26r Forsyth of Georgia, and upon
the general order, given by Jackson in 1817. which was considered as
setting at defiance the War Department. He imputed the whole to Mr
Crawford’s resentments against him, on account of his
having at the last Presidential Election supported Mr Monroe
against him— Said there was not a single Officer in the army known to
have been at that time in favour of Monroe, whom Crawford had not since
insulted— That Mr Monroe was of an open,
fair unsuspecting character; amiable in the highest degree; and would
not believe human nature capable of the baseness which Crawford, while
holding a confidential office under him was practising against him— I
told Jackson, that Mr. Crawford had never in
any of the discussions on the Seminole War, said a word which led me to
suppose he had any hostile feeling against him— He replied that however
that might be, Crawford was now setting the whole delegation of Georgia
against him; and by intentional insult, and the grossest violation of
all military principle had compelled him to issue the order of 1817.
Crawford, he said, was a man restrained by no principle, and capable of
any baseness— The first act that brought him into notice, was a
conspiracy between him as a lawyer, and Tait the late Senator form
Georgia, taking clandestinely a false affidavit, charging a General George Clarke, as a speculator
in the Yazoo Lands, while a member of the Georgia Legislature— Clarke
proved the falsehood of the charge— challenged Crawford and broke his
arm, and wore out a cow-hide on Tait’s back— Crawford was now canvassing
for the next Presidential election, and actually wrote a Letter to
Clay, proposing a coalition with
him to overthrow Mr Monroe’s administration.
Mr Clay had declared in a public speech
that he would not make any systematic opposition to this
administration—but he certainly had received such a Letter from
Crawford; for a person of high standing here at Washington, had told him
Jackson since he has been now here, that he had seen it— And whenever
Crawford’s name shall be brought forward as a Candidate for the
Presidency, the whole transaction should be unveiled to the public— It
would not be worthwhile to disclose it now— As to Forsyth, what motive
he could have for his present conduct, other than that of subserviency
to Crawford, he could not imagine— But he carried his inveteracy to such
lengths that he was to make it a new charge against Jackson, that in the
late campaign, he had accepted the aid of mounted Volunteers, instead of
Militia; and yesterday his Committee had sent for Captain Call and examines him to make
out a charge that he, Jackson had speculated in a purchase of lands at
Pensacola, which was utterly false— A man of his name (no relation of
his, for he had not a relation in the world,) an irishman, had gone from
Nashville, and made some speculation in lands at Pensacola, but in which
he himself had no interest or concern. The bitterness with which Forsyth
is pursuing this attack upon Jackson has become notorious, and the more
extraordinary, as Forsyth has already been notified that he will be
nominated as Minister to Spain, before the close of the Session of
Congress— That Crawford has written such a Letter to Clay as Jackson has
been informed is to the last degree improbable; he has too much
discretion to have put himself so much in Clay’s power. But that all his
conduct is governed by his views to the Presidency as the immediate
successor to Mr Monroe, and that his hopes
depend upon a result unfavourable to the success, or at least to the
popularity of the administration is perfectly clear— The important and
critical interests of the Country, are those the management of which
belongs to the Department of State— Those incidental to the Treasury are
in a state which would give an able financier an opportunity to display
his talents, but Crawford has no talents as a financier. He is just and
barely equal to the current routine of the business of his Office— His
talent is intrigue— And as it is in the foreign Affairs that the success
or failure of the Administration will be most conspicuous, and as their
success would promote the reputation and influence, and their failure
would lead to the disgrace of the Secretary of State, Crawford’s 27personal views centre in the ill success of the
Administration, in its foreign Relations, and perhaps unconscious of his
own motives, he will always be impelled to throw obstacles in its way,
and to bring upon the Department of State especially, any feeling of
public dissatisfaction that he can— I have felt this even in the
Negotiation of the late Convention with Great-Britain; in the course of
which he took ground of disapprobation, of which he certainly would have
made a handle if the negotiation had terminated unsuccessfully; and of
which I have no doubt he avails himself as it is, in his private
Conversations, to hint that the success might have been greater. I feel
him continually in the Negotiation with Spain, and in the transactions
with Hyde de Neuville,
and always in the way of increasing difficulties— Crawford is not a
worse man, than the usual herd of ambitious intriguers. Perhaps not so
bad as many of them— I do not think him entirely unprincipled; but his
ambition swallows up his principle. His position is a bad one— Having
been a caucus Candidate for the Presidency, against Mr Monroe, he feels as if his very existence
was staked upon his being his successor— And although himself a member
of the Administration, he perceives every day more clearly, that his
only prospect of success hereafter depends upon the failure of the
Administration, by measures, of which he must take care to make known
his disapprobation— This forced and unnatural position is one of the
numerous evils, consequent upon the practice which has grown up under
this Constitution, but contrary to its Spirit, by which the members of
Congress meet in Caucus, and determine by a majority upon the Candidate
for the Presidency to be supported by the whole Meeting. A practice
which places the President in a state of undue subserviency to the
members of the Legislature; and which connected with the other practice
of re-electing only once the same President, leads to a thousand corrupt
cabals between the Members of Congress and the Heads of the Departments,
who are thus almost necessarily made rival pretenders to the succession.
