For the same day that our King James the Sixth was crowned king of England, the river Tweed, by an extraordinary flood, so far overflowed its banks that it met and joined with the Pausayl at the said grave, which was never before observed to fall out.”
The precise spot pointed out to travellers is situated near Drumelzier, a village upon the Tweed.
FOURTH OF JULY, 1776.
“The first motion in Congress was to declare this country independent.”
The first assembling of the Revolutionary Congress took place in this city on the 5th of September, 1774. Subsequently the progress of the war continued to ripen the public mind and feelings for a total separation from Great Britain. It was not, however, until the 7th of June, 1776, that any special action was had for that purpose. On that day Richard Henry Lee, a delegate from Virginia, made the following motion, which was seconded by John Adams:—
“To declare these united colonies free and independent States; that they are dissolved from all allegiance to the British crown, and that all political connection between them and the state of Great Britain is and ought to be totally dissolved; that measures should be immediately taken for procuring assistance of foreign powers, and that a confederation be formed to bind the colonies more closely together.”
On the following day the subject was debated, and on the 1st of July a committee consisting of five delegates—Messrs. Jefferson, Adams, Franklin, R. Sherman, and R. R. Lawrence—was selected by ballot to draft a Declaration of Independence.
According to parliamentary usage, Mr. Lee would have been the chairman of this committee; but he was absent in Virginia on account of the illness of a member of his family. Mr. Jefferson, however, having the greatest number of votes, was selected by the other members of the committee to act as chairman, and the draft prepared by him was first read in committee. Some verbal alterations were made by Dr. Franklin and Mr. Adams, and it was not thought necessary to read the drafts prepared by the others. It was stated at the time that the other members of the committee were so pleased with Mr. Jefferson’s draft that they would not submit theirs even for consideration. Perhaps no higher compliment was ever paid to the author of our Declaration of Independence than that which emanated from the gentlemen who composed this committee.
The Declaration, thus prepared and amended, was finally adopted in Congress on the 4th, and was read to a meeting of the citizens of Philadelphia, assembled at the State-House yard, from the steps of the building.
The house in which Mr. Jefferson wrote the Declaration is still standing, at the southwest corner of Seventh and Market Streets. Mr. Jefferson had rooms in it as a lodger when a member of the Congress of ’76. Two days before the adoption of the Declaration and its promulgation, Mr. Adams, in a letter addressed to his wife, makes use of the following language:—
“I am apt to believe that it will be celebrated by succeeding generations as the grand anniversary festival. It ought to be commemorated as the day of deliverance by solemn acts of devotion to God Almighty. It ought to be solemnized with pomp, shows, games, sports, guns, bells, bonfires, and illuminations, from one end of the continent to the other, from this time forward and forever.
“I am well aware of the toil, and blood, and treasure that it will cost us to maintain this declaration and to support and defend the States: yet through all the gloom I can see the rays of light and glory. I can see that the end is more than worth all the means, and that posterity will triumph, although you and I may rue it,—which I hope we shall not.”
When the bell sounded forth from the steeple of the old State-House, the first peal for liberty gave new life to the citizens: from lip to lip, from street to street, from city, town, and through the country, away, away, the words roll like the waves of the ocean, and reverberating like the roar of the wind as, undulating, it passed through all space. The city of Philadelphia on the afternoon of July 4, 1776, presented to view a city convulsed. Joy united with patriotism, and then the word “Freedom!” became the watchword.
When the news reached New York, the bells were set ringing, and the excited multitude, surging hither and thither, at length gathered around the Bowling Green, and, seizing the leaden equestrian statue of George III. which stood there, broke it into fragments: this was afterwards run into bullets and hurled against his majesty’s troops.35 When the Declaration arrived in Boston, the people gathered around old Faneuil Hall to hear it read, and, as the last sentence fell from the lips of the reader, a loud shout went up, and soon from every fortified height and every battery the thunder of cannon re-echoed the cry.
LIBERTY-TREE.
During the Stamp Act excitement there arose a practice of signifying public sentiment in a very effectual way,—though without any responsible agent, unless the inanimate Liberty-Tree may be so considered. This tree was a majestic elm that stood in front of a house opposite the Boylston market, on the edge of the “High Street,” in the town of Boston. On the 14th of August, 1765, an effigy representing Andrew Oliver, a gentleman appointed to distribute the stamps, was found hanging upon this tree, with a paper before it, on which was written, in large characters,—
“P.S.—Whoever takes this down is an enemy to his country.” On the right arm was written “A. O.,” and on the left,
On another part of the tree a boot was suspended,—the emblem of the Earl of Bute, First Lord of the Treasury,—from which the devil, with the Stamp Act in his hand, was looking out. Chief Justice—afterwards Governor—Hutchinson, directed the sheriff to remove this exhibition; but his deputies, from a fear of the popular feeling, declined. In the evening the figures were taken down by the people and carried in procession through the streets. After demolishing the stamp-office, in State Street, they proceeded to Fort Hill, where a bonfire was made of the pageantry in sight of Mr. Oliver’s house. It being intimated to Mr. Oliver that it would conduce to the quiet of the public if he would go to the tree and openly resign his commission, he appeared the next day, and declared, in the presence of a large concourse of people, that he would not continue in office. It was thenceforward called the Liberty-Tree, and the following inscription placed upon it:—“This tree was planted in the year 1614, and pruned by the order of the Sons of Liberty, February 14, 1766.” On future occasions there was seldom any excitement on political subjects without some evidence of it appearing on this tree. Whenever obnoxious offices were to be resigned or agreements for patriotic purposes entered into, the parties were notified to appear at the tree, “where they always found pens and paper, and a numerous crowd of witnesses, though the genius of the tree was invisible. When the British army took possession of Boston, in 1774, Liberty-Tree fell a victim to their vengeance, or to that of the persons to whom its shade had been disagreeable.” Liberty-trees were consecrated in Charlestown, Lexington, and Roxbury, Mass., and also in Charleston, S.C., Newport and Providence, R.I.—Tudor’s Life of Otis.
