by Congress to execute this treaty allowed claims against against Holland, Spain, and Naples.*

Part of the claims arising from French depredations committed before 1801 were settled by the convention of 1803, when the United States assumed them (to the amount of about $3,750,000) as part of the price paid for Louisiana. Under the second article of the convention of 1800, there was a class of claims which gave rise to a vast amount of discussion in and out of Congress and which have never yet been fully settled. In order to relieve the country of the obligations imposed by the treaties of 1778 and 1788, the United States relieved France of all direct obligations to the claimants, who were thus debarred from the opportunity of prosecuting their claims against France. In 1802 application for relief was made to Congress; but, though a committee made a report setting forth the history of the spoliations, no action was taken. In 1807 a committee again reported favorably, and year after year such reports continued to be made until, by 1885, the total in both Houses

See American State Papers, Foreign Relations, vol. vi., pp. 384-553; House Ex. Doc. 117, 24th Congress, 1st session; Treaties and Conventions of the United States, pp. 1309-1312.

For a discussion of these, see Wharton, Digest of International Law, vol. ii., pp. 714-728.

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reached 48, of which but three were unfavorable those of 1818 in the Senate, and of 1822 and 1824 in the House. In 1835 the Senate passed a bill appropriating $5,000,000, but it failed in the House for lack of time. In 1846 and 1855 similar bills passed both Houses, only to be vetoed by Presidents Polk and Pierce, respectively. Finally, in 1885, an act was passed referring the entire matter to the Court of Claims. That body threw out many of the claims because of insufficient or defective evidence, but reported upon those that could be proved. Bills appropriating money to pay the valid claims were passed from time to time, but nothing has been done. On June 6, 1896, President Cleveland vetoed a bill (House Bill 8293) appropriating $1,027,314.09 as a partial payment upon these claims, but there the matter ended, and some of the old claims are still pending. ‡

* Richardson, Messages and Papers, vol. iv., pp. 466-469 and vol. v., pp. 302-322.

Ibid, vol. ix., pp. 683-687.

‡ Allen, Our Naval War With France, chap. xii. On these claims, see also the articles in the North American Review (October, 1825; January and October, 1826; and July, 1827); American Quarterly Review (September, 1831; June, 1835); Boston Monthly Magazine (January, 1826); Democratic Review (February, 1844); Hunt's Merchants' Magazine (February, 1845; October, 1846); Atlantic Monthly (August, 1870; Febru ary, 1891); Magazine of American History (July, 1884).

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Meanwhile the political situation had undergone a change. The agitation over the Alien and Sedition Laws, the various arrests for sedition, the hatred of England, etc., combined with the work of the Republicans, had gradually undermined Federal influence and power and ultimately power and ultimately drove them from office. The Congressional elections of 1798 had been hotly contested, and the Federalists. succeeded in a quarter where the Republicans least expected. Out of the 37 Southern Congressmen, the Federalists won 22— electing 8 out of the 19 from Virginia, 7 out of 10 in North Carolina, 5 out of 6 in South Carolina, and the 2 from Georgia.* John John Marshall, John Randolph and Henry Lee were among the new members from Virginia,† and William Henry

* Bassett, Federalist System, p. 276; Schouler,

United States, vol. i., pp. 457-458.

Henry Adams, John Randolph, p. 40.

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Harrison appeared as a delegate from the territory Northwest of the Ohio. By this time the Federalists had become separated into two wings, which differed almost as widely as did the more moderate Federalists from the Republicans. The radical wing, headed by Hamilton, was convinced that the country was seriously menaced by dangers that threatened the very foundations of our social system. The moderate element, headed by John Adams, John Marshall and the Southern Federalists, was under no such delusion. These Republicans, without sharing the optimistic delusions of Democrats like Jefferson or Gallatin, accepted the broader construction of the Constitution not only as expressing its true meaning, but as conducing to the best interests of the country. The radicals formed only a small minority of the party. But this,

66

through the great ability of its

leader, Alexander Hamilton, had up to the election of Adams, to a great extent determined the policy of the country." For some time after the election of Adams there was no occasion for divergence between the two wings of the party, nor could the final separation be attributed wholly to the failure of the French mission. The radical element wanted to declare war, but the moderates withheld their assent; and because he did not concur in Hamilton's ideas of what a vigorous administration should be, Adams was defeated in the Presidential election of 1800 and the Federalist party was overthrown. On the other hand, could Adams have disarmed the opposition of the radicals, and could he, moreover, have won to his support the men who really agreed with him as to the foreign and domestic policy of the government, probably he would have been reëlected in 1800, and the course of American history for the next quarter of a century might have been quite different. Even as it was, the election of 1800 was not so much a victory of Republicanism over Federalism as a victory of Republicanism over the Federalism of Alexander Hamilton.

