USA > Kentucky > The political beginnings of Kentucky. A narrative of public events bearing on the history of that state up to the time of its admission into the American Union > Part 10
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" John Brown, born near Staunton, Va., 12th September, 1757, died at Frankfort, Ky., 28th August, 1837. At the age of 19, while a student at Princeton, he had John Witherspoon's written permission to leave college "in good standing" for the purpose of joining La Fayette as a volunteer aide. He subsequently studied at William and Mary. His public life began in the Virginia Legislature, as senator from the three counties composing the District of Kentucky. In 1787 and 1788 he was a delegate
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The Congress reached a right conclusion, it must be ad- mitted, when, thus notified of the operative ratification of the new Constitution, it at once considered the necessity of discharging its committee from further consideration of the Kentucky business. A resolution to that effect was carried, and a final vote on the recognition and acceptance of Ken- tucky was taken next day (July 3d).
The act already prepared by the committee was called up and its passage moved by Brown, hopeless as he must have been of success. The logic of the situation was all with the substitute moved by Mr. Dane of Massachusetts, and sec- onded by Mr. Tucker of South Carolina. It was temperate and conciliatory in language, perfectly fair and accurate in its statement of the facts, and it embodied a series of expla- nations and reasons that were indisputably sound.
The Virginia delegation voted against the proposition to consider Dane's substitute in advance of a vote on the pro- posed act, and they had the unsubstantial excuse that as yet no official advices of Virginia's ratification had been received. But when, overruled by the voices of all the other States, the direct vote upon Dane's substitute was reached, Brown held his peace, and his colleagues united with the majority so evi- dently right. As the record has it:
from Virginia to the Continental Congress, and became a member of the first Congress convened under the Constitution, serving as such until the admission of Kentucky as a State, when he was chosen her first senator. This position he filled from 1792 to 1805, when he retired from public life.
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"So it passed in the affirmative, as follows :
" Whereas, application has been lately made to Congress by the legisla- ture of Virginia and the district of Kentucky for the admission of the said district into the federal union as a separate member thereof, on the terms contained in the acts of the said legislature and in the resolutions of the said district relative to the premises; And whereas, Congress, having fully considered the subject, did, on the third day of June last, resolve that it is expedient that the said district be erected into a sovereign and independent state and a separate member of the federal union, and appointed a com- mittee to report an act accordingly, which committee, on the second instant, was discharged, it appearing that nine states had adopted the constitution of the United States lately submitted to the conventions of the people; And whereas, a new confederacy is formed among the ratifying states, and there is reason to believe that the State of Virginia, including the said dis- trict, did, on the 25th of June last, become a member of the said confeder- acy; And whereas, an act of Congress, in the present state of the govern- ment of the country, severing a part of the said state from the other parts thereof, and admitting it into the confederacy formed by the articles of con- federation and perpetual union, as an independent member thereof, may be attended with many inconveniences, while it can have no effect to make the said district a separate member of the federal union formed by the adoption of the said constitution, and therefore it must be manifestly improper for Con- gress, assembled under the articles of confederation, to adopt any other measures relative to the premises than those which express their sense that the said district ought to be an independent member of the union as soon as circumstances shall permit proper measures to be adopted for that purpose :
" Resolved, That a copy of the proceedings of Congress relative to the independency of the district of Kentucky be transmitted to the legislature of Virginia, and also to Samuel McDowell, Esq., late president of the said convention, and that the said legislature and the inhabitants of the district aforesaid be informed that, as the constitution of the United States is now ratified, Congress think it unadvisable to adopt any further measures for admitting the district of Kentucky into the federal union as an independent
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member thereof, under the articles of confederation and perpetual union ; but that Congress, thinking it expedient that the said district be made a sep- arate state and member of the union as soon after proceedings shall com- mence under the said constitution as circumstances shall permit, recommend it to the said legislature and to the inhabitants of the said district so to alter their acts and resolutions relative to the premises, as to render them con- formable to the provisions made in the said constitution, to the end that no impediment may be in the way of the speedy accomplishment of this im- portant business." (Journals of Congress, Vol. IV, p. 830, 3d July, 1788.)
The Conference with Gardoqui.
The number and freedom of Gardoqui's interviews with the members of Congress, singly and in delegations, has been noticed, as has been the freedom with which they were discussed in conversation and correspondence.
One of these needs particular notice as bearing on the current political history of Kentucky, and because of the amount of personal bitterness that was engendered by the different constructions that were put upon it.
There are several sources of information as to the fact, the details, the purpose, and the use made of the conversa- tion that passed between John Brown, delegate in Congress from Virginia representing the District of Kentucky, and Don Diego de Gardoqui, the Spanish Minister, in July, 1788.
