National Republican. (Washington City (D.C.)) 1872-1888, 1880-05-11
TuyTuIRp-TERNI MYTH.


n large proportion of the people were OPP
posed TO his election third time, and tn c
nonsense which is rung in our ears about
" the usnges of our fathers" "the unwritten
portion of tile constitution" the prece-
" dents of the early presidents" and other
similar twaddle is not only twaddle and
nonsense, but is an assumption as true of
that which is entirely untrue, and never
had n shadow of foundation in fact. On
the contrary, it can very easily be proven
from existing records, both printed
and in manuscript, that in the early
portion of his second term a very large
roportion-probably nine-tcnths-of the
voters were earnestly DESTROYS of elect
ing him third time, and that if he had
not published his farewell address with
drawing his name and declining to be con-
sidered candidate, no other man then
living would have received any consider
able number of votes. Beyond all question
he would have again received the unani-
nous, or nearly unanimous, vote of the
electoral college. Aside from n narrow
circle Of ambitious aspirants aud few dis
appointed place-hunters, not an objection
from any source to either him or q third
term can be found in the political records,
letters, speeches or essays of the time,
and an examination of such records
leads to the unhesitating conclusion that
down to the publication or that address
WASHINGTON was the almost unan-
;r,o al, -, Of -tola I ,lya.
his illustrious successor of nearly n
century later lie was very far above the
necessity of either soliciting or seheming
for the Office, but there is nothing to show
that until very near the close of his second
term he did not intend and expect to ac-
cept reelection.
But in the previous election those two
fathers of democracy and first of profess
sional politicians, THOMAS JEFFERSON and
AARON BURR, had received few votes rs
the second choice of some of the electors,
and in the true spirit of all demagogues be-
gan Immediately to scheme and plot to
place themselves in the front. Knowing
very well that so long as WASHINGTON was
in the field their chances of succeeding him
were very slight, they sought 10 remove
him from the list of possible candidates as
preliminary step in their advancement
That this was deliberate and concerted
plan is plainly asserted by PARTON in his
Life of AARON BURR" After detailing
at very considerable length the persistent
and repeated efforts of the democratic
members Of the house of representatives to
induce the president to nominate BURR to
the senate rs minister to France, to succeed
Governor MORRIS, who had become UNI
popular and was to be recalled, and after
stating fully the reasons for the failure of
| those efforts, he closes the account with the
statement that " from this time it was de-
termined to remove WASHINGTON from
the presidency"
| These men very thoroughly understood
the man they had to deal with, and that il
would be no very difficult task to drive him
| in disgust from field where two such
politicians as they were scheming and work.
ing with all the cunning and craltiness OF
which they were capable. WAsHINGToN's
pride Of character and high sense of dignity
and honor were one of the very marked
characteristics of the man. Every one al
all familiar with the manners and habits Of
thought and feeling of the leading men Of
our early history is aware of this, and can
very readily imagine how his fine and high
strung sensibility would fret and chafe
under the manipulations of two such arch
politicians as JEFFERSON and BURR. That
BURR, JEFFERSON, CLINTON aud other
democratic leaders of the time did outrage
and scandalize all his ideas Of political
rectitude and honesty, with the design Of
driving him from the field of politics, is as
clear and palpable as any fact can well lie
made to appear ALEXANDER HAMILTON
who was a member of the cabinet
in one Of his letters to OLIVER
WALCoTT speaks in very decided and
unmistalsable words of JEFFERSON, who
was also in the cabinet, as being unfilthful
in allegiance (poliical) to his chief, aud in
numerous letters to his friends at various
times subsequently gives, VS. one of the
principal reasons for his antipathy and dis.
! like, JEFFERsoN's conduct toward WASH,
INGToS at this time. In his diary Mr.
| JEFFERSON himself records q conversation
he had with the president in 1896, in which
political animosity and party passions were
evidently the subject under discussion
JEFFERSON records only his own words
but it is quite apparent from what he say
that WASHINGTON had called his attention
10 some of his recent actions. JEFFERsoN's
defense is Of course very fine, rs every thing
written by him is, bat that there wa.
not very kindly feeling between
them when the conversation wa,
ended is evident from the fact thai
very shortly aftcrward AIr JEFFERSON re-
signed his place in the cabinet Politica
yituperation aud abuse from these sources
and from other democratic leaders, O
the most aggravating character to hi
Oyersensitiye nature, WAsHISGTON Dor,
for months in digniled silence aud sco1
almost identical with tie TeticGnce of Gen
eraI GRANT at the present time, but d
finally became too much for his proud hear
10 bear longer, and to save himself from
further annoyance OF the kind he wrot'
aud published TO the country his address
thus suffering the cOnspirators 10 accom-
plsh their purpose by driving him, US they
had determined from the uOlitical fell