Life and Public Services of John Quincy Adams Part 7

The deep sympathy which prevailed in every section of the Union, was soon felt in Congress. Many public men were anxious that the Government should take some important and decisive step, even to hostilities, in behalf of Greece. Eloquent speeches were delivered in the House of Representatives on the exciting topic. Mr. Clay electrified the country with his stirring appeals in behalf of the land in which was established the first republic on earth. Mr. Webster submitted the following resolution to the House of Representatives:--

"Resolved, That provision ought to be made by law, for defraying the expense incident to the appointment of an Agent, or Commissioner, to Greece, whenever the President shall deem it expedient to make such appointment."

In support of this resolution, Mr. Webster made a most eloquent speech, of which the following is the conclusion:--

"Mr. Chairman--There are some things which, to be well done, must be promptly done. If we even determine to do the thing that is now proposed, we may do it too late Sir, I am not of those who are for withholding aid when it is most urgently needed, and when the stress is past, and the aid no longer necessary, overwhelming the sufferers with caresses. I will not stand by and see my fellow-man drowning, without stretching out a hand to help him, till he has, by his own efforts and presence of mind, reached the sh.o.r.e in safety, and then enc.u.mber him with aid. With suffering Greece, now is the crisis of her fate--her great, it may be her last struggle. Sir, while we sit here deliberating, her destiny may be decided.

The Greeks, contending with ruthless oppressors, turn their eyes to us, and invoke us, by their ancestors, by their slaughtered wives and children, by their own blood poured out like water, by the hecatombs of dead they have heaped up, as it were, to heaven; they invoke, they implore from us some cheering sound, some look of sympathy, some token of compa.s.sionate regard. They look to us as the great Republic of the earth--and they ask us, by our common faith, whether we can forget that they are struggling, as we once struggled, for what we now so happily enjoy? I cannot say, sir, they will succeed; that rests with heaven. But, for myself, sir, if I should to-morrow hear that they have failed--that their last phalanx had sunk beneath the Turkish cimetar, that the flames of their last city had sunk in its ashes, and that nought remained but the wide, melancholy waste where Greece once was--I should still reflect, with the most heartfelt satisfaction, that I have asked you, in the name of seven millions of freemen, that you would give them, at least, the cheering of one friendly voice."

The committee having in charge the raising of a fund for the a.s.sistance of the Greeks, in New York, addressed a circular to the venerable ex-President John Adams, to which they received the following reply:--

"Quincy, Dec. 29, 1823.

"GENTLEMEN:--I have received your circular of the 12th inst., and I thank you for the honor you have done me in addressing it to me. Be a.s.sured my heart beats in unison with yours, and with those of your const.i.tuents, and I presume with all the really civilized part of mankind, in sympathy with the Greeks, suffering, as they are, in the great cause of liberty and humanity. The gentlemen of Boston have taken measures to procure a general subscription in their favor, through the State, and I shall contribute my mite with great pleasure. In the meantime I wish you, and all other gentlemen engaged in the virtuous work, all the success you or they can wish; for I believe no effort in favor of virtue will be ultimately lost.

"I have the honor to be, Gentlemen, your very humble Servant, "JOHN ADAMS."

The sympathies of John Quincy Adams were ardently enlisted in behalf of the Greek Revolution. But with a prudence and wisdom which characterized all his acts, he threw his influence against any direct interference on the part of the Government of the United States. It would have been a departure from that neutral policy, in regard to European conflicts, on which the country had acted from the commencement of our national existence, alike injurious and dangerous. He knew if we once entered into these wars, on any pretext whatever, a door would be opened for foreign entanglements and endless conflicts, which would result in standing armies, immense national debts, and the long trail of evils of which they are the prolific source.

When an application was made to Mr. Adams, as Secretary of State, through Mr. Rush, our Minister at London, by an Agent of Greece, for aid from the United States, he was compelled, on principles above stated, to withhold the required a.s.sistance. The correspondence which grew out of this application is sufficiently interesting to find a place in these pages:--

"Andreas Luriottis, Envoy of the Provisional Government of Greece, to the Hon. John Quincy Adams, Secretary of State to the United States of America.

SIR:--I feel no slight emotion, while, in behalf of Greece, my country, struggling for independence and liberty, I address myself to the United States of America.

"The independence for which we combat, you have achieved. The liberty to which we look, with anxious solicitude, you have obtained, and consolidated in peace and in glory.