Liberty-Tree.
1765.
This beautiful ballad was written by Thomas Paine, the author of the “Age of Reason,” and published in the Pennsylvania Magazine of July, 1775, while he was editor of that periodical. He composed and published many songs and elegies during his connection with the magazine. Among them, “The Death of Wolfe on the Plains of Abraham” is uncommonly pathetic and graceful.
LIBERTY-TREE.
YANKEE DOODLE:—THE AIR AND WORDS.
There are so many versions of the origin of this popular and now national air, as well as the words, that we offer the following to our readers without note or comment.
In Burgh’s Anecdotes of Music, vol. iii. p. 405, after speaking of Dr. Arne and John Frederick Lampe, the author proceeds:—“Besides Lampe and Arne, there were at this time [1731] other candidates for musical fame of the same description. Among these were Mr. John Christian Smith, who set two English operas for Lincoln’s Inn Fields,—Teraminta and Ulysses,—and Dr. Tresh, author of the oratorio of Judith.”
About the year 1797, after having become a tolerable proficient on the German flute, I took it into my head to learn the bassoon, and for this purpose procured an instrument and book of instructions from the late Mr. Joseph Carr, who had then recently opened a music-store in Baltimore City, being the first regular establishment of the kind in this country. In this book there was an “Air from Ulysses,” which was the identical air now called Yankee Doodle, with the exception of a few notes which time and fancy may have added.
Here is another version:—
In the simultaneous attacks that were made upon the French posts in America in 1755, that against Fort Du Quesne (the present site of Pittsburg) was conducted by General Braddock, and those against Niagara and Frontenac by Governor Shirley, of Massachusetts, and General Johnston, of New York. The following is an extract from Judge Martin’s History of North Carolina, giving an account of those expeditions:—
“The army of the latter (Shirley and Johnston), during the summer, lay on the eastern bank of the Hudson, a little south of the city of Albany. In the early part of June the troops of the Eastern provinces began to pour in, company after company; and such a motley assemblage of men never before thronged together on such an occasion, unless an example may be found in the ragged regiment of Sir John Falstaff. It would have relaxed the gravity of an anchorite to have seen the descendants of the Puritans, marching through the streets of that ancient city (Albany), take their situations on the left of the British army,—some with long coats, and others with no coats at all, with colors as various as the rainbow,—some with their hair cropped like the army of Cromwell, and others with wigs, the locks of which floated with grace around their shoulders. Their march, their accoutrements, and the whole arrangement of the troops, furnished matter of amusement to the rest of the British army. The music played the airs of two centuries ago; and the tout ensemble, upon the whole, exhibited a sight to the wondering strangers, to which they had been unaccustomed. Among the club of wits that belonged to the British army there was a Doctor Shackburg, attached to the staff, who combined with the science of surgeon the skill and talents of a musician. To please the new-comers, he composed a tune, and with much gravity recommended it to the officers as one of the most celebrated airs of martial music. The joke took, to the no small amusement of the British. Brother Jonathan exclaimed it was nation fine, and in a few days nothing was heard in the provincial camp but the air of Yankee Doodle. Little did the author in his composition then suppose that an air made for the purpose of levity and ridicule should ever be marked for such high destinies. In twenty years from that time the national march inspired the heroes of Bunker Hill, and in less than thirty years Lord Cornwallis and his army marched into the American lines to the tune of Yankee Doodle.”
“Watson, in his “Occurrences of the War of Independence,” says,—
“This tune, so celebrated as a national air of the Revolution, has an origin almost unknown to the mass of the people of the present day. An aged and respectable lady, born in New England, told me she remembered it well, long before the Revolution, under another name. It was then universally called ‘Lydia Fisher,’ and was a favorite New England jig. It was then the practice with it, as with Yankee Doodle now, to sing it with various impromptu verses,—such as
“The British, preceding the war, when disposed to ridicule the simplicity of the Yankee manners and hilarity, were accustomed to sing airs or songs set to words invented for the passing occasion, having for their object to satirize and sneer at the New Englanders. This, as I believe, they called Yankee Doodle, by way of reproach, and as a slur upon their favorite ‘Lydia Fisher.’ It is remembered that the English officers then among us, acting under civil and military appointments, often felt lordly over us as colonists, and by countenancing such slurs they sometimes expressed their superciliousness. When the battles of Concord and Lexington began the war, the English, when advancing in triumph, played along the road, ‘God save the King;’ but when the Americans had made the retreat so disastrous to the invaders, these then struck up the scouted Yankee Doodle,—as if to say, ‘See what we simple Jonathans can do!’ From that time the term of intended derision was assumed throughout all the American colonies, as the national air of the Sons of Liberty; even as the Methodists—once reproachfully so called—assumed it as their acceptable appellation. Even the name of ‘Sons of Liberty,’ which was so popular at the outset, was a name adopted from the appellation given us in Parliament by Colonel Barré in his speech! Judge Martin, in his History of North Carolina, has lately given another reason for the origin of ‘Yankee Doodle,’ saying it was first formed at Albany, in 1755, by a British officer, then there, indulging his pleasantry on the homely array of the motley Americans then assembling to join the expedition of General Johnston and Governor Shirley. To ascertain the truth in the premises, both his and my accounts were published in the gazettes, to elicit, if possible, further information, and the additional facts ascertained seem to corroborate the foregoing idea. The tune and quaint words, says a writer in the ‘Columbian Gazette,’ at Washington, were known as early as the time of Cromwell, and were so applied to him then, in a song called ‘Nankee Doodle,’ as ascertained from the collection he had seen of a gentleman at Cheltenham, in England, called ‘Musical Antiquities of England,’ to wit:—