Its history was not written, even by an unfriendly hand, until Marshall, in 1812, poured out in his History of Ken-
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· tucky the intense feeling, personal, political, and religious, that had rankled for nearly thirty years. It was not till 1834 that Madison's consultative knowledge of the interview and his counsel to Brown was made public. The account given by Gardoqui to his government has not until this time been accessible.
On the 25th July, 1788, Gardoqui recounted in a despatch to Count Floridablanca the particulars of a conversation con- cerning affairs in the West which he had had with Brown a few days before.
That paper read as follows:
1 "In my despatches of 18th April, I had the honor to inform your Excel- lency of that movement which the District of Kentucky had renewed in consequence of the consent given by Virginia (of which it forms a part) to its recognition and admission by Congress as a sovereign, independent State. The matter was agitated vigorously of late, and a committee named, composed of one member from each state, and afterwards upon considera- tion (as the order of the day) in a general session of Congress, it was agreed that the demand was just; though, in view of the various circumstances of the time, it was referred to the new Government. This determination was very distasteful to those who promoted the separation of the District, and particularly so to Mr. John Brown, a landed proprietor and resident in that District, who was interested in that matter, among others, as member in Congress. Finally the business was passed over to the new Government,' in which the State of Virginia will be included as part, because of her con- sent to join the confederation, given before the fourth of the present month. Foreseeing some of these occurrences, I took occasion during the past year
I On 3d July, 1788,
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to cultivate the friendship of the aforesaid Brown, and to introduce such topics as I thought would produce good results. Our friendship gradually increased and my sentiments naturally made an impression on him, inas- much as they touched upon those obstacles, imposed by our treaties with other nations, which forbade us according any extension of favor to his section of country while pertaining to the United States, artfully insinuating that only themselves could remove the difficulty; inasmuch as if separated they would afford excuse for regarding them as an interior District without maritime designs, and perhaps we could devise some plan for adjusting the markets so much needed in some of our possessions. I carefully observed his appearance as I told him this, and it seemed to me that I could discern the satisfaction it gave. He said he would reflect upon it, and would see me and talk at leisure upon the subject. Several days passed and he came to this house, where, a few days since, we had a long conversation in which we renewed the subject, and I repeated the same and other observations. He seemed quite satisfied and obliged to me, and admitted, in confidence, that he had, by a messenger who had left some days before, communicated to his constituents the decision of Congress concerning the separation, refer- ring to the favorable disposition he had discovered in me, and, in short, that he hoped to communicate matters of importance productive of benefit to that country. He told me, in conclusion, that this month the Convention would meet, and that he expected it would resolve upon the erection of an independent state; that he expected to leave this place the Ist of August, and that he would arrive in time to inform and aid what he had discussed with me, for he deemed it a very fit and important subject for considera- tion, and for the present he thanked me for himself and in the name of all the country, which would be under lasting obligations to me. This, your Excellency, is another element of this arduous business, in which I believe that now more than ever it behooves us to take occasion to make sure for our- selves without incurring resentment of others. I beg that your Excellency will condescend to inform me if this has the approbation of His Majesty, and that the elevated understanding of your Excellency will direct me, so that if any sudden occasion should occur I may meet it effectively and with- out clash, which I confess seems difficult.
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"Your Excellency is aware that the power His Majesty has deigned to confer on me mentions the " United States," and will serve to direct me if occasion offers to do any thing within its scope. I think we need not be disturbed by the English intrigues for obtaining the friendship of that Dis- trict, because its inhabitants well know how infinitely important to them is communication and friendship with their neighbors of the Lower River who have that which they need, and the Port which naturally pertains to their country.
" It is more than likely that the before-mentioned member will again see me before he departs, and I will not lose an opportunity of forwarding affairs or of informing your Excellency of what may have occurred. In the mean time I conclude, again submitting myself to the orders of your Excel- lency, and praying that God may guard the life of your Excellency many years.
"New York, 25th July, 1788. Most Excellent Sir, I kiss the hands of your Excellency.
" Your most obliged and obedient servant, "DIEGO DE GARDOQUI." 1
It is not possible to ascertain with certainty who were the others, if any, that participated in the conversation detailed by Gardoqui. But the probability would seem to be that some of the Virginia delegates may have done so. The conversation was "a few days before" the 25th. It appears that Madison had already returned from Virginia to his place in Congress at New York. The journals show him voting on the 17th .? He had hastened from Richmond to New York immediately after the vote of 26th June, by which
1 Gardoqui to Floridablanca, No. 279, 25th July, 1788.
Journais of Congress, Vol. IV, p. S37.
