VII.

JAMES MADISON.

THE events of Mr. Jefferson's second term were almost entirely occurrences in our foreign relations. We had difficulties with Spain, with Great Britain, and with France. The President, to be sure, had his quarrel with the court which tried and did not convict Burr, but that was a mere incident. As the term drew toward its close, the relations with Great Britain became more unfriendly, and the accusation of undue partiality for France on the part of the administration was more loudly and persistently preferred. The administration party in Congress were clamorous at one time for a declaration of war against Spain. In 1807 Jefferson declined even to lay before the Senate a treaty with Great Britain, negotiated by the two envoys - James Monroe and William Pinkney, of Maryland-appointed by himself. The cavalier treatment of Mr. Monroe at this time by Mr. Jefferson, and by Mr. Madison, his Secretary of State, probably had something to do with the opposition, at one time threatening, but eventually ineffectual, to Mr. Madison, on the part of Mr. Monroe's friends. John Randolph at this time created great alarm in the administration ranks by his strong dissent from Jefferson's foreign policy, in which he was backed by some other Republican members of Congress. The Federalists had, of course, no difficulty in finding reasons for opposing him; but the last which he gave them was the greatest, the embargo, which was laid in December, 1807, and continued through the whole

time of the presidential canvass. This measure was extremely unpopular in the Northern commercial States, which suffered most by it; and not even the attack upon the "Chesapeake," the avowed cause of the embargo, justified in the eyes of the Federalists a law which hurt England to some extent, but America more.

There was much preliminary intriguing for the support of the Republican party for the presidency. There was a strong movement in Virginia-representing, however, only a minority of the people in favor of Mr. Monroe. On Jan. 21, 1808, there were two caucuses of members of the Virginia legislature, one of which recommended Mr. Madison, and the other, much the smaller gathering, nominated Mr. Monroe. This was almost simultaneous with the holding of the second congressional caucus for making nominations. On the 19th of January, Senator Stephen R. Bradley of Vermont issued a notice, "in pursuance of the powers vested in me, as president of the late Convention of the Republican members of both Houses of Congress," that is, of the caucus of 1804, summoning them to meet in the Senate Chamber, at 6 o'clock, on the 23d of the month.

It is possible that the form in which this notice was cast had something to do with the opposition which was immediately developed to the caucus system, and which eventually overthrew it. At all events it was then that the reasons afterward urged by the opponents of the caucus were first presented. Mr. Gray, a member from Virginia, published an answer to Mr. Bradley's summons, couched in the very vehement style of the political literature of that day: "I take the earliest moment to declare my abhorrence of the usurpation of power declared to be vested in you of your mandatory style, and the object contemplated. . . . I cannot consent, either in an in

dividual or representative capacity, to countenance, by my presence, the midnight intrigues of any set of men who may arrogate to themselves the right, which belongs only to the people, of selecting proper persons to fill the important offices of President and Vice-President. Nor do I suppose that the honest people of the United States can much longer suffer, in silence, so direct and palpable an invasion upon the most important and sacred right belonging exclusively to them."

Another member from New York published a burlesque upon Mr. Bradley's notification, in which, "in pursuance of a similar power vested in me," he deemed it expedient for the purpose of not nominating a President, not to call a Convention at the same time and place, and requested members not to attend it, "to aid and sanction an infringement of one of the most important features and principles of the Constitution of the United States." But the caucus was held. It is said to have been attended by 94 senators and representatives, although only 89 votes were cast. The latter number, however, was not only a large majority of the Republican strength in both Houses of Congress, but more than one half of the whole membership of both bodies. On a ballot Mr. Madison had 83 votes, Mr. George Clinton 3, and Mr. Monroe 3. The first ballot for a candidate for Vice-President resulted in 79 votes for Mr. Clinton, 5 for John Langdon of New Hampshire, 3 for Henry Dearborn of Massachusetts, the Secretary of War, and 1 for John Quincy Adams. Messrs. Madison and Clinton were then formally declared nominated, by resolution, to which announcement was appended a statement which, in a somewhat amended form, was employed by every subsequent caucus of the kind as long as the system was in vogue. It declared "that, in making the

foregoing recommendation, the members of this meeting have acted only in their individual characters as citizens; that they have been induced to adopt this measure from the necessity of the case; from a deep conviction of the importance of union to the Republicans throughout all parts of the United States in the present crisis of both our external and internal affairs; and as being the most practicable mode of consulting and respecting the interests and wishes of all upon a subject so truly interest. ing to the whole people of the United States."

The Monroe movement caused not a little difficulty after the caucus. A gentleman in Richmond wrote to a friend in Washington, in March, 1808, that everything had been said by Mr. Monroe's real friends to induce him to withdraw, but it was treated as the deceitful counsel of enemies. At last, however, Mr. Jefferson's influence was exerted upon Monroe, and he yielded. If he had refused, he would probably have been treated as De Witt Clinton was for consenting to stand as a candidate in opposition to the regular nominee, four years later.

The Federalists do not seem to have taken any action for concentrating their votes. It was not necessary. They voted for their candidates of four years before, Messrs. Pinckney and King. The canvass was conducted without great excitement, and the result showed a considerable change of public sentiment, chiefly at the North, against the Republican party. New Hampshire, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island returned to their allegiance to the Federal party, and the votes of New York and North Carolina were divided. The number of States voting was seventeen, as it had been four years before, and there was no change, so far as is known in the method of appointment. An informality was charged, by memorial to the House of Representatives, in December, 1808,

in the appointment of electors in Massachusetts.

It

was asserted that the legislature had not laid the appointment of the electors before the Governor, as the law required. A resolution was introduced for raising a joint committee "to examine the matter of said memorials and report their opinion thereon to both Houses," but it was not acted on. Some days later another resolution was introduced, directing the memorials to be sent to the Senate. After some debate, in which only one member expressed the opinion that Congress could take any action in the premises, the resolution was passed and sent to the Senate with the memorials, where it was ordered that all the papers be laid on the table; and no action whatever was taken upon them.

On this occasion the count of electoral votes took place in the Hall of the Representatives, but by some oversight there was no provision, in the joint resolution directing how the count should proceed, that the President of the Senate should take the chair. Mr. Randolph, who could always be depended upon to create difficulties when there was opportunity, called attention to the fact, and objected to the chair being vacated by the Speaker without a vote of the House. "He did not wish the privileges of this House any way diminished." The case was provided for by a formal vote, and the Senate was admitted. When the votes had all been opened and the returns tabulated, the President of the Senate was about to read the result, when one of the tellers remarked that one return was defective, not having a governor's certificate attached. Nothing further was said, however, and the President of the Senate, Mr. Milledge, Senator from Georgia, proceeded to declare the result, as follows: