1789] Political Tendencies 259 arouse much opposition; but the use of the phrase "the well-born" greatly injured Adams's popularity. As the Constitution then stood, each elector voted for two persons without stating which of them he wished to be President. The one who received most votes should be President, provided he received a majority; the person receiving the next highest number should be Vice-President. Alexander Hamil ton, to whom the elevation of "the wellborn" would have been most welcome, John Adams conceived the idea that Adams might receive more votes than Washington, and intrigued to prevent it. The scheme became known to Adams, and proved to be the beginning of a long and unfortunate quarrel, which had most serious consequences for the party of which Adams and Hamilton soon became the chiefs. 192. Political Tendencies, 1789.-There were no political Political parties in the United States in 1789; but the political leaders tendencies. and the voters were divided in precisely the manner in which they had been during the contest over the ratification of the Constitution. No sooner was the task of reorganization begun than these different views showed themselves. Two men were soon recognized as the leaders of these opposing camps, and may be considered as representing in their own persons the ideas that were held by the two political parties in the earlier portion of our history under the Constitution. The first of these tendencies expressed itself in the desire to promote the welfare of the individual, to give him greater political power, more comforts in life, greater intelligence, and in general to raise the more ignorant and ruder portion of society. The second declared itself in the wish to make the welfare of the individual depend on the growth of the nation and to rely for support on "the well-born," the intelligent, and the richer portion of the community. With the former of these tendencies was identified Thomas Jefferson, Washington's Thomas Schouler's I, 189; (S. S.). Secretary of State; with the latter, Alexander Hamilton, Thomas Jefferson, the author of the Summary View and the Declaration of Independence and representative of the United States in France, was now in the prime of life. In many ways he was one of the most extraordinary men America has produced. An aristocrat by birth and breeding, the owner of slaves, and the designer of and dweller in one of the most elegant mansions of that day, he was the leader of democracy, the champion of the rights of man, and the persistent, though powerless, advocate of slave emancipation. When President, he seemed to enjoy shocking the prejudices of very particular persons: Washington had established stately ceremonials, Jefferson conducted official gatherings on the principle of "pell-mell"- each guest doing pretty much as he pleased; Washington had driven in coach and four to and from the halls of Congress, Jefferson rode on horseback, unattended, from the White House to the Capitol and hitched his horse with his own hands in 1789] Political Tendencies 261 a neighboring shed. More curious still, Jefferson, a man of unpractical ideas, was the shrewdest political leader of his day. Shy, reluctant to attend crowded meetings, and without magnetism, he led the masses and won the greatest popularity in one of the most difficult periods of our history. In person Jefferson was tall, six feet two inches in height, with sandy hair and a most sunny countenance. He was ungainly in figure and seemed always "to be jumping out of his clothes," and he sat or reclined on one hip in a manner which impressed at least one keen observer who has described him. Schouler's States, I, 186; Sumner's Unlike Jefferson in every respect, Alexander Hamilton was Alexander small in stature and was always well-dressed. A great ad- Hamilton. ministrator and capable of attracting men by his personal United qualities, he led his party to a most crushing defeat. His success in organizing the machinery of the government entitles him to the gratitude of the nation, and the part he Hamilton played in securing the ratification of the Constitution gives (M. A.). him a foremost place in the annals of the United States. He deserves the more credit for this, perhaps, because he had no faith that the new Constitution would provide a sufficient government for the country. In 1802 he wrote: "Perhaps no man . . . has sacrificed or done more for the present Constitution than myself; and, contrary to all my anticipations of its fate . . . I am still laboring to prop the frail and worthless fabric. . . . Every day proves to me more and more this American world was not made for me." In these sentences may be found the reason for the political failure of Hamilton and his friends. He had no sympathy with the desires of the masses for self-improvement. He had no confidence in their ability to conduct successfully the affairs of the country. In one noted phrase he stated the reason of his failure as a political chief. It was at a dinner when, replying to some remark that had been made, Hamilton declared: "Sir, your people is a great beast." But it was the people that must govern under the Constitution, or republican government was a failure. Far Washington's inaugu ration, 1789. States, I, Ser. No. 10. Fears of monarchical tendencies. Schouler's United States, I, 126-140. otherwise was Jefferson's view of the people. In a letter written in 1787 he said: "I am persuaded that the good sense of the people will always be found the best army. They may be led astray for a moment, but will soon correct themselves." The Federalist party endeavored so to frame the governmental machinery that a minority of the people could govern the majority; the attempt ended in disaster. 193. Washington's Inauguration, 1789. - Washington "bade adieu," to use his own words, "to Mount Vernon, to private life, and to domestic felicity; and with a mind oppressed with more anxious and painful sensations than I have words to express," set out for New York to take the oath of office as the first President of the United States. The cheers which greeted him on his journey did not lessen his sense of the deep responsibilities which surrounded him. His inaugural was especially solemn: he addressed "fervent supplications to that Almighty Being who rules over the universe. . . that his benediction may consecrate to the liberties and happiness of the people of the United States, a government instituted by themselves, . . . and may enable every instrument employed in its administration to execute with success the functions allotted to his charge." Colonial customs and traditions derived from English precedents were still the rule. Washington, inclined to be stiff and formal, instituted a rigid ceremoniousness in official intercourse which seemed little like republicanism. During the recesses of Congress, he traveled around the country in an almost regal fashion. Everywhere he was enthusiastically received: at one place he was greeted with "God bless your reign"; at another he was hailed as "Columbia's Savior." At Boston, however, John Hancock, governor of Massachusetts, endeavored to uphold the dogma of state sovereignty by refusing to make the first call; but usually the stiffest Anti-Federalists forgot their constitutional scruples and heartily joined to do honor to "The President." All these things, however, when coupled with. Hamilton's well-known predilection for a government mod |