“The term feather, &c. alluded to Cromwell’s going into Oxford on a small horse, with his single plume fastened in a sort of knot called a ‘macaroni.’ The idea that such an early origin may have existed seems strengthened by the fact communicated by an aged gentleman of Massachusetts, who well remembered that, about the time the strife was engendering at Boston, they sometimes conveyed muskets to the country concealed in their loads of manure, &c. Then came abroad verses, as if set forth from their military masters, saying,—
“The similarity of the first lines of the above two examples, and the term ‘feather’ in the third line, seem to mark in the latter some knowledge of the former precedent. As, however, other writers have confirmed their early knowledge of ‘Lydia Locket,’ such as,
we seem led to the choice of reconciling them severally with each other. We conclude, therefore, that the Cavaliers, when they originally composed ‘Nankee Doodle,’ may have set it to the jig-tune of ‘Lydia Fisher,’ to make it the more offensive to the Puritans. In this view it was even possible for the British officer at Albany, in 1755, as a man skilled in music, to have before heard of the old ‘Nankee Doodle,’ and to have renewed it on that occasion. That the air was uniformly deemed a good retort on British royalists, we must be confirmed in from the fact that it was played by us at the battle of Lexington when repelling the foe, again at the surrender of Burgoyne, and finally at Yorktown surrender, when Lafayette, who ordered the tune, meant it as a retort on an intended affront.”
The following is the first verse in the original American Yankee Doodle song:—
HAIL COLUMBIA.
The following is Judge Hopkinson’s own account of the origin of “Hail Columbia:”—
“This song was written in the summer of 1798, when a war with France was thought to be inevitable, Congress being then in session in Philadelphia, deliberating upon that important subject, and acts of hostility having actually occurred. About that time a young man by the name of Fox, attached to the Chestnut Street Theatre, was getting up some attraction for his benefit. I had known him when at school. On this acquaintance he called on me on Saturday afternoon,—his benefit being announced for the following Monday. He said there were no boxes taken, and his prospect was that he should suffer a loss instead of receiving a benefit from his performance, but that if he could get a patriotic song adapted to the tune of the ‘President’s March’ (then the popular air) he did not doubt of a full house; that the poets of the theatrical corps had been trying to accomplish it, but were satisfied that no words could be composed to suit the music of the march. I told him I would try for him. He came the next afternoon, and the song, such as it is, was ready for him. It was announced on Monday morning, and the theatre was crowded to excess, and so continued, night after night, for the rest of the season,—the song being encored and repeated many times each night, the audience joining in the chorus. It was also sung at night in the streets by large assemblies of citizens, including members of Congress. The enthusiasm was general, and the song was heard, I may say, in every part of the United States.”
The President’s March was composed by Professor Pfyle, and was played at Trenton Bridge when Washington passed over on his way to New York to his inauguration. An old writer, speaking upon this subject, says, “I have also reason to believe that the Washington’s March generally known by that title—I mean the one in the key of G major—was composed by the Hon. Francis Hopkinson, Senior, having seen it in a manuscript book of his, in his own handwriting, among other of his known compositions.”
THE STAR-SPANGLED BANNER.
Was written by Francis S. Key, while on board one of the vessels composing the British fleet. He was an agent for the exchange of prisoners, and witnessed in the distance the bombardment of Fort McHenry. The tune was originally set to the song “To Anacreon in Heaven,” by Dr. Arnold.
THE PRESENT AMERICAN FLAG.
The first flag adopted by the colonial army before Boston was a red flag, with the mottoes, “An appeal to Heaven,” and “Qui transtulit sustinet,” which was construed by the colonists thus:—“God, who transplanted us hither, will sustain us.” About this time also the floating batteries, which were the germ of the navy subsequently organized, bore a flag with the motto, “Appeal to Heaven.” These flags were adopted before the union of the colonies was effected. After that union, and upon the organization of the army and fleet, these flags were supplanted by one calculated to show to the world the union of the North American colonies among themselves and as an integral part of the British empire, and as such demanding the rights and liberties of British subjects. And for this purpose a flag combining the crosses of St. George and St. Andrew united (the distinctive emblem of Great Britain), with a field composed of thirteen stripes alternate red and white, the combination of the flags previously used in the camps and on the cruises, and the floating batteries of the colonists, was adopted, and called the Great Union flag. The union implied both the union of the colonies represented in the striped field, which was dependent upon it, and the nationality of those colonies. The thirteen stripes alternate red and white, constituting the field of the flag, represented the body of that union, the numbers that composed it, as well as the union of the flags which had preceded this Great Union flag. The colors of these stripes, alternate red and white, indicated on the part of the colonies thus represented as united the defiance to oppression, symbolized by the red color of the flag of the army and the red field of the Continental cruisers, with the purity implied by the white flag of the floating batteries, of which the motto was, “Appeal to Heaven.”36 These flags of the colonies and this Great Union flag gave place in turn to the flag of the United States, which is thus described in the following resolution of Congress, passed June 14, 1777:—
“Resolved, That the flag of the thirteen United States be thirteen stripes alternate red and white; that the union be thirteen stars, white in a blue field, representing a new constellation.”
