred and four; of whom a majority were federalists, though there was not a federal majority of The election was decided by the votes of Vermont and Maryland. Lewis R. Morris is said to have withdrawn, leaving his colleague, the famous Matthew Lyon, (who was convicted of sedition,) to vote for Vermont. Four federalists, in Maryland, are said to have given blank votes, and the other four members from that state, to have voted for Jefferson.

states.

These seven days of balloting were days of great excitement. Mr. Adams was there as President, contemplating the approach of his political annihilation. Mr. Jefferson

was there, daily presiding in the Senate, in all the inquietude of success or defeat. Burr was at New York or Albany. The federalists, in the House, had a most painful and responsible duty to perform; that of choosing between two such men as Jefferson and Burr! Among the rumors of the time was this: That the federalists could, and would, prevent any election, and would permit the balloting to go on till the 4th of March, and consider both offices (President and Vice President) vacant, and leave to the President of the Senate to exercise the executive power. Another rumor was, that a law could be passed to vest in some person the executive power. It is not improbable that, from the abhorrence which some members may have felt of seeing Mr. Jefferson in the office of President, means were spoken of adapted to prevent such a national misfortune. Doubtless the federalists would have done anything, which they believed to be constitutional and dutiful, to prevent it; but no such propositions are supposed to have been discussed. The Jeffersonians insisted that the people meant Jefferson should be President, and that, if the House did not choose him, an armed force would go from the neighboring states to compel the House to choose him; or, more probably, to choose him themselves. Mr. Jefferson says, in a letter under date of February 15, (1801) to James Monroe, while the election was pending, (vol. iii. 452,) "If they could have "been permitted to pass a law for putting the government "into the hands of an officer, they would certainly have 'prevented an election. But we thought it best to declare, "one and all, openly and firmly, that the day such an act passed, the middle states would arm; and that no such usurpation, even for a single day, should be submitted to. "This first shook them; and they were completely alarmed at the resource for which we declared, viz. to re-organize "the government, and to amend it. The very word convention gives them the horrors, as in the present democrati"cal spirit of America, they fear they should lose some of "the favorite morsels of the constitution." One would have thought this a favorable time for the "monarchists" to have made an attempt to set up a king. The government would have come to a natural and easy dissolution, by refusing to elect a President, and no better chance of scrambling for royalty could ever be expected.

Mr. Jefferson says that he was frequently asked, during this time, to promise that he would not do certain acts which the federalists feared he would do; that is, that he would preserve certain features of federal policy. He says he answered that he would not go into office with his hands tied. It must be admitted that he acted with some firmness (if the fact was so) in refusing, what proved to be for him a crown (as he says)" on capitulation." Among other rumors was this: Hamilton is said to have been consulted; and that he was of opinion that it was better to choose Jefferson than Burr. He seems to have had an abhorrence of Burr, and to have believed it safer to trust to Jefferson's characteristic timidity than to Burr's insatiable ambition. It was as embarrassing a question as could be proposed to an honorable and patriotic mind, which of these two men might do the most mischief! It might have made a favorable difference to this country if Burr had been preferred, whatever Burr may have been since that day; and, certainly, all the difference of life and death, to Hamilton himself.

This election of President (in February, 1801, by the House of Representatives) is sufficiently interesting to be further noticed, for two reasons; first, to present a true account of the federal party in the House, whose adversaries attributed to them very reprehensible designs and attempts; secondly, to show the true character of Mr. Jefferson's 66 Anas,' " and records. Both these objects will be accomplished by the perusal of evidence contained in the Appendix. This evidence was published in the National Gazette, (Philadelphia,) January 1, 1830, by Richard H. Bayard, and James A. Bayard, sons of a gentleman of the latter name, in refutation of two of Mr. Jefferson's statements. This is an instance, in which it was deemed a duty to a deceased parent, to inquire into the truth of Mr. Jefferson's assertions. It will be seen, by the perusal of that evidence, that Mr. Jefferson is plainly in error. Being proved to be so, in this case, a strong presumption arises, that if the truth of his statements, in other cases, could be tested in like manner, they would be found to be equally erroneous.

James A. Bayard, the gentleman whom Mr. Jefferson mentions so improperly, was a descendant of the Chevalier Bayard, who died in 1524; and who is familiarly known