The morning call., 1893-07-13
NEW LIGHT ON THE LIFE OF
JEFFERSON.

James Schouler has just written and the
publishers of the Makers of America"
series have just published life of Jeffer-
son, which throws light on points which
have been obscure. Jefferson was so
stanch partisan and his enmity to the
Federalst doctrine was so frank that he
attracted the enmity of the whole New
England school, and as that school has
had the writing of our national history
the Virginian statesman has not often
been fairly depicted. Admirers. of the
Adamses have described him as French
JacobiD, while on the other hand his pane
gyrists have declared that he evolved out
of his inner Consciousness the fundamental
principles of modern democracy more than
half a century before those principles
were defined by Tilden, Marcy and Wright.
Both critics failed to understand him.
jefferson was a partisan of American
independence neither more nor less than
Samuel Adams Otis and Hancock, but he
was what they were not-a believer in the
intelligence and the patriotism of the COM
mon people. His. political principles had
ripened through study of the republicans
of Paris, but be was sufficiently keen
wtted to realize that the centralized form
of government of Robespierre and Carnot
must lead to a military despotism. 1t was
for this reason that he set his face against
the policy Of Capitalization to which Ham
ilton was committed. and he carried out
his doctrine so consistently as to bring
upon his administration not undeserved
rebuke for pusillanmity. He so thor
oughly believed in the nnn-in'erference of
the Government with matters beyond rou-
tine inistration that he submitted to
British outrages upon American commerce
which a more energetic executive would
have resented and stopped at the mouth Of
the cannon.
This habit Of spfferance was the blemish
in Jefferson's character as national mag
istrate. 1t must have been perfectly evil
dent to him as early as the beginning of
his second term that the British did not
consider he war over and that Ienewa al
of the conflict was necessary to est ablish
American liberties on a firm basis. But
he made no preparations for the war
which was inevitable. His embargo in
f1cted more injury on the American peo-
pie than on foreigners; whereas, II he had
induced Congress to declare war and COW
cred the seas with American prlvateers he
would have conquered peace that would
have ended in treaty very different from
the treaty of Client. The only measure
in which he showed moral courage was the
purchase of Louisiana. He made no Sc
cret of his opinion that the purchase was
unconstitutional, but 1t was apparent to
him. and for that matter to all public men.
that the retention Of the mouth Of the
Mississippi in foreign hands meant sooner
or later the secession of the river terri
tories and their organization as a rival
confederacy. aud he took the responsible
ity-for the first and only time in his lie
of departing from his cherished theory of
decentralization.
A part of Jefferson's fame will rest on
his record as an abolitionist. During the
slavery conflict efforts were made to eX-
plain away his utterances on the subject
of the peculiar institution: but they could
not obliterate the tact that he was the
ruthor of the anti-slavery provisions OF
the ordinance of 1888 and that he tried to
insert anti-slavery provisions into the con-
stitution. which were expunged partly by
the votes of the delegates of the slave
lTduSIS VI NEW OIk dllu NcVpUTl. III
this noble work he was assisted by Nathan
Dane and other right-minded men; but
the opinion of Massachusetts delegate
did not carry much weight on question
which mainly concerned the South. 1t
was Jefferson's ill fortune that he lived at
time when he was almost alone in "trem-
bling for his country when he reflected
that God was just" Slavery had sunk its
roots deep Into the soil of the Carolinas
and Virginia. and the hot INDIGNATION with
which it was regarded fifty years after
ward at the North was at this time con-
fined to the Quakers at Philadelphia. AS
a whole the North was Indifferent on the
subject. Indiana and Illinois escaped be-
ing slave States BY the merest shave.