USA > Louisiana > History of Louisiana, the Spanish domination > Part 37
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" That the President be authorized to take immediate possession of such place or places, in the same island, or the adjacent territories, as he may deem fit and conve- nient for the purposes aforesaid ; and to adopt such other measures for obtaining that complete security as to him in his wisdom shall seem meet.
" That he be authorized to call into actual service any number of the militia of the States of South Carolina, Georgia, Ohio, Kentucky, Tennessee, or the Mississippi territory, which he may think proper, not exceeding fifty thousand, and to employ them, together with the military and naval forces of the Union. for effecting the objects above mentioned.
" That the sum of five millions of dollars be appropri- ated to the carrying into effect of the foregoing resolu- tions, and that the whole or any part of that sum, be paid or applied, or warrants drawn in pursuance of such directions as the President may, from time to time, think proper to give to the Secretary of the Treasury."
These resolutions were seconded by Mr. Wells, from the State of Delaware. They were taken up on the 23d. of February, and Mr. White, from the same State, sup- ported them to their fullest extent. "As to the closing of the port of New Orleans against our citizens," said he, " the man who can now doubt, after viewing all the accompanying circumstances, that it was the deliberate act of the Spanish or French government, must have
483
MR. WHITE IN THE SENATE.
locked up his mind against truth and conviction, and be determined to discredit even the evidence of his own senses. But, Sir, it is not only the depriving us of our right of deposit by which we have been aggrieved; it is by a system of measures pursued antecedent and subse- quent to that event, equally hostile and even more insulting. I have in my hand a paper, signed by a Spanish officer, which, with the indulgence of the chair, I will read to the Senate.
"' Advertisement. Under date of the 16th inst. (De- cember, 1802) the Intendant-general of these provinces tells me that the citizens of the United States of Ame- rica can have no commerce with his Majesty's subjects- they only having the free navigation of the river for the exportation of the fruits and produce of their establish- ments to foreign countries, and the importation of what they may want from them. As such I charge you, so far as respects you, to be zealous and vigilant, with par- ticular care that the inhabitants neither purchase nor sell anything to the shipping, flat-bottomed boats, bar- ges, or any other smaller vessels that may go along the river, destined for the American possessions, or proceed- ing from them, &c.
" ' CARLOS DE GRANDPRÉ.'
" These are the measures that have been adopted by the Spaniards-excluding us from their shores for the distance of two hundred and seventy miles-treating us like a nation of pirates, or banditti, whom they feared to trust in their country. Spain has dared us to the trial, and now bids us defiance; she is yet in possession of that country ; it is at this moment within your reach and within your power; it offers a sure and easy con- quest; we should have to encounter there only a weak,
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MR. WHITE IN THE SENATE.
inactive and unenterprising people; but how may a few months vary this scene, and darken our prospects ! Though not officially informed, we know that the Span- ish provinces on the Mississippi have been ceded to the French, and that they will as soon as possible take pos- session of them. What may we then expect ? When, in the last extremity, we shall be drawn to arms in de- fence of our indisputable rights, where now slumbers on his post with folded arms the sluggish Spaniard, we shall be hailed by the vigilant and alert French grena- dier, and in the defenceless garrison that would now surrender at our approach, we shall see unfurled the standards that have waved triumphant in Italy, sur- rounded by impregnable ramparts, and defended by the disciplined veterans of Egypt.
" I am willing to attribute to honorable gentlemen the best of motives; I am sure they do not wish to involve this country in a war, and, God knows, I deprecate its horrors as much as any man ; but this business can never be adjusted abroad ; it will ultimately have to be settled upon the banks of the Mississippi; and the longer you delay, the more time you waste in tedious negotiations, the greater sacrifices you make to protract a temporary and hollow peace, the greater will be your embarrass- ments when the war comes on; and it is inevitable, un- less honorable gentlemen, opposed to us, are prepared to yield up the best interest and honor of the nation. I believe the only question now in our power to decide, is whether it shall be the bloodless war of a few months, or the carnage of years.