"Yet Greece, old Greece, the seat of early civilization and freedom, stretches out her hands, imploringly, to a land which sprung into being, as it were, ages after her own l.u.s.tre had been extinguished! and ventures to hope that the youngest and most vigorous sons of liberty, will regard, with no common sympathy, the efforts of the descendants of the heir and the elder born, whose precepts and whose example have served--though insufficient, hitherto, for our complete regeneration--to regenerate half a world.

"I know, Sir, that the sympathies of the generous people of the United States have been extensively directed towards us; and since I have reached this country, an interview with their Minister, Mr. Rush, has served to convince me more strongly, how great their claim is on our grat.i.tude and our affection. May I hope that some means may be found to communicate these our feelings, of which I am so proud to be the organ? We will still venture to rely on their friendship. We would look to their individual, if not to their national, co-operation. Every, the slightest, a.s.sistance under present circ.u.mstances, will aid the progress of the great work of liberty; and if, standing, as we have stood, alone and unsupported, with everything opposed to us, and nothing to encourage us but patriotism, enthusiasm, and sometimes even despair: if thus we have gone forward, liberating our provinces, one after another, and subduing every force which has been directed against us, what may we not do with the a.s.sistance for which we venture to appeal to the generous and the free?

"Precipitated by circ.u.mstances into that struggle for independence, which, ever since the domination of our cruel and reckless tyrants, had never ceased to be the object of our vows and prayers, we have, by the blessing of G.o.d, freed a considerable part of Greece from the ruthless invaders.

The Peloponnesus, Etolia, Carmania, Attica, Phocida, Boetia, and the Islands of the Archipelago and Candia, are nearly free. The armies and the fleets which have been sent against us, have been subdued by the valor of our troops and our marine. Meanwhile we have organized a government, founded upon popular suffrages: and you will probably have seen how closely our organic law a.s.similates to that const.i.tution under which your nation so happily and so securely lives.

"I have been sent hither by the government of Greece, to obtain a.s.sistance in our determined enterprize, on which we, like you, have staked our lives, our fortunes, and our sacred honor: and I believe my journey has not been wholly without success. I should have been wanting to my duty had I not addressed you, supplicating the earliest display of your amiable purposes; entreating that diplomatic relations may be established between us; communicating the most earnest desire of my government that we may be allowed to call you allies as well as friends; and stating that we shall rejoice to enter upon discussions which may lead to immediate and advantageous treaties, and to receive diplomatic agents without delay.

Both at Madrid and at Lisbon, I have been received with great kindness by the American Representative, and am pleased to record the expression of my grat.i.tude.

"Though, fortunately, you are so far removed, and raised so much above the narrow politics of Europe as to be little influenced by their vicissitudes, I venture to believe that Mr. Rush will explain to you the changes which have taken place, and are still in action around us, in our favor. And I conclude, rejoicing in the hope that North America and Greece may be united in the bonds of long-enduring, and unbroken concord: and have the honor to be, with every sentiment of respect, your obedient humble servant.

"AND. LURIOTTIS.

'London, February 20, 1823."

MR. ADAMS TO MR. RUSH.

"Department of State, Washington, 18th August, 1823.

"SIR:--I have the honor of inclosing, herewith, an answer to the letter from Mr. Luriottis, the Agent of the Greeks addressed to me, and a copy of which was transmitted with your dispatch No. 295.

"If, upon the receipt of this letter, Mr. Luriottis should still be in London, it will be desirable that you should deliver it to him in person, accompanied with such remarks and explanations as may satisfy him, and those whom he represents, that, in declining the proposal of giving active aid to the cause of Grecian emanc.i.p.ation, the Executive Government of the United States has been governed not by its inclinations, or a sentiment of indifference to the cause, but by its const.i.tutional duties, clear and unequivocal.

"The United States could give a.s.sistance to the Greeks, only by the application of some portion of their public forces or of their public revenue in their favor, which would const.i.tute them in a state of war with the Ottoman Porte, and perhaps with all the Barbary powers. To make this disposal either of force or of treasure, you are aware is, by our const.i.tution, not within the competency of the Executive. It could be determined only by an act of Congress, which would a.s.suredly not be adopted, should it even be recommended by the Executive.