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the Virginia Convention ratified the Constitution of the United States.1
In New York his lodgings were in the same house with Brown, as appears from his references to the "mess " or "fam- ily," and messages to its members, conveyed in his corres- pondence with Brown, and their relations were those of in- timate friendship. It would seem possible, therefore, that Madison himself was present, as he certainly was fully ad- vised of the overtures of Gardoqui. His recollection of the facts did not go to that extent when he gave them in 1834, though he then distinctly remembered and verified from his manuscripts that the conversation was certainly "communi- cated to me by Mr. Brown," if not actually taken part in by himself.3 The suggestion of Gardoqui, that by mere crea- tion of the new State a mode of accommodation as to the navigation of the Mississippi could be arrived at, was far more moderate and practicable than that which had already been broached by him to Madison and Bingham,+ and to the collective delegation of Virginia.3 And it evidently pro- ceeded upon that idea of Gardoqui's which Madison had long since penetrated, that Spain had no expectation or
1 Washington to Madison, 23d June, 1788. In Bancroft's History of the Constitution, Vol. II, p. 471.
2 Madison to Brown, 9th April, 1788; Madison to Brown, 27th May, 1788; MSS.
3 Madison to Mann Butler, 11th October, 1834, given in Collins' History of Kentucky,
Vol. I, p. 329. The MS. is in the writer's possession.
4 Madison Papers, Vol. II, p. 590, and following.
$ Madison Papers, Vol. II, p. 599, and following.
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desire of having the western people as "refractory subjects," but wished rather to find them "friendly neighbors,"' and that beneath all the forms and bluster of diplomacy was the serious fact that from mere necessity and to secure safety from violence and invasion of the Spanish dominion, "trade through the Mississippi would be winked at."2
The course presented to the representative of the Ken- tucky District was one of delicacy and onerous responsi- bility. He now knew unmistakably from the lips of the Spanish Minister that nothing beyond a pretext, such as would evade the complications of an old diplomacy, was sought for permitting the people of the West to enjoy the natural advantages of their geographical position. It was now definitely admitted that "trade through the Mississippi would be winked at" until a formal international treaty could be concluded, if only some excuse like the declaration of a new State could be presented as a palliative to Spanish pride of opinion.
There was room for casuistry whether the agreement for separation and for the erection of a new State, already con- cluded between Virginia and Kentucky, had totally fallen to the ground by reason of non-action on the part of the Con- tinental Congress, or whether that agreement could yet be
1 Madison Papers, Vol. II, p. 601.
2 Madison Papers, Vol. II, p. 593.
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regarded as existent and as forming a legitimate basis for an application by Kentucky to the Congress, assembled under the Constitution, for prompt admission into the Union.
The Continental Congress had by its resolution of the 3d July at least given color to the thought that nothing more than a modification of existing legislative and convention acts was requisite. No new agreement between the State and the District consenting to separation was indicated as necessary. The existing acts were considered a sufficient basis. The Congress, therefore, deemed nothing necessary further than to "recommend it to the said legislature and to the inhabitants of the said district so to alter their acts and resolutions relative to the premises as to render them con- formable to the provisions made in the said constitution, to the end that no impediment may be made in the way of the speedy accomplishment of this important business."'
It was provided in the recently ratified Constitution (Art. IV, Sec. 3), that new States might be admitted by the Con- gress into the Union, and the restriction upon forming new States by partition of an older Commonwealth lay in a re- quirement prescribed in the same section, that the consent of the States concerned as well as that of Congress should first be given.
The argument, from this point of view, was the obvi- Journals of Congress, Vol. IV, p. 830,
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ous and quite forcible one that Kentucky and Virginia had already consented and fully agreed between themselves, and that it was competent, in view of that agreement, for Ken- tucky to declare it and present herself at once to Congress as a candidate for admission.
It was no doubt the opinion of Brown and his colleagues of the Virginia delegation that this course of procedure would be admissible, and they doubtless felt how important to the public tranquility was the "speedy accomplishment of this important business" that might thus be obtained. They were unquestionably alive to the arguments which consider- ations of public expediency suggested. It was easy, as they saw, to placate the opposition that had jeopardized the ac- ceptance of the Constitution and to convert the Kentucky representatives who had opposed ratification into zealous supporters of the new government, by demonstration of the fact that under its workings the interests of the West were safe and could be speedily cared for. Patrick Henry, Will- iam Grayson, and others had strenuously objected to the new Constitution, that its adoption would ruin the West. James Monroe had doubted if the navigation of the Missis- sippi could be had under the new Government. And the Kentucky representatives in Virginia Convention largely shared these fears and followed the lead of Henry.
Under these circumstances it was decided by Brown and
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Madison that it would be highly inexpedient to give any gen- eral publicity to Gardoqui's suggestions and overtures. The state of the public mind forbade it."
