Portrait and biographical album of DeKalb County, Illinois : containing full-page portraits and biographical sketches of prominent and representative citizens of the county, Part 2

Author:
Publication date: 1885
Publisher: Chicago : Chapman Bros.
Number of Pages: 888

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In 1775 he was sent to the Colonial Congress, where, though a silent member, his abilities as a writer and a reasoner soon become known, and he was placed upon a number of important committees, and was chairman of the one appointed for the draw- ing up of a declaration of independence. This com- mittee consisted of Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Roger Sherman and Robert R. Livingston. Jefferson, as chairman, was appointed to draw up the paper. Franklin and Adams suggested a few verbal changes before it was submitted to Con- gress. On June 28, a few slight changes were made in it by Congress, and it was passed and signed July 4, 1776. What must have been the feelings of that

THOMAS JEFFERSON.

man-what the emotions that swelled his breast- who was charged with the preparation of that Dec- laration, which, while it made known the wrongs of America, was also to publish her to the world, free, soverign and independent. It is one of the most re- markable papers ever written ; and did no other effort of the mind of its author exist, that alone would be sufficient to stamp his name with immortality.

In 1779 Mr. Jefferson was elected successor to Patrick Henry, as Governor of Virginia. At one time the British officer, Tarleton, sent a secret expedition to Monticello, to capture the Governor. Scarcely five minutes elapsed after the hurried escape of Mr. Jef- ferson and his family, ere his niansion was in posses- sion of the British troops. His wife's health, never very good, was much injured by this excitement, and in the summer of 1782 she died.

Mr. Jefferson was elected to Congress in 1783. Two years later he was appointed Minister Plenipo- tentiary to France. Returning to the United States in September, 1789, he became Secretary of State in Washington's cabinet. This position he resigned Jan. 1, 1794. In 1797, he was chosen Vice Presi- dent, and four years later was elected President over Mr. Adams, with Aaron Burr as Vice President. In 1804 he was re-elected with wonderful unanimity, and George Clinton, Vice President.

The early part of Mr. Jefferson's second adminstra- tion was disturbed by an event which threatened the tranquility and peace of the Union; this was the con- spiracy of Aaron Burr. Defeated in the late election to the Vice Presidency, and led on by an unprincipled ambition, this extraordinary man formed the plan of a military expedition into the Spanish territories on our southwestern frontier, for the purpose of forming there a new republic. This has been generally supposed was a mere pretext; and although it has not been generally known what his real plans were, there is no doubt that they were of a far more dangerous character.

In 1809, at the expiration of the second term for which Mr. Jefferson had been elected, he determined to retire from political life. For a period of nearly forty years, he had been continually before the pub- tic, and all that time had been employed in offices of the greatest trust and responsibility. Having thus de- voted the best part of his life to the service of his country, he now felt desirous of that rest which his declining years required, and upon the organization of the new administration, in March, 1809, he bid fare- well forever to public life, and retired to Monticello.

Mr. Jefferson was profuse in his hospitality. Whole families came in their coaches with their horses,- fathers and mothers, boys and girls, babies and nurses,-and remained three and even six months. Life at Monticello, for years, resembled that at a fashionable watering-place.

The fourth of July, 1826, being the fiftieth anniver-

sary of the Declaration of American Independence, great preparations were made in every part of the Union for its celebration, as the nation's jubilee, and the citizens of Washington, to add to the solemnity of the occasion, invited Mr. Jefferson, as the framer, and one of the few surviving signers of the Declara- tion, to participate in their festivities. But an ill- ness, which had been of several weeks duration, and had been continually increasing, compelled him to decline the invitation.

On the second of July, the disease under which he was laboring left him, but in such a reduced state that his medical attendants, entertained no hope of his recovery. From this time he was perfectly sensible that his last hour was at hand. On the next day, which was Monday, he asked of those around him, the day of the month, and on being told it was the third of July, he expressed the earnest wish that he might be permitted to breathe the air of the fiftieth anniversary. His prayer was heard-that day, whose dawn was hailed with such rapture through our land, burst upon his eyes, and then they were closed for- ever. And what a noble consummation of a noble life! To die on that day,-the birthday of a nation,- - the day which his own name and his own act had rendered glorious; to die amidst the rejoicings and festivities of a whole nation, who looked up to him, as the author, under God, of their greatest blessings, was all that was wanting to fill up the record his life.