From the above it appears that the only alteration made from the Great Union flag was the substitution of a union of stars representing “a new constellation,” in place of the old union of the British crosses; and the question is, what is the meaning of the “new constellation,” and is there any constellation which represents union? The answer is, that the constellation Lyra is of this character; for, according to classical authority, the Lyra was the symbol of harmony and unity among men. The constellation Lyra is a time-honored emblem of union, and because it was so it gave to our forefathers the idea of the stars now on our flag, while the stripes have originated as we have mentioned. May the Stars and the Stripes ever “wave over the land of the free and the home of the brave,” and may the United States ever be among the nations of the earth a constellation like Lyra, which is said to “whirl in harmony and unity along the immense orb of the revolving world, and to lead all the other stars.”
CONGRESS.
Previous to the Revolution, and during the war, the seat of government, or points of meeting of Congress, were at such places as convenience suggested or the vicissitudes of war allowed. The first Congress under the present Constitution met in New York, on the 4th of March, 1789. George Washington was inaugurated President before this body, John Adams Vice-President. F.A. Muhlenberg, of Pennsylvania, was the Speaker of the House.
The following are the places at which the Continental Congress met from 1774 to the adoption of the Constitution, in 1789:—
At Philadelphia, 1774, September 5.
At Baltimore, 1776, December 20.
At Philadelphia, 1777, March 4.
At Lancaster, 1777, September 27.
At York, Pennsylvania, 1777, September 30.
At Philadelphia, 1778, July 2.
At Princeton, 1783, June 30.
At Annapolis, 1783, November 26.
At Trenton, 1784, November 1.
At New York, 1785, January 11.
From which time New York continued to be the place of meeting until the adoption of the Constitution. From 1781 to 1788, Congress met annually (on the first Monday in November), pursuant to the Articles of Confederation adopted June 9, 1778.
The first Congress under the Constitution met in New York on the 4th of March, 1789. The second session of the same Congress met at New York in January, 1790, at which session the permanent seat of government was fixed in the District of Columbia, and the temporary seat moved from New York to Philadelphia. The third session of the First Congress was held at Philadelphia, December, 1790, where it continued until December, 1800, when Congress met for the first time in Washington.
The following table, in connection with the names of the postmaster-generals, furnishes a complete panoramic view of the chief officers of the United States Government from 1774 to 1864.37
THE CONTINENTAL CONGRESS BEFORE THE REVOLUTION.
First Congress, Sept. 5, 1774. Peyton Randolph, of Virginia, President. Born in Virginia, in 1726, died at Philadelphia, Oct. 22, 1785. Charles Thomson, of Pennsylvania, Secretary. Born in Ireland, in 1730, died in Pennsylvania, Aug. 16, 1824. This patriot was Secretary of all the Congresses in session during the Revolution, and until March 3, 1789.
Second Congress, May 10, 1775, Peyton Randolph, President. Resigned May 24, 1775.
John Hancock, of Massachusetts, elected his successor. He was born at Quincy, Mass., A.D. 1737, died Oct. 8, 1793. He was President of Congress until October, 1777.
Henry Laurens, of South Carolina, President from Nov. 1, 1777, to Dec. 1778. He was born at Charleston, S. C., A.D. 1724, died in South Carolina, Dec. 1792.
John Jay, of New York, President from Dec. 10, 1778, to Sept. 27, 1779. He was born in New York City, Dec. 12, 1745, died in New York, May 17, 1829.
Samuel Huntingdon, of Connecticut, President from Sept. 28, 1779, until July 10, 1781. He was born in Connecticut, in 1732, died 1796.
Thos. McKean, of Pa., President from July, 1781, until Nov. 5, 1781. He was born in Pennsylvania, March 19, 1734, died at Philadelphia, June 24, 1817.
John Hanson, of Md., President from Nov. 5, 1781, to Nov. 4, 1782. He was born ——, died 1783.
Elias Boudinot, of N. J., President from Nov. 4, 1782, until Feb. 4, 1783. He was born at Philadelphia, May 2, 1740, died 1824.
Thomas Mifflin, of Pennsylvania, President from February 4, 1783, to November 30, 1784. Born at Philadelphia, 1744, died in the same place, January 21, 1800.
Richard Henry Lee, of Virginia, President from November 30, 1784, to November 23, 1785. He was born in Virginia, A.D. 1732, died 1794.
John Hancock, of Massachusetts, President from November 23, 1785, to June 6, 1786.
Nathaniel Gorham, of Massachusetts, President from June 6, 1786, to February 2, 1787. He was born at Charlestown, Massachusetts, A.D. 1738, died June 11, 1796.
Arthur St. Clair, of Pennsylvania, President from February 2, 1787, to January 28, 1788. He was born in Edinburgh, Scotland, ——, died in 1818.
Cyrus Griffin, of Virginia, President from January 28, 1788, to the end of the Congress under the Confederation, March 3, 1789. He was born in England, A.D. 1748, died in Virginia, A.D. 1810.
UNDER THE CONSTITUTION.
1789 to 1793.
George Washington, of Virginia, inaugurated as President of the United States, April 30, 1789. He was born upon Wakefield estate, Virginia, February 22 (11th, Old Style), 1732, died at Mount Vernon, December 14, 1799.
John Adams, of Massachusetts, Vice-President. Born at Braintree, Massachusetts, October 19, 1735, died July 4, 1826, near Quincy, Massachusetts.
Electoral Vote—George Washington, 69. John Adams, 34. John Jay, New York, 9. R.H. Harrison, Maryland, 6. John Rutledge,
South Carolina, 6. John Hancock, Massachusetts, 4. George Clinton, New York, 3. Samuel Huntingdon, Connecticut, 2. John Milton, Georgia, 2. James Armstrong, Georgia, 1. Edward Telfair, Georgia, 1. Benjamin Lincoln, Massachusetts, 1.—Total, 69. Ten States voted,—Rhode Island, New York, and North Carolina not voting, not having ratified the Constitution in time.