" These observations are urged upon the supposition that it is in the power of the government to restrain the impetuosity of the Western people, and to prevent their doing justice to themselves, which, by the by, I beg to be understood as not believing, but expressly the con-
486
MR. JACKSON IN THE SENATE.
trary. They know their own strength ; they know the feebleness of the enemy ; they know the infinite impor- tance of the stake, and they feel, permit me to say, sir, with more than mere sensibility, the insults and injuries they have received, and I believe will not submit, even for the approaching season, to their present ruinous and humiliating situation. You had as well pretend to dam up the mouth of the Mississippi, and say to its restless waves, ye shall cease here, and never mingle with the ocean, as to expect they will be prevented from descend- ing it. Without the free use of the river, and the neces- sary advantages of deposit below our line, their fertile country is not worth possession, their produce must be wasted in the fields or rot in their granaries. These are rights not only guaranteed to them by treaty, but also given to them by the God of nature, and they will en- force them, with or without the authority of government ; and let me ask, whether it is more dignified for the government to lead or follow in the path of honor ? One it must do, or give up that Western country."
Those who were opposed to these Resolutions urged that it was necessary to exhaust every means of nego- tiation before adopting measures which would lead to hostilities, and that it was indispensable, before doing any thing, to ascertain whether the King of Spain would sanction the act of his Intendant at New Orleans. Among those who took a prominent part against these " Resolutions," was Mr. Jackson of Georgia. " What is the course," said he, " which we have to pursue ? Is it to go immediately to war, without asking for redress ? By the law of nations, and the doctrines of all writers on them, you are not justified, until you have tried every possible method of obtaining redress in a peace- able manner : it is only in the last extremity, when you have no other expedient left, that a recourse to arms is
486
MR. JACKSON IN THE SENATE.
lawful and just; and I hope the United States will never forfeit their character for justice by any hasty or rash steps, which they may, too late, have to repent of, -when they can have recourse to another method which may procure a redress of the wrong complained of.
"I am, myself, of opinion that New Orleans must be- long to the United States ; it must come to us in the course of human events, although not at the present day ; for I do not wish to use force to obtain it, if we can get a redress of the injury done to us ; yet it will naturally fall into our hands by gradual but inevitable causes, as sure and certain as manufactures arise from increased population and the plentiful products of agriculture and commerce. But let it be noticed that, if New Orleans, by a refusal of justice, falls into our hands by force, the Floridas, as sure as fate, fall with it. Good faith forbids encroachment on a pacific ally ; but if hostility shows itself against us, interest demands it; Georgia in such case would not do without it. God and nature have destined New Orleans and the Floridas to belong to this great and rising empire. As natural bounds to the South, are the Atlantic, the Gulf of Mexico, and the Mississippi, and the world at some future day cannot hold them from us.
"Sir, we have been told much by the gentleman from Delaware of Bonaparte ; that he is the hero of France, the conqueror of Italy, and the tyrant of Germany, and that his legions are invincible. We have been told that we must hasten to take possession of New Orleans whilst in the hands of the sluggish Spaniards, and not wait until it is in the iron grasp of the Cæsar of modern times. But much as I respect the fame and exploits of that ex- traordinary man, I believe we should have little more to fear from him, should it be necessary in the end to con- tend with him for the possession of New Orleans, than
487
MR. JACKSON IN THE SENATE.
from the sluggish Spaniards. Bonaparte, Sir, in our Southern country, would be lost; with all his martial talents ; his hollow squares and horse artillery would be of little service to him in the midst of our morasses and woods, where he would meet, not with the champaign country of Italy-with the little rivulets commanded by his cannon, which he could pass at leisure-not with for- tified cities which command surrounding districts-but with rivers miles wide, and swamps, mortal or impene- trable to Europeans. With a body of only ten thousand of our expert riflemen around him, his laurels would be torn from his brow, and he would heartily wish himself once more safe on the plains of Italy.
" What, Sir, would be forty or fifty thousand French, in those impenetrable forests, to the hosts which would be poured down the Mississippi ? But should Bonaparte send an army of forty thousand men here, and should they not be destroyed by our troops, they would, within twenty years, become Americans, and join our arms ; they would form connexions with our females, inter- marry with them, and insensibly change their habits, their manners, and their language. No other people can long exist in the vicinity of those of the United States, without intermixing and ultimately joining with them.