Almost at the same hour of his death, the kin- dred spirit of the venerable Adams, as if to bear him company, left the scene of his earthly honors. Hand in hand they had stood forth, the champions of freedom ; hand in hand, during the dark and desper- ate struggle of the Revolution, they had cheered and animated their desponding countrymen; for half a century they had labored together for the good of the country; and now hand in hand they depart. In their lives they had been united in the same great cause of liberty, and in their deaths they were not divided.

In person Mr. Jefferson was tall and thin, rather above six feet in height, but well formed; his eyes were light, his hair originally red, in after life became white and silvery; his complexion was fair, his fore - head broad, and his whole countenance intelligent and thoughtful. He possessed great fortitude of mind as well as personal courage; and his command of tem- per was such that his oldest and most intimate friends never recollected to have seen him in a passion. His manners, though dignified, were simple and un- affected, and his hospitality was so unbounded that all found at his house a ready welcome. In conver- sation he was fluent, eloquent and enthusiastic; and his language was remarkably pure and correct. He was a finished classical scholar, and in his writings is discernable the care with which he formed his style upon the best models of antiquity.

THE LIBRARY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS

James Madison

FOURTH PRESIDENT.

JAMES MADISON.

AMES MADISON, "Father of the Constitution," and fourth President of the United States, was born March 16, 1757, and died at his home in Virginia, June 28, 1836. 'The name of James Madison is inseparably con- nected with most of the important events in that heroic period of our country during which the founda- tions of this great republic were laid. He was the last of the founders of the Constitution of the United States to be called to his eternal reward.

The Madison family were among the early emigrants to the New World, landing upon the shores of the Chesa- peake but 15 years after the settle- ment of Jamestown. The father of James Madison was an opulent planter, residing upon a very fine es- tate called "Montpelier," Orange Co., Va. The mansion was situated in the midst of scenery highly pictur- esque and romantic, on the west side of South-west Mountain, at the foot of Blue Ridge. It was but 25 miles from the home of Jefferson at Monticello. The closest personal and political attachment existed between these illustrious men, from their early youth until death.

The early education of Mr. Madison was conducted mostly at home under a private tutor. At the age of 18 he was sent to Princeton College, in New Jersey. Here he applied himself to study with the most im-

prudent zeal; allowing himself, for months, but three hours' sleep out of the 24. His health thus became so seriously impaired that he never recovered any vigor of constitution. He graduated in 1771, with a feeble body, with a character of utmost purity, and with a mind highly disciplined and richly stored with learning which embellished and gave proficiency to his subse- quent career.

Returning to Virginia, he commenced the study of law and a course of extensive and systematic reading. This educational course, the spirit of the times in which he lived, and the society with which he asso- ciated, all combined to inspire him with a strong love of liberty, and to train him for his life-work of a statesman. Being naturally of a religious turn of mind, and his frail health leading him to think that his life was not to be long, he directed especial atten- tion to theological studies. Endowed with a mind singularly free from passion and prejudice, and with almost unequalled powers of reasoning, he weighed all the arguments for and against revealed religion, until his faith became so established as never to be shaken.

In the spring of 1776, when 26 years of age, he was elected a member of the Virginia Convention, to frame the constitution of the State. The next year (1777), he was a candidate for the General Assembly. He refused to treat the whisky-lovir.g voters, and consequently lost his election ; but those who had witnessed the talent, energy and public spirit of the modest young man, enlisted themselves in his behalf, and he was appointed to the Executive Council.

Both Patrick Henry and Thomas Jefferson were Governors of Virginia while Mr. Madison remained member of the Council ; and their appreciation of his

JAMES MADISON.

intellectual, social and moral worth, contributed not a little to his subsequent eminence. In the year 1780, he was elected a member of the Continental Congress. Here he met the most illustrious men in our land, and he was immediately assigned to one of the most conspicuous positions among them.