Two persons only in Kentucky were informed of what had occurred, and it is to be noted that against the patriotic integrity of neither of these has a word ever been uttered or an insinuation suggested. Samuel McDowell was one of the two who received confidential information of what had been said by Gardoqui. The reasons for communicating with him were both public and personal. He was justly possessed of the entire confidence of the West. His career had been a long one of military and civil service, marked by unimpeached uprightness and wisdom. He had presided in all the Kentucky conventions, and the weight of his charac- ter and the soundness of his patriotism had inspired in the statesmen of Virginia a feeling of security as to the modera- tion and justness of the action that might be taken in the deliberative bodies of the District, and of certainty that his opinions would greatly influence public conclusions. It was
I " My recollection, with which reference to my manuscript papers accords, leaves no doubt that the overture was communicated to me by Mr. Brown. Nor can I doubt that, as stated by him, I expressed the opinion and apprehension that a knowledge of it in Kentucky might, in the excitement there, be mischievously employed. This view of the subject evidently resulted from the natural and known impatience of the people on the waters of the Mississippi for a market for the produce of their exuberant soil; from a distrust of the Federal policy produced by the project of surrendering the use of that river for a term of years, and from a coincidence of the overture in point of time with the plan on foot for consolidating the Union by arming it with new pow- ers," etc. (Madison to Mann Butler, 11th October, 1834.)
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important that he of all men in Kentucky should be fully informed of all that was likely to affect the affairs of the West, not only that his judgment might assist in arriving at right conclusions, but that his wise policy as a presiding officer might control dangerous debate and steer the con- ventions clear of unprofitable or irritating questions. His experience as member of the Supreme Court of the Dis- trict made his opinion on questions of law that were involved very important.
Besides these very sufficient public reasons, there were considerations of a personal character that induced Brown to communicate with McDowell. Between the two families there had existed an ancient and close intimacy antedating their migration from the North of Ireland to Burden's Grant in Virginia. In the days when religious dissent was still frowned upon by the Virginia law, the father of McDowell (John McDowell) and the grandfather of Brown (John Pres- ton) were elders of the Presbyterian congregation that wor- shiped at Tinkling Spring, within the presbytery of which the elder John Brown was a minister at New Providence and Timber Ridge. Brown was known to McDowell from his infancy, and the confidence was mutual.'
I Deposition of Samuel McDowell, September, 1812, in the suit of Harry Innes against Humphrey Marshall. The papers of this suit were quite recently discovered by the writer in the archives of the Mercer Circuit Court. The record contains depo- sitions of many of the leading participants in early Kentucky affairs, which will be referred to in another place.
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The other person in Kentucky whom it seemed proper to inform was George Muter, Chief Justice of the District. The propriety of doing so lay in the fact that his opinion would have much influence as to the legality of an immedi- ate application to Congress for admission to the Union based upon the action already taken by Virginia. Beside this, his long service as Quartermaster of Virginia during the Revo- lution had made Judge Muter well known to all the promi- nent personages of that State. He was eminently a con- necting link between the two peoples, and his patriotism was indisputable. But he was vascillating as compared with the strong men with whom he came in contact, easily influenced as events proved, and neither wise enough to keep counsel nor vigorous enough to permanently command the respect of contending parties.'
Under the cautious advice of Madison the communica- tion of Gardoqui was thus kept from the knowledge of all persons in Kentucky save McDowell and Muter. Neither Shelby nor Wallace nor Innes was informed, nor did Brown think it proper to let his brother James know of it.
The letter which Brown wrote McDowell was destroyed by accident, but its tenor and a vindication of the writer was published eighteen years afterward by Judge McDowell,2
- I Marshall, History of Kentucky, edition of 1824, Vol. II, p. 78.
2 The publication by McDowell, dated 4th August, 1806, is given in full in Littell's " Political Transactions in and Concerning Kentucky " (Frankfort, Ky., 1806), where it
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and at a still later date deposed to by him in a suit brought by Innes against Humphrey Marshall for libelous publica- tions.' The letter to Muter was made public, and it is pre- sumable that the two were in substance the same, and for- warded by the same chance conveyance westward.
Under date of July 10, 1788, Brown explained to Muter the causes that had defeated the Kentucky application, and expressed his belief that the simultaneous admission of Ver- mont or Maine would be insisted on by the Eastern States as a condition coupled with Kentucky's admission. He alluded to the jealousy even then discernable between the sections, and which he feared might continue under the new government. He distinctly defined the question confronting the people of Kentucky, as being narrowed to "whether or not it will be most expedient to continue the connection with the State of Virginia or to declare their independence and proceed to frame a constitution of government."
He clearly intimated his opinion that the movement for a separate State government had gone too far to be aban- doned, and that admission into the Union was too urgently necessary to await the tedious delays that had marked Ken- tucky's former application. It is evident that he had become
appears as Appendix No. XVIII. It is given in the appendix to this paper. No cor- rect estimate of early Kentucky political development can be made without a carefu perusal of this thrice rare little volume by Littell.
I Deposition of Samuel Mc Dowell in the suit of Innes against Marshall, Mercer Cir- cuit Court.
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