1793 to 1797.
George Washington, President, inaugurated March 4, 1793.
John Adams, Vice-President.
Electoral Vote—George Washington, 132. John Adams, 77. George Clinton, 50. Thomas Jefferson, Virginia, 4. Aaron Burr, New York, 1.—Total, 132. Fifteen States voted.
1797 to 1801.
John Adams, President, inaugurated March 4, 1797.
Thomas Jefferson, of Virginia, Vice-President. Born at Shadwell, Virginia, April 13, 1743, died at Monticello, Virginia, July 4, 1826.
Electoral Vote—John Adams, 71. Thomas Jefferson, 68. Thomas Pinckney, South Carolina, 59. Aaron Burr, 30. Samuel Adams, Massachusetts, 15. Oliver Ellsworth, Connecticut, 11. George Clinton, 7. John Jay, 5. James Iredell, North Carolina, 3. George Washington, 2. John Henry, Maryland, 2. S. Johnson, North Carolina, 2. Charles C. Pinckney, South Carolina, 1.—Total, 138. Sixteen States voting.
1801 to 1805.
Thomas Jefferson, President, inaugurated March 4, 1801.
Aaron Burr, of New York, Vice-President. Born at Newark, N. J. February 6, 1756, died at Staten Island, New York, September 14, 1836.
Electoral Vote—Thomas Jefferson, 73. Aaron Burr, 73. John Adams, 65. Charles C. Pinckney, 64. John Jay, 1.—Total, 138. Sixteen States voting.
There was no election by the Electoral colleges, and the election was carried into the House of Representatives, when, upon the thirty-sixth ballot, it appeared that ten States voted for Jefferson, four States for Aaron Burr, and two States in blank. Whereupon Jefferson was declared elected President, and Burr Vice-President. After this the Constitution was amended, so that the Vice-President was voted for separately as a distinct office, instead of being the second on the vote for President.
1805 to 1809.
Thomas Jefferson, President, inaugurated March 4, 1805.
George Clinton, of New York, Vice-President. He was born in Ulster county, New York, A.D. 1739, died in Washington, D. C., April 20, 1812.
Electoral Vote—For President, Thomas Jefferson, 162; Charles Cotesworth Pinckney, 14.—Total, 176. Seven States voting.
For Vice-President, George Clinton, 162; Rufus King, New York, 14.
1809 to 1813.
James Madison, of Virginia, President, inaugurated March 4, 1809. He was born March 16, 1751, in Prince George county, Virginia, and died at Montpelier, Virginia, June 28, 1836.
George Clinton, of New York, Vice-President, until his death, April 20, 1812.
Electoral Vote—For President, James Madison, 122; George Clinton, 6; C. C. Pinckney, 47.—Total, 175. Seventeen States voting.
For Vice-President, George Clinton, 113; James Madison, 3; James Monroe, Virginia, 3; John Langdon, New Hampshire, 9; Rufus King, New York, 47.
1813 to 1817.
James Madison, of Virginia, President. There is no record in the Journals of Congress of his having taken the oath of office.
Elbridge Gerry, of Massachusetts, Vice-President, until his death, November 23, 1814. He was born at Marblehead, Massachusetts, July 17, 1744, and died at Washington, D. C.
Electoral Vote—For President, James Madison, 128; De Witt Clinton, New York, 89.—Total, 217. Eighteen States voting.
For Vice-President, Elbridge Gerry, 131; Jared Ingersoll, Pennsylvania, 86.
1817 to 1821.
James Monroe, of Virginia, President, inaugurated March 4, 1817. He was born in Westmoreland county, Virginia, A.D. 1759, died in New York, July 4, 1831.
Daniel D. Tompkins, of New York, Vice-President. Born June 21, 1774, at Fox Meadows, New York, died at Staten Island, June 11, 1825.
Electoral Vote—For President, James Monroe, 183; Rufus King, 34—Total, 221. Nineteen States voting.
For Vice-President, Daniel D. Tompkins, 183; John Eager Howard, Maryland, 22; James Ross, Pennsylvania, 5; John Marshall, Virginia, 4; Robert Goodloe Harper, Maryland, 3.
1821 to 1825.
James Monroe, President. There is no record in the Journals of Congress of his having taken the oath of office.
Daniel D. Tompkins, Vice-President.
Electoral Vote—For President, James Monroe, 231; John Quincy Adams, Massachusetts, 1.—Total, 232. Twenty-four States voting.
For Vice-President, Daniel D. Tompkins, 218; Richard Stockton, New Jersey, 8; Robert G. Harper, 1; Richard Rush, Pennsylvania, 1; Daniel Rodney, Delaware, 1.
1825 to 1829.
John Quincy Adams, of Massachusetts, President, inaugurated March 4, 1825. He was born at Quincy, Massachusetts, July 11, 1767, died at Washington City, February 23, 1848.
John Caldwell Calhoun, of South Carolina, Vice-President. Born in Abbeville district, South Carolina, March 18, 1782, died March 31, 1850, in Washington City.
Popular Vote—For President, John Quincy Adams, 105,321; Andrew Jackson, Tennessee, 152,899; William H. Crawford, Georgia, 47,265; Henry Clay, Kentucky, 47,087.
Electoral Vote—For President, Andrew Jackson, 99; John Quincy Adams, 84; William H. Crawford, 41; Henry Clay, 37.—Total, 261. Twenty-four States voting.
