neutrals, the President would not sanction the building of an American navy, but compromised on a system of gunboats, which was much ridiculed by his opponents. Republican partiality for France was shown by the passage of a measure prohibiting the importation of English goods after Nov. 15, 1806. This was designed to be retaliatory of England's violation of the rights of neutrals. As France had been, and was still, equally guilty, the blow might very justly have been aimed at both. Not yet tired of efforts to Republicanize the Judiciary, another attempt was made to clear out the old Federal incumbents, but it failed. A strained situation for the Republicans grew out of the proposition to build a National Road from the Potomac to the Ohio. Contrary to all their previous views of a rigid construction of the Constitution, and in vivid contrast with the notions of their school which prevailed for fifty years afterwards respecting internal improvement, they enacted to lay out and build such road. An adjournment took place April 21, 1806.

NINTH CONGRESS-Second Session. Met Dec. 1, 1806. During the vacation Burr's enterprise of a Southwest Empire became public, and the President had ordered his arrest. Information of the scheme was laid before Congress, and the Senate enacted to suspend the writ of habeas corpus for three months, but the House did not concur. Financial management had been such as to produce an excess of receipts over expenditures. This excellent condition the President proposed to turn to the account of the country by devoting the surplus to education and national road and canal making. He was however too far in advance, or outside, of his party in this matter to be able to persuade it to any such general undertaking. A revulsion of sentiment had set in on the discriminating act against England, passed at the previous session, and the President was given power to suspend the operation of the law till December, 1807. Congress adjourned sine die, March 3, 1807.

BURR BUBBLE.-In the early part of the year 1807 the Burr bubble burst, and he returned, under arrest, to Virginia, the scene of his plots, for trial. What he designed to accomplish

by his expedition down the Mississippi has never been accurately known. His enemies regarded his scheme as treasonable, having for its object the establishment of an empire in the Southwest so as to control the commerce of the Mississippi. His friendsrather his excusers, for friends were hardly possible-gave him the credit of a far-sighted enterprise to expel all foreign influence from the region of the Gulf, provide an inviting field for immigration, and thus establish Federal sovereignty in a distant and dangerous part of the public domain. However it may all be,

his trial was now (May, 1807) on at Richmond, before Chief Justice Marshall. It was far more political than judicial. The Federals, who had denounced the President's order for arrest as a usurpation of authority, now heaped personal invective on him for his anxious letters to the District Attorney and his open attempts to influence the trial. Nothing, however, served to deter Jefferson. He had no love for Burr, and, further, he felt that his conviction was to be his own vindication for a procedure which was so bitterly denounced as arbitrary and without precedent. The result was Burr's acquittal for want of jurisdiction. The defeat of the administration was humiliating in proportion to its anxiety to impress the trial.

TENTH CONGRESS-First Session.-Met Oct. 26, 1807, and organized by electing Joseph B. Barnum, Republican, of Massachusetts, Speaker, there being again a Republican majority in both branches. An early session was called to consider the attitude of England. The foreign outlook was by no means assuring. The English treaty of 1806 had been rejected by the President on his own responsibility, because, like the Jay treaty of 1795, it left England at liberty to search American ships and impress American seamen. This the Federals stoutly opposed as a bold assumption on the part of the President and because they, being largely the commercial part of the community, were most anxious for some kind of a treaty with England. But above all the snubbing of England by the President led her to stubborn and retaliatory renewal of her aggressions. In June, 1807, the Leopard, a British frigate, attacked the Chesapeake, an American frigate, in Hampton Roads, and forcibly removed four

seamen, ostensibly English. Here parties swung to and fro and almost embraced. The Federals became indignant at England for this outrage. The Republicans had grown lukewarm toward France, who, though not so boldly, was practising the same invasions of neutral rights. Our commerce suffered most from English aggressions, only because England was stronger than France on the water. So great was the destruction of our commerce that Jefferson privately wrote how he had come to regard "England as a den of pirates and France as a den of thieves."