The only possible chance for a Head of Department to attain the
Presidency, is by ingratiating himself personally with the Members of
Congress, and as many of them have objects of their own to obtain, the
temptation is immense to corrupt coalitions, and tends to make all the
public offices objects of bargain and sale— That there has been
intercourse of this kind, more or less explicit between Crawford and
Clay can scarcely be doubted— But a Coalition between them would be
liable to many difficulties. They are both native Virginians— Clay’s
ambition has been so pampered by success, that he has evidently formed
hopes of coming in as the immediate successor of Mr Monroe. He refused both the War Department, and the Mission
to England. Last winter he aimed at the unlimited controul of the House
of Representatives, and at the formation of a Western party. His
prospect of coalition then was with Governor Clinton; and it was positively, but I think
erroneously said to have been effected. I has this winter much more the
appearance of being concluded with Crawford; but the Georgian attack
upon Jackson has scarcely any support from the West, though an immense
effort has been made to engage Virginia, in the cause; and with partial
success. Clay’s opposition has hitherto been so unsuccessful, that he
sees I believe the necessity of contenting himself with a secondary
Station under the next Presidency; and this may bring him back to a
coalition with Crawford or Clinton, as the chances may arise— His
opposition to Jackson now is involuntary and merely counteractive. At
the Office, I had successively as visitors, Mr
Verplanck, who came to urge the removal of Fiske, the District Attorney at
New-York, for habitual intemperance, and the appointment of J. O. Hoffman a federalist as his
successor— Mr
Edwards, Senator from Illinois concerning the appointment
of a District Attorney and Marshal for that State, which he wished to
have postponed— He apologized for shewing me a Letter from Felix Grundy, now of Tennessee, and
sometime a member of Congress from that State, but formerly an
inhabitant of Kentucky, and rival of Clay. Edwards had written to him to
urge him to come into Congress again; but he apparently declines.
Edwards says that he himself shall not come as a Senator again. Mr
Woodsides came to press me for a Report, in Mr
Cathcart’s case— Mr Mitchell for some new
provision to a Bill now before Congress relating to the Seaman’s fund.
Mr
Bourqueney, Secretary to the French Legation, brought me a
long Note, in English, from Mr De Neuville,
upon the present Negotiation with Spain; and said Mr De Neuville himself would call upon me to
morrow. I received a Note from Mr Bagot asking an Audience of
28the President, to present a Letter from the
British Prince Regent, announcing
the demise of the Queen. The
President fixed one O’Clock to-morrow for receiving him. The President
also asked me this Morning whether I thought there would be any
impropriety in General Jackson’s attending this Evening at the
Drawing-Room. I said surely not. He has declined receiving any public
attentions, while motions of censure upon his conduct are in discussion
before Congress; but his attendance at the Drawing-Room is a mark of
Respect for him, which the President not having censured him, has no
reason for declining— Jackson did attend the Drawing Room, which was
more crowded than any former one this Winter; and from the earnestness
with which the company pressed round him, the eagerness with which
multitudes pushed to obtain personal introductions to him, and the eye
of respect and gratitude which from every quarter beamed upon him, it
had as much the appearance of being his drawing-Room as the
President’s.
John Quincy Adams Digital Diary
This is a beta site. To read and search all of the main diary entries, from 1779 to 1848, please visit our current website.