" The sacred name of Washington has been unneces- sarily appealed to, on this as on many other occasions, and we have been boastingly told that, in his time, no nation dared to insult us. Much, Sir, as I revere his memory, acknowledging him among the fathers of his country-was this the fact ? Was he not insulted-was not the nation insulted under his administration ? How came the posts to be detained after the definitive treaty with Great Britain ? What dictated that inhuman deed to stir up horror and destruction among us-Lord Dor-
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488
MR. JACKSON IN THE SENATE.
chester's insolent and savage speech to the hordes of Indians on our frontiers, to massacre our inhabitants without distinction ? Were those not insults ? Or have we tamely forgotten them ? Yet, Sir, did Washington go to war ? He did not; he preferred negotiation and sent an envoy to Britain ; peace was obtained by a treaty with that nation-I shall not inquire at what price-but these were the steps taken by him. Shall we then not negotiate ? Shall we not follow the leading feature of our national policy ? I hope we shall, and by doing so, we shall become unanimous. We are all actuated, I hope, by one view, but we differ on the means ; let us do jus- tice by requiring our neighbor to do justice to us, by a restoration of our rights ; let us show the nations of the earth we are not anxious for war, that scourge of man- kind ; that we bear patiently our injuries, in hopes of redress, and that nothing but absolute denial of justice, which will be additional insult, shall induce us to it. But, Sir, if forced to war, contrary to our policy and wishes, let us unsheathe the sword and fling away the scabbard, until our enemies be brought to a sense of justice, and our wrongs are redressed."
Mr. Cocke, from Tennessee, rose also to advocate peaceful measures : "When the gentleman from Penn- sylvania" (Mr. Ross), said he, " opened his war project, his resentment appeared to be wholly confined to Spain; his sole object, the securing of the navigation of the Mississippi and of our right to a convenient place of deposit on that river. We were told by that gentleman that we are bound to go to war for this right which God and nature had given the Western people. What are we to understand by this right given by God and nature ? Surely not the right of deposit, for that was given by treaty ; and, as to the right of navigation, that has been neither suspended nor brought into question
489
MR. COCKE IN THE SENATE.
. But we are told by the same gentleman, that the posses- sion of New Orleans is necessary to our complete secu- rity. Leaving to the gentleman's own conscience to settle the question as to the morality of taking that place, because it would be convenient, I beg to inform him that the possession of it would not give us complete security. The island of Cuba, from its position and the excellence of its harbors, commands the Gulf of Mexico as completely as New Orleans does the river Mississippi, and, to give that complete security he requires of the President, the island of Cuba must likewise be taken possession of."
Mr. Morris, of New York, maintained the doctrine that Spain had justified the United States in seizing upon New Orleans, by her having made the cession of it without their consent. "Had Spain," said he, "the right to make this cession without our consent ? Gen- tlemen have taken it for granted that she had. But I deny the position. No nation has a right to give to another a dangerous neighbor without her consent. This is not like the case of private citizens ; for there, when a man is injured, he can resort to the tribunals for redress; and yet, even there, to dispose of property to one who is a bad neighbor is always considered as an act of unkindness. But as between nations, who can redress themselves only by war, such transfer is in itself an aggression. He who renders me insecure; he who hazards my peace, and exposes me to imminent danger, commits an act of hostility against me, and gives me the rights consequent on that act. Suppose Great Britain should give to Algiers one of the Bahamas, and contri- bute thereby to establish a nest of pirates near your coasts, would you not consider it as an aggression ? Sup- pose, during the late war, you had conveyed to France a tract of land along the Hudson's river and the northern
490
MR. MORRIS IN THE SENATE.
route by the lakes into Canada, would not Britain have considered and treated it as an act of direct hostility ? It is among the first limitations to the exercise of the rights of property, that we must so use our own as not to injure another; and it is under the immediate sense of this restriction that nations are bound to act towards each other."
