USA > North Carolina > History of North Carolina: The Federal Period 1783-1860, Volume II > Part 5
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The revolt of the state from federalist control did not escape the attention of republican leaders elsewhere. By 1798 there was a movement to induce North Carolina to join in a revolt against the alien and sedition laws. John Taylor, of Caroline, Virginia, suggested to Thomas Jefferson that Virginia and North Carolina secede and form the nucleus of a new confederation. Jefferson was equally dissatisfied with federalist policies, but he placed union above section. "If we reduce our union to Virginia and North Carolina," he wrote, "immediately the conflict will be established between the rep- resentatives of these two small states and they will end by breaking into other simple units." 7 Jefferson therefore sug- gested that a protest only be made against the notorious alien and sedition laws, and that North Carolina join with Virginia in that protest. However, in 1798 there was a strong federal- ist reaction in North Carolina; hence Kentucky was chosen by Jefferson to join in the protest instead of North Carolina, and the articles adopted were known as the Virginia-Ken- tucky resolutions.
The cause of the federalist reaction referred to was re- sentment toward the French government, its perfidy and insult to the United States being revealed in the X. Y. Z. Correspondence. The war fever was aroused, federalists and republicans rallying to the support of the President. In the local elections of 1798 the federalists won a majority in the State Senate, Davie was elected governor by the legislature, and in the congressional elections six districts went federal- ist. An address to the President of the United States, ex- pressing loyalty and co-operation, was drafted by the legis- lature. Consequently when the Kentucky resolutions were submitted to the legislature of North Carolina there was no
7 Jefferson, Writings (Ford Ed), VII, 263.
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response; in the Senate resolutions instructing the state's delegation in Congress to work for the repeal of the alien and sedition laws were defeated, but similar resolutions were adopted in the Commons, where the republicans had a major- ity. Also Alexander Martin failed to be reelected to the United States Senate on account of his vote for the alien and sedition laws; his successor was Jesse Franklin.
Such was the drift of politics as the presidential election of 1800 approached. The federalists, encouraged by recent victories, hoped to carry the state for Adams. But the issue of war with France was removed by the treaty of 1799. Hence the federalist appeal to loyalty could apply only to the re- ports of secession sentiment in Virginia. To assure victory a bill was introduced in the legislature of 1799 to place the choice of presidential electors in the legislature. It was defeated by a small republican majority in the House. The early federalist prospects for victory did not mature. The party experienced a loss of leadership. Iredell died in 1799, Samuel Johnston was in his dotage, Davie resigned as gov- ernor to accept a mission to France, and was abroad when the election took place. Moreover Spaight and Stone, two of the congressmen elected in 1798, demanded a repeal of the alien and sedition laws and finally left the party. Contempo- rary with this loss of leadership by the federalists, a new and powerful factor did much to rally the republicans. This was the Raleigh Register, the first republican newspaper in the state. It was established in 1799, its first number ap- pearing on October 22. Its editor was Joseph Gales, an English radical, who had been forced to leave his native country on account of the opinions contained in his paper, the Sheffield Register. In 1795 he arrived in Philadelphia and soon became known as an expert reporter of proceedings in Congress. Realizing the need of a party organ in North Carolina, Nathaniel Macon and other republicans persuaded Mr. Gales to come to Raleigh and establish the Register. The editorials were spirited and readable, and during the cam- paign copies of the paper were sent to a large number of doubtful voters free of charge. Alarmed by the aggressive- ness of the Register, William Boylan, editor of the Minerva,
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moved his paper, which was federalist, from Fayetteville to Raleigh. Thus begins the history of the partisan press in North Carolina. An interesting incident was a physical con- flict between the two editors on the streets of Raleigh. Gales brought suit for damages against Boylan. The trial was
JOSEPH GALES
removed to Hillsboro. The jury awarded the plaintiff dam- ages of £100, and Gales, after paying the attorney's fees, donated the remainder to the Raleigh Academy. The influ- ence of Gales and his paper extended beyond the confines of North Carolina. He secured an interest in the National In- telligencer, organ of the republicans at Washington, and in 1807 Joseph Gales, Jr., became the congressional reporter and in 1810 sole owner of the Intelligencer. In 1812 he was joined in the ownership by his brother, William W. Gales, who
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had for three years been associated with the elder Gales in the Register. On the retirement of Joseph Gales, Sr., the editorship of the Register was continued by his son, Western R. Gales.