Save for a short period, the House of Representatives had always been under the control of the Republicans since the organization of this party. As Gibbs says, "the opposition were daily becoming more compact and firm; they saw the discouragements of their adversaries; they felt their own

445

advantages and the strength of their position, and they neglected nothing which organization, discipline, and vigorous action could effect."

The Congress elected in 1798 met in December of 1799, and this was the last time that Congress would hold a session at Philadelphia, for the District of Columbia had already begun to assume shape and the beginnings of the Federal city had been laid. Major Pierre Charles L'Enfant had been selected by Washington and Jefferson to draw the plan for the Federal city, and during the spring of 1791 had been engaged on the task. Jefferson had wished the design to be a sort of checker board, but L'Enfant broke the monotony of this arrangement by inserting a number of avenues running at acute angles. This plan was accepted by Washington, and L'Enfant was retained to supervise the work. The commissioners in charge decided to advertise some of the lots for sale in October of 1791, and requested L'Enfant to furnish the engraver with a plan for publication. This he refused to do on the plea that speculators would purchase the best locations in the "vistas and architectural squares " and " permanently disfigure the city" by "huddles of shanties." For this insubordination he was dismissed by Washington on March 1, 1792. Andrew Ellicott was thereupon deputized to continue the laying out of the city, and soon prizes. were offered for the best plans for the President's house and the capitol. On

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**

September 18, 1793, the corner stone of the capitol was laid. Toward the erection of these buildings, Virginia subscribed $120,000 and Maryland $72,000. But the progress on the new city was so slow that even three years later scarcely 200 houses had been erected, the main buildings being the White House, which was nearly completed, and the capitol, which was progressing rapidly. A great portion of the city was a forest through which ran such streets as had been laid out,' but the beautiful squares, bridges, canals, etc., were still on paper. Congress was then requested to appropriate $300,000 to continue the work, and permission was given to borrow that sum on the unsold government lots. The building was then hurried forward, but even in June of 1800 the city was scarcely habitable. The houses were mean; the roads were poor; there was no business, no industry, no society, and those of the merchants who were not negroes were of none too good a character.† Mrs. Adams gives a graphic account of the city in a letter written to her daughter in November of 1800. She says:

"I arrived here on Sunday last, and without meeting any accident worth noticing, except losing ourselves when we left Baltimore, and going eight or nine miles on the Frederic road, by which means we were obliged to go the other eight through the woods, where we wandered two hours without finding a guide or the path. Fortunately, a

* Schouler, United States, vol. i., pp. 487-488. McMaster, vol. ii., pp. 484-489. See also the documents in relation to this in American State Papers, Miscellaneous, vol. i., pp. 219-231, 243246, 254-260.

straggling black came up with us, and we engaged him as a guide to extricate us out of our difficulty; but woods are all you see, from Baltimore, until you reach the city,-which is only so in name. Here and there is a small cot, without a glass window, interspersed among the forests, through which you travel miles without seeing any human being."

Regarding the President's official residence, Mrs. Adams says:

"The house is upon a grand and superb scale. requiring about thirty servants to attend and keep the apartments in proper order, and perform the ordinary business of the house and stables: an establishment very well proportioned to the president's salary! The lighting [of] the apartments, from the kitchen to parlors and chambers, is a tax indeed; and the fires we are obliged to keep, to secure us from daily agues, is another cheering comfort!

"If they will put me up some bells, (there is not one hung in the whole house, and promises are all you can obtain!) and let me have wood enough to keep fires, I design to be pleased. I could content myself almost anywhere three months; but, surrounded with forests, can you believe that wood is not to be had?- because people cannot be found to cut and cart it! Briesler entered into a contract with a man to supply him with wood; a small part (a few cords) only has he been able to get. Most of that was expended to dry the walls of the house before we came in; and yesterday the man told him it was impossible to procure it to be cut and carted. He has had recourse to coals but we cannot get grates made and set. We have come indeed into a new country.' The house is made habitable, but there is not a single apartment finished, and all withinside, except the plastering, has been done since Briesler came. We have not the least fence, yard, or other convenience without, and the great unfinished audience-room I make a drying-room of, to hang up the clothes in. The principal stairs are not up, and will not be this winter. Six chambers are made comfortable; two are occupied by the president and Mr. Shaw; two lower rooms, one for a common parlor, and one for a levee-room. Up stairs there is the oval room, which is designed for the drawing-room, and has the crimson furniture in it. It is a very handsome room now; but when completed, it will be beautiful."