He further said that the possession of Louisiana by the ambitious ruler of France would give him in the new world the preponderance he had already obtained in the old; that it became the United States to show that they did not fear him who was the terror of all; and that it specially behoved this young and growing republic to interpose, in order to revive the energy and resistance of the half conquered nations of Europe, and to save the expiring liberties of mankind. To this his colleague, Mr. Clinton, replied in the following strain : "Sublime as these speculations may appear to the eyes of some, and high sounding as they may strike the ears of many, they do not affect me with any force. In the first place, I do not perceive how they bear upon the question before me; it merely refers to the seizure of New Orleans, not to the maintenance of the balance of power. Again : of all characters, I think that of a con- quering nation least becomes the American people. What, Sir ! shall America go forth, like another Don Quixote, to relieve distressed nations, and to rescue from the fangs of tyranny the powerful States of Britain, Spain, Austria, Italy, the Netherlands ? Shall she, like another Phaeton, madly ascend the chariot of Empire, and spread desolation and horror over the world ? Shall she attempt to restrain the career of a nation which my honorable colleague represents to have been irresistible, and which he declares has appalled the British lion and the imperial eagle of the house of Austria ? Shall she
491
MR. CLINTON IN THE SENATE.
wantonly court destruction, and violate all the maxims of policy which ought to govern an infant and free Republic ? Let us, Sir, never carry our arms into the territories of other nations, unless we are compelled to take them up in self-defence. A pacific character is of all others most important for us to establish and main- tain. With a sea coast of two thousand miles, indented with harbors and lined with cities, with an extended commerce, and with a population of six millions only, how are we to set up for the avengers of nations ? Can gravity itself refrain from laughter at the figure which my honorable colleague would wish us to make on the theatre of the world ? He would put a fool's cap on our head and dress us up in the particolored robes of a harlequin, for the nations of the world to laugh at; and, after all the puissant knights of the times have been worsted in the tournament by the Orlando Furioso of France, we must then, forsooth, come forward and con- sole them for their defeat by an exhibition of our follies ! I look, Sir, upon all the dangers we have heard about the French possessions of Louisiana, as visionary and idle. Twenty years must roll over our heads before France can establish in that country a population of two hundred thousand souls. What in the meantime will become of your Southern and Western States ? Are they not advancing to greatness with a giant's stride ? The Western waters will then contain on their borders millions of free and hardy republicans, able to crush every daring invader of their rights. A formidable navy will spring from the bosom of the Atlantic States, ready to meet the maritime force of any nation. With such means, what will we have to fear from the acts or from the arms of any power, however formidable ?"
On the 25th of February, Mr. Ross's resolutions were rejected by a vote of fifteen to eleven, and the following
492 MR. BRECKENRIDGE'S RESOLUTIONS IN THE SENATE.
resolutions, of a milder character, which had been pro- posed as amendments by Mr. Breckenridge, of Kentucky, were unanimously adopted :
" Resolved, That the President of the United States be, and he is, hereby authorized, whenever he shall judge it expedient, to require of the Executives of the several States to take effectual measures to arm and equip, according to law, and hold in readiness to march, at a moment's warning, eighty thousand effective militia, officers included.
"That the President may, if he judges it expedient, authorize the Executives of the several States to accept, as part of the detachment aforesaid, any corps of volun- teers, who shall continue in service for such time not exceeding - months, and perform such services as shall be prescribed by law.
" That dollars be appropriated for paying and subsisting such part of the troops aforesaid, whose actual service may be wanted, and for defraying such other expenses as, during the recess of Congress, the President may deem necessary for the security of the territory of the United States.
" That - dollars be appropriated for erecting, at such place or places on the Western waters as the President may judge most proper, one or more arse- nals."
These resolutions were referred to Messrs. Brecken- ridge, Jackson and Sumter, to bring in a bill accordingly. On the 26th, Mr. Breckenridge reported by a bill entitled "An Act directing a detachment from the militia of the United States, and for erecting certain arsenals ;" and, on the 28th, it was adopted.
Let us now enter the hall of the House of Representa- tives and ascertain what had there occurred in relation to the same subject.
493
MR. GRISWOLD'S RESOLUTIONS IN THE HOUSE.