The result of the presidential election of 1800 was a vic- tory for the republicans. However, the federalists secured four of the electoral votes, quite a gain over the vote of 1796. This was undoubtedly due to the reaction against France and the strong appeal to conserve the Union made by the fed- eralists.
The election of 1800 marks a revolution in American poli- tics, a decisive victory of the Jeffersonian republicans over federalism, yet as far as North Carolina was concerned there was in the election no guarantee of permanent supremacy. The four electoral votes for Adams suggest a rugged indepen- dence when contrasted with the solid vote of Virginia, South Carolina, and Georgia for Jefferson. There were also four federalist congressmen, and until the end of the Second War with England the Salisbury, Fayetteville, and Edenton dis- tricts manifested distrust of republican measures. Some of the clergy were also hostile to the recent political change; a minister in Orange County prayed that "God would send the name of Republicanism to its native Hell." Moreover federalistic ideals had attracted men of ability, vision, and character. With the return of Davie from France early in 1801, plans were laid for opposition to the new regime. Con- sequently Jefferson and his advisors did not rest easy with laurels recently won. A new weapon was found in the fed- eral patronage. Macon wished to make party loyalty the sole test for appointment; instead, Jefferson adopted the policy of offering certain high offices to federalists in order to weaken their party allegiance. Hence Benjamin Hawkins was appointed one of the commissioners to the Creek Indians, and was also consulted concerning other appointments. Davie likewise accepted a commission to treat with those Tuscarora Indians who had not removed from North Carolina. John Steele, first Comptroller of the United States Treasury, re- mained in office until his resignation in 1802.
The undoing of the North Carolina federalists was not
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accomplished by Jefferson's seductive policy but by their in- difference, if not resistance, to the popular will. This was disclosed in their attitude toward the repeal of the Judiciary Act of 1801. By that law the federalists had increased the number of circuits and created a number of circuit judgeships to which President Adams had appointed federalists. One of Jefferson's measures of reform was to have the law re- pealed on the ground that it was unnecessary. The Nortli Carolina legislature, thoroughly in sympathy with the Jef- fersonian idea, instructed the senators and recommended to the representatives, to vote for the repeal. However the four federalist members of the House from North Carolina dis- regarded the recommendation and voted against repeal. Their explanation was partly expediency, that an increase of circuits and judges was actually needed, and also constitu- tionality, that the repeal of the law violated the independence of the judiciary. Two of the members defended at length their vote before the House. Stanly declared: "Should this measure pass it will be the first link in that chain of measures which will add the name of America to the melancholy cata- logue of falling republics." Henderson exclaimed: "If the doctrine intended by the gentleman of the other side of the House should become the settled construction of the Constitu- tion and enlightened America acquiesce with that construction, I declare for myself, for myself alone, I would not heave a sigh or shed a tear over its total dissolution. The wound you are about to give it will be mortal; it may languish out a mere existence for a few years, but it will surely die. It will neither serve to protect its friends nor defend itself from the omnipotent energies of its enemies. Better at once to bury it with all our hopes." 8 These remarks clearly indi- cate a lack of sympathy of the federalists with Jeffersonian ideals. Failure to heed the instructions of the legislature raised the issue of responsibility to the popular will, and in the election of 1804 there was a reaction, the state sending a solid republican delegation to Congress. An interesting inci- dent of the campaign was the contest between Davie and Al-
8 Annals of 7th Congress, 1st session, 523, ff ; 569, ff.
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ston in the Halifax district. Alston was victorious and Davie, chagrined at defeat, retired from politics and from the state. spending the remaining years of his life on his plantation on the Catawba River in South Carolina.