"The policy of the United States, with reference to foreign nations, has always been founded upon the moral principle of natural law--Peace with all mankind. From whatever cause war between other nations, whether foreign or domestic, has arisen, the unvarying law of the United States has been peace with both belligerents. From the first war of the French Revolution, to the recent invasion of Spain, there has been a succession of wars, national and civil, in almost everyone of which one of the parties was contending for liberty or independence. In the first French revolutionary war, a strong impulse of feeling urged the people of the United States to take side with the party which, at its commencement, was contending, apparently, at least, for both. Had the policy of the United States not been essentially pacific, a stronger case to claim their interference could scarcely have been presented. They nevertheless declared themselves neutral, and the principle, then deliberately settled, has been invariably adhered to ever since.

"With regard to the recognition of sovereign States, and the establishment with them of a diplomatic intercourse, the experience of the last thirty years has served also to ascertain the limits proper for the application of principles in which every nation must exercise some lat.i.tude of discretion. Precluded by their neutral position from interfering in the question of right, the United States have recognized the fact of foreign sovereignty only when it was undisputed, or disputed without any rational prospect of success. In this manner the successive changes of government in many of the European states, and the revolutionary governments of South America, have been acknowledged. The condition of the Greeks is not yet such as will admit of their recognition, upon these principles.

"Yet, as we cherish the most friendly feelings towards them, and are sincerely disposed to render them any service which may be compatible with our neutrality, it will give us pleasure to learn, from time to time, the actual state of their cause, political and military. Should Mr. Luriottis be enabled and disposed to furnish this information, it may always be communicated through you, and will be received with satisfaction here. The public accounts from that quarter have been of late very scanty, and we shall be glad to obtain any authentic particulars, which may come to your knowledge from this, or through any other channel.

"I am with great respect, Sir, your very humble and obedient servant, JOHN QUINCY ADAMS."

MR. ADAMS TO MR. LURIOTTIS.

"Department of State, Washington, 18th August, 1823.

"Sir: A copy of the letter which you did me the honor of addressing to me, on the 20th of February last, has been transmitted to me by the Minister of the United States at London, and has received the deliberate consideration of the President of the United States.

"The sentiments with which he has witnessed the struggles of your countrymen for their national emanc.i.p.ation and independence, had been made manifest to the world in a public message to the Congress of the United States. They are cordially felt by the people of this Union; who, sympathizing with the cause of freedom and independence wherever its standard is unfurled, behold with peculiar interest the display of Grecian energy in defence of Grecian liberties, and the a.s.sociation of heroic exertions, at the present time, with the proudest glories of former ages, in the land of Epaminondas and Philopoemon.

"But while cheering with their best wishes the cause of the Greeks, the United States are forbidden, by the duties of their situation, from taking part in the war, to which their relation is that of neutrality. At peace themselves with all the world, their established policy, and the obligations of the laws of nations, preclude them from becoming voluntary auxiliaries to a cause which would involve them in war.

"If in the progress of events the Greeks should be enabled to establish and organize themselves as an independent nation, the United States will be among the first to welcome them, in that capacity, into the general family; to establish diplomatic and commercial relations with them, suited to the mutual interests of the two countries; and to recognize, with special satisfaction, their const.i.tuted state in the character of a sister Republic.

"I have the honor to be, with distinguished consideration, Sir, your very humble and obedient servant, "JOHN QUINCY ADAMS."

The sentiments, in regard to the foreign policy of our Government, which Mr. Adams embodies in this correspondence, he had previously expressed in an oration delivered in the city of Washington, on the 4th of July, 1821, of which the following is an extract:--

"America, in the a.s.sembly of nations, since her admission among them, has invariably, though often fruitlessly, held forth to them the hand of honest friendship, of equal freedom, of generous reciprocity; she has uniformly spoken among them, though often to heedless, and often to disdainful ears, the language of equal liberty, of equal justice, and equal rights; she has, in the lapse of nearly half a century, without a single exception, respected the independence of other nations while a.s.serting and maintaining her own; she has abstained from interference in the concerns of others, even when the conflict has been for principles to which she clings as to the last vital drop that visits the heart. She has seen that probably for centuries to come all the contests of that Aceldama, the European world, will be contests of inveterate power and emerging right. Wherever the standard of freedom and independence has been or shall be unfurled, there will her heart, her benedictions, and her prayers be. But she goes not abroad in search of monsters to destroy. She is the well-wisher to the freedom and independence of all--she is the champion and vindicator only of her own. She will recommend the general cause, by the countenance of her voice, and the benignant sympathy of her example:--she well knows that by once enlisting under other banners than her own, were they even the banners of foreign independence, she would involve herself beyond the power of extrication, in all the wars of interest and intrigue, of individual avarice, envy and ambition, which a.s.sume the colors, and usurp the standard of freedom. The fundamental maxims of her policy would insensibly change from liberty to force; the frontlet on her brow would no longer beam with the ineffable splendor of freedom and independence; but in its stead would soon be subst.i.tuted an imperial diadem, flashing in false and tarnished l.u.s.tre, the murky radiance of dominion and power. She might become the dictatress of the world: she would be no longer the ruler of her own spirit."