For three years Mr. Madison continued in Con- gress, one of its most active and influential members. In the year 1784, his terni having expired, he was elected a member of the Virginia Legislature.

No man felt more deeply than Mr. Madison the utter inefficiency of the old confederacy, with no na- tional government, with no power to form treaties which would be binding, or to enforce law. There was not any State more prominent than Virginia in the declaration, that an efficient national government must be formed. In January, 1786, Mr. Madison carried a resolution through the General Assembly of Virginia, inviting the other States to appoint commis- sioners to meet in convention at Annapolis to discuss this subject. Five States only were represented. The convention, however, issued another call, drawn up by Mr. Madison, urging all the States to send their delegates to Philadelphia, in May, 1787, to draft a Constitution for the United States, to take the place of that Confederate League. The delegates met at the time appointed. Every State but Rhode Island was represented. George Washington was chosen president of the convention; and the present Consti- tution of the United States was then and there formed. There was, perhaps, no mind and no pen more ac- tive in framing this immortal document than the mind and the pen of James Madison.

The Constitution, adopted by a vote 81 to 79, was to be presented to the several States for acceptance. But grave solicitude was felt. Should it be rejected we should be left but a conglomeration of independent States, with but little power at home and little respect abroad. Mr. Madison was selected by the conven- tion to draw up an address to the people of the United States, expounding the principles of the Constitution, and urging its adoption. There was great opposition to it at first, but it at length triumphed over all, and went into effect in 1789.

Mr. Madison was elected to the House of Repre- sentatives in the first Congress, and soon became the avowed leader of the Republican party. While in New York attending Congress, he met Mrs. Todd, a young widow of remarkable power of fascination, whom he married. She was in person and character queenly, and probably no lady has thus far occupied so prominent a position in the very peculiar society which has constituted our republican court as Mrs. Madison.

Mr. Madison served as Secretary of State under Jefferson, and at the close of his administration was chosen President. At this time the encroach- ments of England had brought us to the verge of war.

British orders in council destroyed our commerce, and our flag was exposed to constant insult. Mr. Madison was a man of peace. Scholarly in his taste, retiring in his disposition, war had no charms for him. But the meekest spirit can be roused. It makes one's blood boil, even now, to think of an American ship brought to, upon the ocean, by the guns of an English cruiser. A young lieutenant steps on board and orders the crew to be paraded before him. With great nonchal- ance he selects any number whom he may please to designate as British subjects; orders them down the ship's side into his boat; and places them on the gun- deck of his man-of-war, to fight, by compulsion, the battles of England. This right of search and im- pressment, no efforts of our Government could induce the British cabinet to relinquish.

On the 18th of June, 1812, President Madison gave his approval to an act of Congress declaring war against Great Britain. Notwithstanding the bitter hostility of the Federal party to the war, the country in general approved; and Mr. Madison, on the 4th of March, 1813, was re-elected by a large majority, and entered upon his second term of office. This is not the place to describe the various adventures of this war on the land and on the water. Our infant navy then laid the foundations of its renown in grap- pling with the most formidable power which ever swept the seas. The contest commenced in earnest by the appearance of a British fleet, early in February, 1813, in Chesapeake Bay, declaring nearly the whole coast of the United States under blockade.

The Emperor of Russia offered his services as me ditator. America accepted ; England refused. A Brit- ish force of five thousand men landed on the banks of the Patuxet River, near its entrance into Chesa- peake Bay, and marched rapidly, by way of Bladens- burg, upon Washington.

The straggling little city of Washington was thrown into consternation. The cannon of the brief conflict at Bladensburg echoed through the streets of the metropolis. The whole population fled from the city. The President, leaving Mrs. Madison in the White House, with her carriage drawn up at the door to await his speedy return, hurried to meet the officers in a council of war. He met our troops utterly routed, and he could not go back without danger of being captured. But few hours elapsed ere the Presidential Mansion, the Capitol, and all the public buildings in Washington were in flames.

The war closed after two years of fighting, and on Feb. 13, 1815, the treaty of peace was signed at Ghent.