The victory over federalism was not followed by una- nimity toward dominant republican policies. The same inde- pendence that characterized federalism in North Carolina was also a feature of the republican party. Illustrative was the attitude of Nathaniel Macon. As Jefferson was the idealogue of democracy, Macon personified democracy through char- acter. Honesty, economy, simplicity, and the rights of the states as the best protection of the agricultural interests, were principles concerning which he was uncompromising. Elected Speaker of the House of Representatives in 1801 in recogni- tion of North Carolina's loyalty to the republican cause, he soon realized that his ideals did not permit an unqualified sup- port of the administration. With the impeachment of the fed- eralist judges he had little sympathy, believing that public opinion did not demand it. He opposed the policy of the government to recognize the validity of land grants which had been made and then revoked by the legislature of Georgia in the Yazoo district, which had been ceded to the United States in 1802. With the co-operation of John Randolph of Virginia he was successful in his opposition, for no settlement of the claims was made until 1814, after their validity had been established by the Supreme Court. Moreover, Macon did not favor the rise of Madison to power, who was slated for the presidential succession, but preferred Gallatin of Pennsylvania. How stiff-necked the Speaker might become is shown by his vote on the resolution submitting the twelfth amendment to the Constitution to the states; it lacked one vote to make the required two-thirds majority. Macon claimed the right, as a member of the House, to cast a vote for the measure, overruled the opinion that the Speaker's vote was limited to tie cases, and thus the amendment was submitted.
Macon was not alone in his disaffection. Of one mind . with him were John Randolph, of Virginia, whom Macon ap- pointed chairman of the Ways and Means Committee, and Nicholson, of Maryland. These insurgents were known as the
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"Quids," and frequently voting with them were Richard Stanford, of Hillsboro, Thomas Wynns, of Hertford, and Joseph Winston, of Surry County. In 1806 the rank and file of the House became restive over the disaffection of these members. In order to shelve Randolph as chairman of the Ways and Means Committee, there was a movement to take from the Speaker the right of appointing standing committees. It failed by only two votes. Macon, yielding to the desire of the majority, appointed Joseph Clay of Pennsylvania to head the committee of which Randolph had been chairman since 1301. The following year Macon himself lost the speak- ership; he then became reconciled to the leadership of Madi- son and also broke with Randolph.
In the meantime foreign affairs became the dominant national problem. In the efforts toward their solution Macon and his colleagues from North Carolina manifested their in- dependence. In reply to England's interference with Ameri- can trade, Congress in April, 1806, enacted the non-importa- tion law, which prohibited the importation from England of such goods as could be manufactured in the United States. It was criticized by Macon, who feared war would result, by pointing out that any diminution of the customs would require increase of the internal taxes, which would be a burden to the South. However, at the final vote on the measure the only North Carolinian in opposition was Richard Stanford. Non-importation was a failure. 'It was followed by grave in- sults over the right of search and a more drastic interference with American shipping by the French decrees and the Brit- ish orders in council. Upon Jefferson's recommendation Congress adopted the embargo act of 1807, which forbade American ships to engage in foreign trade. Macon did not approve of the measure, and on the final vote five of the North Carolina representatives were among the nays, Blackledge, Alexander, Culpepper, Holland, and Stanford. The embargo forced no concession from Europe and created discontent at home. It was superseded by the non-intercourse act of 1809, which prohibited trade with France and England, but sanc- tioned it with the countries not under their control. Again
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the North Carolina delegation was divided. Macon favored continuance of the embargo, believing total severance of trade relations to be the best guarantee against war, and of like mind were Blackledge, Blount, and Stanford. When negotia- tions with England proved fruitless, Macon, as chairman of the special committee on foreign relations, introduced a meas- ure which, if adopted, might have forced England to terms and so have avoided war. Its principle was that of the British navigation acts, closing the ports of the United States to British and French ships and admitting goods of those na- tions only when imported directly in American vessels. This was an administration measure framed after consultation with Madison and Gallatin. Although it passed the House, it met defeat in the Senate, due to a faction in the party bitterly hostile to Gallatin. Thereupon in April, 1810, Macon re- ported a new measure, really the work of Taylor of South Carolina. It repealed the non-intercourse act, making com- mercial relations free, but authorized the President to pro- hibit trade with England or France in case one of them re- voked its commercial decree. The law was known as Macon Bill No. 2. It proved ineffective. Napoleon promised revo- cation of the French decrees. Madison thereupon suspended intercourse with England, but Napoleon did not fulfill his promise, and the French continued to seize American ships. These results were doubtless no surprise to Macon, for he had voted against the law, and likewise Archibald McBryde, John Stanly, and Richard Stanford.