On the 17th of December, 1802, John Randolph of Virginia moved the following resolution :
" That the President of the United States be re- quested to cause to be laid before this house such papers as are in the possession of the department of state, as relate to the violation, on the part of Spain, of the treaty of friendship, limits and navigation, between the United States of America and the King of Spain ;" and this resolution was agreed to unanimously. On the 22d, in compliance with this resolution, the President laid before the house the required information. On the 31st, the President made another communication in relation to the same subject, which, together with his preceding message of the 22d, was referred to a committee of the whole house on the state of the Union. On the 4th of January, 1803, Mr. Griswold made the following motion :
" Resolved, That the President of the United States be requested to direct the proper officer to lay before this house copies of such official documents as have been received by this government, announcing the cession of Louisiana to France, together with a report explaining the stipulations, circumstances and conditions under which that province is to be delivered up; unless such documents and report will, in the opinion of the Presi- dant, divulge to the house particular transactions not proper at this time to be communicated."
On the 5th, Mr. Griswold called up his resolution respecting Louisiana, and the question to take into con- sideration was carried by 35 to 32.
Mr. Randolph moved that it be referred to the Com- mittee of the Whole on the state of the Union, to whom had been committed the message of the President respecting the shutting up of the port of New Orleans to the Americans, and the violation of the treaty exist-
494
MR. RANDOLPH'S MOTION IN THE HOUSE.
ing between Spain and the United States, on the ground that the discussion on both questions might embrace points nearly connected. Mr. Randolph's motion was carried, and the House expressed "their unalterable determination to maintain the boundaries and the rights of navigation and commerce through the river Missis- sippi, as established by existing treaties." But the Com- mittee of the Whole reported on the 11th of January against Mr. Griswold's resolution, and it was conse- quently lost by a vote of 51 to 35, as it was thought that, if carried, it might interfere with the negotia- tions already begun by the President. The other proceedings and discussions in the House on this subject were of comparatively little importance, and the excite- ment there seems to have been less than in the Senate. After having thus exhibited the interest it took in the cession of Louisiana by Spain to France, Congress ad- journed on the 4th of March.
In the meanwhile, the Executive had not been inactive, and Mr. Madison had written, on the 10th of January (1803), to the United States' minister at Madrid : "You will find by the printed documents herewith transmitted, that the subject (what had taken place at New Orleans), engaged the early and earnest attention of the House of Representatives; and that all the information relating to it, possessed by the Executive prior to the receipt of that letter,* was reported in consequence of a call for it. You will find, also, that the House has passed a resolution explicitly declaring that the stipulated rights of the United States on the Mississippi will be inviolably maintained. The disposition of many members was to
* A letter from the Governor of Louisiana to Governor Claiborne, in which it is stated that the measure of the Intendant closing the port of New Orleans to the Americans was without instructions from his government, and admitted that his own judgment did not concur with that of the Intendant.
495
MR. MADISON'S DESPATCH TO LIVINGSTON.
give the resolution a tone and complexion still stronger. To these proofs of the sensation which has been pro- duced, it is to be added, that representations, expressing the peculiar sensibility of the Western country, are on the way from every quarter of it to the government. There is, in fact, but one sentiment throughout the Union with respect to the duty of maintaining our rights of navigation and boundary. The only existing differ- ance relates to the degree of patience which ought to be exercised during the appeal to friendly modes of redress. In this state of things it is to be presumed that the Spanish government will accelerate, by every possible means, its intervention for that purpose ; and the President charges you to urge the necessity of so doing with as much amicable decision as you can employ."
On the 18th of the same month, Mr. Madison thus addressed Mr. Livingston in Paris: "In, these debates (of Congress), as well as in indications from the press, you will perceive, as you would readily suppose, that the cession of Louisiana to France has been associated with the violation, at New Orleans, of our treaty with Spain, as a ground of much solicitude. Such, indeed, has been the impulse given to the public mind by these events, that every branch of the government has felt the obli- gation of taking the measure most likely, not only to re- establish our present rights, but also to promote arrange- ments by which they may 'be enlarged, and more effec- tually secured. In deliberating on this subject, it has appeared to the President that the importance of the crisis called. for the experiment of an extraordinary mission, carrying with it the weight attached to such a measure, as well as the advantage of a more thorough knowledge of the views of the government, and the sen- sibility of the people, than would be otherwise conveyed.
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