On the 4th of March, 1817, his second term of office expired, and he resigned the Presidential chair to his friend, James Monroe. He retired to his beau- tiful home at Montpelier, and there passed the re- mainder of his days. On June 28, 1836, then at the age of 85 years, he fell asleep in death. Mrs. Madi- son died July 12, 1849.

THE LIBRARY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS

James Moura

FIFTH PRESIDENT.

JAMES MONROE.

AMES MONROE, the fifth Presidentof The United States, was born in Westmoreland Co., Va., April 28, 1758. His early life was passed at the place of nativity. His ancestors had for many years resided in the prov- ince in which he was born. When, at 17 years of age, in the process of completing his education at William and Mary College, the Co- lonial Congress assembled at Phila- delphia to deliberate upon the un- just .and manifold oppressions of Great Britian, declared the separa- tion of the Colonies, and promul- gated the Declaration of Indepen- dence. Had he been born ten years before it is highly probable that he would have been one of the signers of that celebrated instrument. At this time he left school and enlisted among the patriots.

He joined the army when everything looked hope- less and gloomy. The number of deserters increased from day to day. The invading armies came pouring in; and the tories not only favored the cause of the mother country, but disheartened the new recruits, who were sufficiently terrified at the prospect of con- tending with an enemy whom they had been taught to deem invincible. To such brave spirits as James Monroe, who went right onward, undismayed through difficulty and danger, the United States owe their political emancipation. The young cadet joined the ranks, and espoused the cause of his injured country, with a firm determination to live or die with her strife

for liberty. Firmly yet sadly he shared in the mel- ancholy retreat from Harleam Heights and White Plains, and accompanied the dispirited army as it fled before its foes through New Jersey. In four months after the Declaration of Independence, the patriots had been beaten in seven battles. At the battle of Trenton he led the vanguard, and, in the act of charg- ing upon the enemy he received a wound in the left shoulder.

As a reward for his bravery, Mr. Monroe was pro- moted a captain of infantry; and, having recovered from his wound, he rejoined the army. He, however, receded from the line of promotion, by becoming an officer in the staff of Lord Sterling. During the cam- paigns of 1777 and 1778, in the actions of Brandy- wine, Germantown and Monmouth, he continued aid-de-camp; but becoming desirous to regain his position in the army, he exerted himself to collect a .regiment for the Virginia line. This scheme failed owing to the exhausted condition of the State. Upon this failure he entered the office of Mr. Jefferson, at that period Governor, and pursued, with considerable ardor, the study of common law. He did not, however, entirely lay aside the knapsack for the green bag; but on the invasions of the enemy, served as a volun- teer, during the two years of his legal pursuits.

In 1782, he was elected from King George county, a member of the Legislature of Virginia, and by that body he was elevated to a seat in the Executive Council. He was thus honored with the confidence of his fellow citizens at 23 years of age ; and having at this early period displayed some of that ability and aptitude for legislation, which were afterwards employed with unremitting energy for the public good,

JAMES MONROE.

he was in the succeeding year chosen a member of the Congress of the United States.

Deeply as Mr. Monroe felt the imperfections of the old Confederacy, he was opposed to the new Constitution, thinking, with many others of the Republican party, that it gave too much power to the Central Government, and not enough to the individual States. Still he re- tained the esteem of his friends who were its warm supporters, and who, notwithstanding his opposition secured its adoption. In 1789, he became a member of the United States Senate; which office he held for four years. Every month the line of distinction be- tween the two great parties which divided the nation, the Federal and the Republican, was growing more distinct. The two proniinent ideas which now sep- arated them were, that the Republican party was in sympathy with France, and also in favor of such a strict construction of the Constitution as to give the Central Government as little power, and the State Governments as much power, as the Constitution would warrant. The Federalists sympathized with England, and were in favor of a liberal construction of the Con- stitution, which would give as much power to the Central Government as that document could possibly authorize.

The leading Federalists and Republicans were alike noble men, consecrating all their energies to the good of the nation. Two more honest men or more pure patriots than John Adams the Federalist, and James Monroe the Republican, never breathed. In building up this majestic nation, which is destined to eclipse all Grecian and Assyrian greatness, the com- bination of their antagonism was needed to create the right equilibrium. And yet each in his day was de- nounced as almost a demon.