During Mr. Adams's occupancy of the state department, efforts were made by the American Government to abolish the African slave trade, and procure its denunciation as piracy, by the civilized world. On the 28th of Feb., 1823, the following resolution was adopted by the House of Representatives, at Washington, by a vote of 131 to 9:--

"Resolved, That the President of the United States be requested to enter upon and to prosecute, from time to time, such negotiations with the several maratime powers of Europe and America, as he may deem expedient for the effectual abolition of the African slave trade, and its ultimate denunciation as piracy, under the law of nations, by the consent of the civilized world."

In compliance with this resolution, Mr. Adams, as Secretary of State, issued directions to the American Ministers in Spain, Russia, the Netherlands, Colombia, and Buenos Ayres, to enter into negotiations with the Governments of these countries on this subject. Mr. Adams also maintained an able correspondence with the Hon. Stratford Canning, the British Minister at Washington, in relation to the basis on which a treaty should be formed with Great Britain for the suppression of the foreign slave trade.

Mr. Rush, the American Minister at the Court of St. James, was directed to enter upon negotiations in London, to this end. His instructions were written by Mr. Adams, with his usual sound judgment and enlarged views of national policy, and the claims of humanity. The convention was in due time completed, and signed by the Plenipotentiaries of both nations, on the 13th of March. 1824, and was sent by Mr. Rush to Washington for ratification. Mr. Monroe and Mr. Adams were ready to give it their sanction; but the Senate insisted on striking out a provision in the first article. The article commenced as follows:--

"The commanders and commissioned officers of each of the two high contracting parties, duly authorized, under the regulations and instructions of their respective Governments, to cruise on the coasts of Africa, of America, and of the West Indies, for the suppression of the slave trade, shall be empowered, under the conditions, limitations, and restrictions hereinafter specified," &c.

The Senate struck out the words "of America." This amendment the British Government would not a.s.sent to. Thus the negotiation on the slave trade, so near a consummation, fell to the ground.

Mr. Monroe's administration closed on the 3rd of March, 1825. It was a period of uninterrupted prosperity to the country. Our foreign commerce, recovering from the paralysis caused by the embargo, the non-intercourse act, and the war, spread forth its wings and whitened every sea and ocean on the globe. The domestic condition of the Union was thriving beyond the precedent of many former years. Improvements in agriculture were developed; domestic manufactures received a fair protection and encouragement; internal improvements, gaining more and more the attention and confidence of the people, had been prosecuted to the evident benefit of all branches of business and enterprize.

Another characteristic of the administration of Mr. Monroe is worthy of note. So judiciously and patriotically had he exercised the powers entrusted to him, that he disarmed opposition. Divisions, jealousies and contentions were destroyed, and a thorough fusion of all political parties took place. At his re-election for the second term of the presidency, there was no opposing candidate. There was but one party, and that was the great party of the American people. His election was unanimous.

In all these measures, Mr. Adams was the coadjutor and confidential adviser of Mr. Monroe. It is no derogation from the well-merited reputation of the latter to say, that many of the most striking and praiseworthy features of his administration were enstamped upon it by the labor and influence of the former. His success in maturing and carrying into execution his most popular measures must be attributed, in no small extent, to the ability and faithfulness of his eminent Secretary of State.

And the historian may truly record that to John Quincy Adams, in an eminent degree, belongs a portion of the honor and credit which have been so generally accorded to the administration of James Monroe.

CHAPTER VII.

MR. ADAMS' NOMINATION TO THE PRESIDENCY--SPIRITED PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN--NO CHOICE BY THE PEOPLE--ELECTION GOES TO THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES--MR. ADAMS ELECTED PRESIDENT--HIS INAUGURATION-- FORMS HIS CABINET.