other and with him throughout the whole period of his Administration. "For myself, I shall enter upon the functions of my office with a deep sense of the necessity of union with my colleagues, and with a suitable impression that my place is subordinate, that my duty will be to support, and not to counteract or oppose, the President's Administration; and that, if, from any cause, I should find my efforts to that end ineffectual, it will be my duty seasonably to withdraw from the public service, and leave to more competent persons the performance of the duties to which I should find myself inadequate." CHAPTER IX. THE CABINET AND THE SECRETARY OF STATE-ADAMS AND SOCRATES WASHINGTON SOCIETY AND ETIQUETTE. T the time at which Mr. Adams became Secretary AT 66 of State the appointment to that position was deemed almost equivalent to a nomination for the Presidency. A very limited line of precedents had given pretense to this state of affairs, especially with the class of politicians which followed the lead of the Virginia Dynasty." In this condition of things it was not to be expected that Mr. Adams's appointment to a position putting him in the direct way to the Presidential Chair would meet no opposition. Wm. H. Crawford wanted to be President, and Virginia politicians mainly were anxious to prepare for his succession to Mr. Monroe. Henry Clay was equally concerned about his own interests, and desired for himself the place assigned Mr. Adams. But Mr. Monroe was an honest and moderate politician, with the laudable ambition to kill what little party contention there was left at the end of Mr. Madison's term of office. The Federal party was almost extinct, and an Administration of "good feeling" seemed readily attainable. Nor did Mr. Monroe appear deeply interested in the question of succession, nor the quarter from which his successor should come. He wanted to use the means which seemed to indicate the best road to eminent success in his own Administration. With this feeling, on the first day of March, 1817, he wrote to General Jackson, whom it was then beginning to be the fashion to patronize : "I shall take a person for the Department of State from the eastward; and Mr. Adams, by long service in our diplomatic concerns, appearing to be entitled to the preference, supported by his acknowledged abilities and integrity, his nomination will go to the Senate." said And what reply did Jackson make to this? He "I have no hesitation in saying you have made the best selection to fill the Department of State that could be made. Mr. Adams, in the hour of difficulty, will be an able helpmate, and I am convinced his appointment will afford general satisfaction." General Jackson was then passing through a state which he never had the good fortune to enter again in his life. It was his era of "good feeling," and his opinion of men was largely as glowing as theirs was of him. The unlettered Hero of New Orleans could afford to be just and generous. And no man in the world had so much cause to be gratified with the appointment of Mr. Adams to the diplomatic post in Mr. Monroe's Cabinet. No man received so much benefit from it as did General Jackson, a fact that will be made quite apparent farther on in these pages. No man in the Nation, perhaps, knew so well the qualities of Mr. Adams fitting him for the diplomacy branch of affairs as did Mr. Monroe. For eight years he had read his voluminous correspondence as Minister to Russia, Commissioner to Ghent, and Minister at London, and he not only did not see those evidences of dissimilarity of opinion with himself of which men hinted, but he learned to respect his knowledge, his diplomatic skill, and his evident integrity. These things were essentials in the era of "good feeling' which Mr. Monroe hoped to see brought about during his term. Mr. Adams was acquainted with the politics of all Europe; he was not a party man; he knew well all the usages and forms of diplomacy, was acquainted with foreign politicians, was quite familiar with the languages of all of the leading foreign courts, and in short, was, in most respects, the best qualified man in America for the position to which he was appointed. So Mr. Monroe thought, and doubtlessly this was the real sentiment of most of Mr. Monroe's advisers. It is not probable that Mr. Madison, and even Thomas Jefferson, did not advise, or at least acquiesce in, Mr. Adams's appointment. On the 6th of August, Mr. Adams reached New York, where he was received with marked distinction, as he was a few days later in Boston. In Tammany Hall he banqueted with several hundred of the leading citizens; and in Boston he was similarly fed in public, his venerable father making one of the company. On the 20th of September he reached Washington, and two days subsequently subscribed to the oath of office before Robert Brent, a justice of the peace, and at once entered upon the duties of his position. On the day previous, he wrote the following beautiful poetic prayer in his Diary: O God, my only trust wast thou Thy aid, O Father, wilt thou lend? Thy gracious wisdom to fulfill My constant aim incline, Grant active powers, grant fervid zeal, Thine be the purpose, thine the deed, Which thou alone canst bless. From thee all perfect gifts proceed, Extend, all-seeing God, thy hand, And make to bless my native land, An instrument of me. At this time he also made this entry in the Diary: "From the information given me by Mr. Boyd, the path before me is beset by thorns, and it becomes more doubtful than ever whether I shall be able to continue longer in it. At two distinct periods of my life, heretofore, my position has been perilous and full of anxious forecast, but never so critical and precarious as at this time." The way before him was, indeed, doubtful and difficult, and to conquer its obstacles, unaided, was the hard task on which he entered. However little he had been concerned in the politics of the country, and however little the loud-mouthed and irresponsible politicians were acquainted with his real character, it was soon found that his enemies were numerous. Hard names |