Washington was then President. England had es- poused the cause of the Bourbons against the princi- ples of the French Revolution. All Europe was drawn into the conflict. We were feeble and far away. Washington issued a proclamation of neutrality be- tween these contending powers. France had helped us in the struggle for our liberties. All the despotisms of Europe were now combined to prevent the French from escaping from a tyranny a thousand-fold worse than that which we had endured. Col. Monroe, more magnanimous than prudent, was anxious that, at whatever hazard, we should help our old allies in their extremity. It was the impulse of a generous and noble nature. He violently opposed the Pres- ident's proclamation as ungrateful and wanting in magnanimity.

Washington, who could appreciate such a character, developed his calm, serene, alinost divine greatness, by appointing that very James Monroe, who was de- nouncing the policy of the Government, as the minister of that Government to the Republic of France. Mr. Monroe was welcomed by the National Convention in France with the most enthusiastic demonstrations.

Shortly after his return to this country, Mr. Mon- roe was elected Governor of Virginia, and held the office for three years. He was again sent to France to co-operate with Chancellor Livingston in obtaining the vast territory then known as the Province of Louisiana, which France had but shortly before ob- tained from Spain. Their united efforts were suc- cessful. For the comparatively small sum of fifteen millions of dollars, the entire territory of Orleans and district of Louisiana were added to the United States. This was probably the largest transfer of real estate which was ever made in all the history of the world.

From France Mr. Monroe went to England to ob- tain from that country some recognition of our rights as neutrals, and to remonstrate against those odious impressments of our seamen. But Eng- land was unrelenting. He again returned to Eng- land on the same mission, but could receive no redress. He returned to his home and was again chosen Governor of Virginia. This he soon resigned to accept the position of Secretary of State under Madison. While in this office war with England was declared, the Secretary of War resigned, and during these trying times, the duties of the War Department were also put upon him. He was truly the armor- bearer of President Madison, and the most efficient business man in his cabinet. Upon the return of peace he resigned the Department of War, but con- tinued in the office of Secretary of State until the ex- piration of Mr. Madison's adminstration. At the elec- tion held the previous autumn Mr. Monroe himself had been chosen President with but little opposition, and upon March 4, 1817, was inaugurated. Four years later he was elected for a second term.

Among the important measures of his Presidency were the cession of Florida to the United States; the Missouri Compromise, and the "Monroe doctrine."

This famous doctrine, since known as the " Monroe doctrine," was enunciated by him in 1823. At that. time the United States had recognized the independ- ence of the South American states, and did not wish to have European powers longer attempting to sub- due portions of the American Continent. The doctrine is as follows: "That we should consider any attempt on the part of European powers to extend their sys- tem to any portion of this hemisphere as dangerous to our peace and safety," and "that we could not view any interposition for the purpose of oppressing or controlling American governments or provinces in any other light than as a manifestation by European powers of an unfriendly disposition toward the United States." This doctrine immediately affected the course of foreign governments, and has become the approved sentiment of the United States.

At the end of his second term Mr. Monroe retired to his home in Virginia, where he lived until 1830, when he went to New York to live with his son-in- law, In that city he died, on the 4th of July, 1831.

THE LIBRARY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS

9, 2. Adams

SIX TH PRESIDENT.

JORD QUINCY ADAMS.

OHN QUINCY ADAMS, the sixth President of the United States, was born in the rural home of his honored father, John Adams, in Quincy, Mass., on the Irth of July, 1767. His mother, a woman of exalted worth, watched over his childhood during the almost constant ab- sence of his father. When but eight years of age, he stood with his mother on an eminence, listen- ing to the booming of the great bat- tle on Bunker's Hill, and gazing on upon the smoke and flames billow- ing up from the conflagration of Charlestown.

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Portrait and biographical album of DeKalb County, Illinois : containing full-page portraits and biographical sketches of prominent and representative citizens of the county, Part 2

Author: Publication date: 1885 Publisher: Chicago : Chapman Bros. Number of Pages: 888

Author:
Publication date: 1885
Publisher: Chicago : Chapman Bros.
Number of Pages: 888