EMBARGO ACT.-England's prohibition of all commerce with France, a similar prohibition by France, blockades by each, searches of neutrals by both, led the President to a proclamation against British armed ships entering American ports. To support him in this was the object of the called session. The Republicans passed his Embargo bill, against the opposition of the Federals supported by the Randolph Republicans, or quids, as they were facetiously called, both of whom argued that it would retroact on the United States and lead to more complete commercial ruin than direct aggression by either England or France had done. The Republicans averred it must be either an Embargo or war, and chose the former, not without a modification, however, to the extent of making it operative during the President's pleasure. The Embargo Act passed Dec. 21, 1807, by a vote of 87 to 35 in the House and 19 to 9 in the Senate. It prohibited American vessels sailing from foreign ports, foreign vessels taking cargoes from American ports, and all coasters from landing cargoes elsewhere than in the United States. It proved to be a veritable boomerang, as the Federals had predicted. Congress adjourned April 25, 1808.

ELECTION OF 1808.-During the summer and autumn of 1808 sentiment was shaping for the Presidential contest. For a long time (since 1806) Randolph had been actively engineering the cause of Monroe, who was Minister to England, against Madison, whom Jefferson had been coaching for his successor. But the Congressional caucus nominations at the called session had resulted in the nomination of James Madison, Va., for President, and George Clinton, N. Y., for Vice-President, on the part

of the Republicans, and C. C. Pinckney, S. C., for President, and Rufus King, N. Y., for Vice-President, on the part of the Fedrals. Jefferson, like Washington, had been requested to accept a third term but declined. The issue turned on the Embargo Act, the Federals denouncing it as unconstitutional, as destructive of American commerce, and as tending to help England as against France-a cunning argument in view of previous Republican favoritism for France, yet one whose truth was daily becoming apparent. They carried their opposition to the verge of physical resistance along the New England coast, and really lost sight of the political situation in their vehement desire to force the repeal of a destructive and obnoxious law. The result in November was a majority of Republican electors, though by no means as large as that for Jefferson.

TENTH CONGRESS—Second Session.—Met Nov. 7, 1808. Opened with protests against English and French aggressions, and an attempt of the Federals to repeal the odious Embargo Act, whose operation had by this time driven them to commercial despair. The President was informed by John Q. Adams, who had resigned from the Legislature of his State (Mass.) because his advocacy of the Embargo had drawn public censure, that it would be impossible to further enforce the act in New England, and that a scheme of open resistance was already in course of preparation. However truthful this might have beenit was stoutly denied,—and however much it may have been a part of Adams' wish to thus secure administrative favor-he was soon after sent as minister to Russia,-it is certain Jefferson changed front on the question, and with him the entire Republican party. The bill was repealed, the repeal to operate on and after March 4, 1809, and a simple Non-Intercourse Act substituted. The Republicans even went so far as to pronounce in favor of an American navy, and full protection of American rights on the high seas. Had this wonderful surrender taken place a few months earlier, the Federals must have swept the country in the Presidential contest. But it was shrewdly postponed till after the verdict had been recorded.

The electoral votes were counted in February. Madison had

for President 122, and George Clinton 6. Pinckney had for President 47. For Vice-President Clinton had 113, King 47, and 15 were scattering. Congress adjourned sine die March 4, 1809. Madison and Clinton were sworn into office March 4, 1809.

VI.

MADISON'S FIRST ADMINISTRATION.

March 4, 1809-March 3, 1813.

JAMES MADISON, VA., President. GEORGE CLINTON, N. Y., Vice

* Of those marked scattering Clinton received 6 for President, and for Vice-President Madison received 3, John Langdon 9, and James Monroe 3.

+ The Cabinets as here found are those first organized by the incoming administrations. For the changes and all incumbents see the respective department heads under Ruling Nationally."