There being no choice by the Electoral colleges, the vote was taken into the House of Representatives, when upon ballot it appeared that Adams had received the vote of thirteen States, Jackson seven, and Crawford four. John Quincy Adams was therefore declared elected President.
For Vice-President, the Electoral vote was John C. Calhoun, South Carolina, 182; Nathan Sanford, New York, 30; Nathaniel Macon, Georgia, 24; Andrew Jackson, Tennessee, 13; Martin Van Buren, New York, 9; Henry Clay, Kentucky, 2.
1829 to 1833.
Andrew Jackson, of Tennessee, President, inaugurated March 4, 1829. He was born in Mecklenburg county, North Carolina, near the Waxhaw Settlements, which are in South Carolina, March 15, 1767, died at the Hermitage, Tennessee, June 8, 1845.
John Caldwell Calhoun, Vice-President, until his resignation, December 28, 1832.
Popular Vote—For President, Andrew Jackson, 650,028; John Quincy Adams, 512,158.
Electoral Vote—For President, Andrew Jackson, 178; John Quincy Adams, 83.—Total, 261. Twenty-four States voting.
For Vice-President, John C. Calhoun, 171; Richard Rush, Pennsylvania, 83; William Smith, South Carolina, 7.
1833 to 1837.
Andrew Jackson, President, inaugurated March 4, 1833.
Martin Van Buren, of New York, Vice-President. He was born at Kinderhook, New York, December 5, 1782. Died, July 24, 1864.
Popular Vote—For President, Andrew Jackson, 687,502; Henry Clay, 550,189; opposition (John Floyd, Virginia, and William Wirt, Maryland), 33,108.
Electoral Vote—For President, Andrew Jackson, 219; Henry Clay, 49; John Floyd, 11; William Wirt, 7,—Total, 288. Twenty-four States voting.
For Vice-President, Martin Van Buren, 189; John Sergeant, Pennsylvania, 49; William Wilkins, Pennsylvania, 30; Henry Lee, Massachusetts, 11; Amos Ellmaker, Pennsylvania, 7.
1837 to 1841.
Martin Van Buren, President, inaugurated March 4, 1837.
Richard M. Johnson, of Kentucky, Vice-President. He was born in 1780; died November 19, 1850.
Popular Vote—For President, Martin Van Buren, 762,149; opposition (William H. Harrison, Hugh L. White, Daniel Webster, W.P. Mangum), 736,736.
Electoral Vote—For President, Martin Van Buren, 170; William H. Harrison, Ohio, 73; Hugh L. White, Tennessee, 26; Daniel Webster, Massachusetts, 14; W.P. Mangum, 11.—Total, 294. Twenty-six States voting.
For Vice-President, Richard M. Johnson, Kentucky, 147; Francis Granger, New York, 77; John Tyler, Virginia, 47; William Smith, Alabama, 23.
1841 to 1845.
William Henry Harrison, of Ohio, President until his death at Washington, April 4, 1841. He was inaugurated March 4, 1841. He was born in Berkeley county, Virginia, February 9, 1773.
John Tyler, of Virginia, Vice-President. He was born April, 1790, at Greenway, Charles City county, Virginia. Died, January 18, 1863.
John Tyler, of Virginia, became President by the death of William H. Harrison. He took the oath of office April 6, 1841.
Popular Vote (November, 1840)—For President, William Henry Harrison, 1,274,783; Martin Van Buren, 1,128,702; James G. Birney, New York (Abolition), 7609.
Electoral Vote—For President, William Henry Harrison, 234; Martin Van Buren, 60.—Total, 294. Twenty-six States voting.
For Vice-President, John Tyler, 234; Richard M. Johnson, 48; L.W. Tazewell, South Carolina, 11; James K. Polk, Tennessee, 1.
1845 to 1849
James Knox Polk, of Tennessee, President, inaugurated March 4, 1845. He was born in Mecklenburg county, North Carolina, November 2, 1795; died at Nashville, Tennessee, June 15, 1849.
George Mifflin Dallas, of Pennsylvania, Vice-President. Born in Philadelphia, July 10, 1792.
Popular Vote—For President, James K. Polk, 1,335,834; Henry Clay, 1,297,033; James G. Birney, 62,270.
Electoral Vote—For President, James K. Polk, 170; Henry Clay, 105.—Total, 275. Twenty-six States voting.
For Vice-President, George M. Dallas, 170; Theodore Frelinghuysen, of New Jersey, 105.
1849 to 1853.
Zachary Taylor, of Louisiana, President, inaugurated March 4, 1849. Born in Virginia, A.D. 1784; died in Washington City, July 9, 1850.
Millard Fillmore, of New York, Vice-President. Born in Locke township, Cayuga county, New York, January 7, 1800.
Millard Fillmore, President after the death of Zachary Taylor, July 9, 1850. He took the oath of office July 10, 1850.
Popular Vote—For President, Zachary Taylor, 1,362,031; Lewis Cass, of Michigan, 1,222,455; Martin Van Buren (Free Soil), 291,455.
Electoral Vote—For President, Zachary Taylor, 163; Lewis Cass, 127.—Total, 290. Thirty States voting.
For Vice-President, Millard Fillmore, 163; William O. Butler, Kentucky, 127.
1853 to 1857.
Franklin Pierce, of New Hampshire, President, inaugurated March 5, 1853. He was born at Hillsborough, New Hampshire, November 23, 1804.
William R. King, of Alabama, Vice-President. He was born in North Carolina, April 7, 1786; died at Cahawba, Alabama, April 18, 1853.
Popular Vote—For President, Franklin Pierce, 1,590,490; Winfield Scott, 1,378,589; John C. Hale, New Hampshire (Abolition), 157,296.
Electoral Vote—For President, Franklin Pierce, 254; Winfield Scott, of New Jersey, 42.—Total, 296. Thirty-one States voting.
For Vice-President, William R. King, 254; William A. Graham, of North Carolina, 42.
1857 to 1861.
James Buchanan, of Pennsylvania, President. He was born at Stony Batter, Franklin county, Pennsylvania, April 22, 1791.
John C. Breckenridge, of Kentucky, Vice-President. Born near Lexington, Kentucky, January 21, 1821.
Popular Vote—For President, James Buchanan (Democratic), 1,832,232;
John C. Frémont, California (Republican), 1,341,514; Millard Fillmore, New York (American), 874,707.
Electoral Vote—For President, James Buchanan, 174; John C. Frémont, 109; Millard Fillmore, 8.—Total, 291. Thirty-one States voting.
For Vice-President, John C. Breckenridge, 174; William L. Dayton, New Jersey, 109; A. J. Donelson, Tennessee, 8; total, 291.
1861 to 1865.
Abraham Lincoln, of Illinois, President, inaugurated March 4, 1861. He was born near Muldraugh’s Hill, Hardin county, Kentucky, February, 1809.
Hannibal Hamlin, of Maine, Vice-President. He was born at Paris, Oxford county, Maine, August 27, 1809.
Popular Vote—For President, Abraham Lincoln (Republican), 1,857,610; Stephen A. Douglas, of Illinois (Democratic), 1,365,976; John C. Breckenridge, of Kentucky (Democratic), 847,953; John Bell, of Tennessee (Constitutional Union), 590,631.
Electoral Vote—For President, Abraham Lincoln, 180; John C. Breckenridge, 72; John Bell, 39; Stephen A. Douglas, 12.—Total, 291. Thirty-three States voting.
For Vice-President, Hannibal Hamlin, Maine, 180; Joseph Lane, Oregon, 72; Edward Everett, Massachusetts, 39; Herschel V. Johnson, Georgia, 12.
As our postal history, so far as the States are concerned, is limited to our own State, it may not be out of place here to introduce the following table containing the names of the
GOVERNORS OF PENNSYLVANIA,
more, however, as being useful for future reference rather than to its connection with our subject:—
1682 to 1863.
1682, October. William Penn (Proprietary), acted as Governor until
August, 1684.
Thomas Lloyd, President until December, 1688.
Captain John Blackwell, Deputy-Governor to 1690.
President and Council to April 26, 1693.
Benjamin Fletcher, Deputy-Governor to September, 1692.
William Markham, Deputy-Governor to December 3, 1696.
William Penn again acted as Governor to November 1, 1701.
Andrew Hamilton, Deputy-Governor to February, 1703.
Edward Shippen, President of Council to February, 1704.
John Evans, Deputy-Governor to February, 1709.
Charles Gookin, Deputy-Governor to March, 1717.
Sir William Keith, Bart., Deputy-Governor to June, 1727.
Patrick Gordon, Deputy-Governor to June, 1736.
James Logan, President of Council to June, 1738.
George Thomas, Deputy-Governor to June, 1748.
James Hamilton, Deputy-Governor to October, 1754.
Robert Hunter Morris, Deputy-Governor to August 19, 1756.
William Denny, Deputy-Governor to November, 1759
James Hamilton, Deputy-Governor to October, 1763
John Penn, son of Richard Penn, Deputy-Governor to May 6, 1771.
Richard Penn, Governor to August, 1771.
John Penn (second time), Governor to September, 1776.
Thomas Wharton, Jr., President of Executive Council to October,
1777.
Joseph Reed, President to November, 1781.
William Moore, President to November, 1782.
John Dickinson, President to October, 1785.
Benjamin Franklin, President to October, 1788.
Thomas Mifflin, President to the adoption of the new Constitution in
1790.
UNDER THE CONSTITUTION OF 1790.
XI.
Postmasters.
Having brought the postal history of the colonies up to the time Richard Bache succeeded Benjamin Franklin (November, 1776), and whose dismissal gave the latter some grounds of complaint, if not censure, against the appointment of Ebenezer Hazard, who had the office under President Washington, we will carry out the object of these tables, by continuing the list of postmaster-generals from that period.
Samuel Osgood.—This gentleman was born at Andover, Massachusetts, February 14, 1748; graduated at Harvard College in 1770; a member of the Massachusetts Legislature, and also of the board of war, and subsequently an aid to General Ward; in 1779, a member of the Massachusetts Constitutional Convention; in 1781, appointed a member of Congress; in 1785, first commissioner of the treasury; and September 26, 1789, postmaster-general. He was afterwards naval officer of the port of New York, and died in that city, August 12, 1813.
Early in the first session of the Second Congress two important subjects of a national character received the attention of the representatives of the people: one was establishing a national mint, and the other the organization of the postal system.
The establishing of a mint, however, was delayed, and no special action was taken in that direction until 1790, when Mr. Jefferson, then Secretary of State, urged the matter upon the attention of Congress. In 1792, April 2, laws were enacted for the establishment of a mint. It did not, however, go into full operation until 1795.
The first mint was located in Philadelphia, and remained the sole issuer of coin in the United States until 1835, when a branch was established in each of the States of Georgia, North Carolina, and Louisiana,—in Charlotte, Dahlonega, and New Orleans. These three branches went into operation in the years 1837-38.
A bill for the organization of a post-office system was passed in 1792, simultaneously with that for establishing the mint.
Very soon after the commencement of the first session of Congress a letter was received from Ebenezer Hazard (July 17, 1789), then postmaster-general under the old Confederation, suggesting the importance of some new regulations for that department. A bill for the temporary establishing of a post-office was passed soon afterwards. The subject was brought up from time to time, until the present system was organized in 1792. The postmaster-general was not made a Cabinet-officer until the first year (1829) of President Jackson’s administration.
Timothy Pickering.—Born at Salem, Massachusetts, July 17, 1746; graduated in 1763; was colonel of a regiment of militia at the age of nineteen, and marched for the seat of war at the first news of the battle of Lexington; in 1775, was appointed judge of two local courts; in the fall of 1776, marched to New Jersey with his regiment; in 1777, appointed adjutant-general, and subsequently a member of the board of war with Gates and Mifflin; in 1780 he succeeded Greene as quartermaster-general; in 1790 he was employed in negotiations with the Indians; August 12, 1791, he was appointed postmaster-general; in 1794, Secretary of War, and in 1795, Secretary of State; from 1803 to 1811 he was senator, and from 1814 to 1817 representative in Congress; died at Salem, June 29, 1829.
Joseph Habersham.—Born in 1750; a lieutenant-colonel during the Revolutionary War, and in 1785 a member of Congress; appointed postmaster-general, February 25, 1795; he was afterwards president of the United States Branch Bank in Savannah, Georgia; died at that place, November, 1815.
Gideon Granger.—Born at Suffield, Connecticut, July 19, 1767; graduated at Yale College in 1787, and the following year admitted to the bar; in 1793, elected to the Connecticut Legislature; November 28, 1801, appointed postmaster-general; retired in 1814, and removed to Canandaigua, New York; April, 1819, elected a member of the Senate of that State, but resigned in 1821 on account of ill health. During his service in that body he donated one thousand acres of land to aid the construction of the Erie Canal. Died at Canandaigua, December 31, 1822.
Return Jonathan Meigs.—Born at Middletown, Connecticut, in 1765; graduated at Yale College in 1785, and subsequently admitted to the bar; in 1788, emigrated to Marietta, Ohio, then the Northwestern Territory; in 1790, during the Indian wars, he was sent by Governor St. Clair on a perilous mission through the wilderness to the British commandant at Detroit; in the winter of 1802-03 he was elected by the legislature the first chief justice of the Supreme Court of the new State; in October, 1804, he was appointed colonel commanding the United States forces in the upper district of the Territory of Louisiana, and resigned his judgeship; in the following year he was appointed one of the United States judges for Louisiana; April 2, 1807, he was transferred to the Territory of Michigan; in October following he resigned his judgeship, and was elected Governor of the State of Ohio, but his election was successfully contested on the ground of non-residence. He was chosen at the same session as one of the judges of the Supreme Court of the State, and at the next session as United States Senator for a vacancy of one year, and also for a full term. In 1810 he was again elected Governor of Ohio, and on the 8th of December resigned his seat in the Senate; in 1812 he was re-elected Governor; on the 17th of March, 1814, he was appointed postmaster-general, which he resigned in June, 1823. Died at Marietta, March 29, 1825.
John McLean.—Born in Morris county, New Jersey, March 11, 1785. His father subsequently removed to Ohio, of which State the son continued a resident. He labored on the farm until sixteen years of age, when he applied himself to study, and two years afterwards removed to Cincinnati, and supported himself by copying in the county clerk’s office while he studied law. In 1807 he was admitted to the bar; in 1812 he was elected to Congress, and re-elected in 1814; in 1816 he was unanimously elected by the legislature a judge of the Supreme Court of that State; in 1822 he was appointed by President Monroe commissioner of the General Land-Office, and on the 26th of June, 1823, postmaster-general; in 1829 he was appointed as one of the justices of the Supreme Court of the United States.
William T. Barry.—Born in Fairfax county, Virginia, March 18, 1780; graduated at the College of William and Mary. He was admitted to the bar, and in early life emigrated to Kentucky. In 1828 he was a candidate for Governor of that State, and defeated by a small majority after one of the most memorable contests in its annals; appointed postmaster-general March 9, 1829; in 1835, appointed minister plenipotentiary to Spain, and died at Liverpool, England, on his way to Madrid.
Mr. Barry was the first postmaster-general who had the honor of being one of the Cabinet. Whether such a movement has benefited the postal department or not can only be ascertained by a reference to its records. As these present more the appearance of political names, figures, changes, removals, and a confusion of all the elements which make up a party, it is doubtful if the public mind is prepared to view the postal department in any other light than that of one of the revolving political luminaries of the country. A reference, however, to some statistics furnished in this work, and an occasional reference to its not being a self-sustaining institution, may probably throw some light upon the subject.
We have avoided, through motives of nationality rather than of choice, any direct allusion to frauds in the postal department. “When Judge McLean left the department it was,” said his friends, “in a thriving condition.” Such was not the case. From “The Aurora,” edited by the late William Duane, bearing date January 10, 1835, we take the following statement:—
“It would be a hopeless task to seek the qualities, actions, evidence of fitness, or principles of Mr. McLean. We know he was a member of Congress: can any one discover any thing which he did there? He was appointed postmaster-general to cover the retreat of R. J. Meigs, who should have been removed three years before.
“And what did he do in the general post-office? Why, the men who had practised the most enormous abuses, which had been proved by blanching evidence before Congress, he retained in the prosecution of their former business.
“The reproach is no doubt to be shared with Congress, which, on the occasion of the investigation of the sale of post-office drafts, suffered the inquiry to be stifled after attempts had been made, without success, on some poor men to suppress the truth, and who were discharged for their fidelity, whilst others were retained whose memories, like the memorable Italian delator, was non mi ricordo!