The demoralization of trade resulting from the failure to adjust foreign relations threatened a party crisis in North Carolina. In 1808 three of the electoral votes were cast for Pinckney, federalist candidate, and in the congressional campaign also the federalists carried four districts, Wil- liam Kennedy being elected from the Tarboro, Archibald McBryde from the Fayetteville, Joseph Pearson from the Salisbury, and John Stanly from the Newbern district. Moreover there was division in the republican ranks. Willis Alston of the Halifax district showed marked independence by voting for the recharter of the national bank in 1811.
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Lemuel Sawyer, of Edenton, denounced efforts at compro- mise in foreign relations, and declared that only war would meet the situation, while Richard Stanford often voted with the federalists. Hence as the presidential election of 1812 approached, there was alarm lest the federalists carry the state. To prevent such a catastrophe, the legislature of 1811 transferred the choice of electors from the people to the leg- islature in order that Madison might receive the full vote of the state. However the measure proved unpopular. In the legislature of 1812 there were sixty federalists, among them Gaston, Steele, Stanly, Grove, and Henderson. Nor was the measure popular with the republicans. James Mebane, the member who had introduced it, was defeated by Murphey, and when the legislature of 1812 met, the federalists and anti- electoral republicans procured the repeal of the law and the adoption of a resolution proposing an amendment to the Fed- eral Constitution guaranteeing popular choice of electors. In the meantime the war fever increased, especially in the South- west, and war was declared on England on July 18, 1812. However, Pearson, McBryde, and Stanford voted against the declaration, and David Stone, elected senator in 1812, was soon out of sympathy with the policy of the Government.
The war aroused considerable martial response in North Carolina. The call for 7,000 militia by the federal authorities, the state's quota of 100,000 to be detached for United States service, was met almost entirely by volunteers. However the problems of equipment and coast defense were serious and became the subject of controversy. According to state law members of the militia should arm and equip themselves, a task well-nigh impossible considering the unusual number called out. Moreover the kind of arms used in the United States service was not to be had, because the act of Congress of 1808 requiring a deposit of federal arms among the states had not been complied with so far as North Carolina was concerned. Hence equipment for the militia was not secured until the legislature appropriated $50,000 for supplies and $25,000 for arms in 1813, and $55,000 for arms in 1814. Re- imbursement for these expenditures became a matter of coll-
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troversy between the state and federal governments, and the matter to this day has not been settled. The coast de- fenses were inadequate. At Wilmington were half a dozen gun boats, all out of commission. Shortly before the war opened companies of regular troops at Fort Johnston, below Wilmington, and Fort Hampton, near Beaufort, were with- drawn. Thus the state was virtually unprotected from in- vasion. In May, 1813, citizens of Beaufort and Wilmington petitioned Governor Hawkins concerning defense. The Gov- ernor in turn laid the case before the War Department, and Senators Stone and Turner interviewed President Madison.
Anxiety was well grounded, for on July 11, 1813, Admiral Cockburn, with a fleet of one seventy-four, three frigates, one brig, and three schooners appeared off the coast, entered Ocracoke Inlet, landed at Portsmouth and Shell Castle, seized two American vessels, destroyed considerable personal prop- erty, and impressed live stock. Governor Hawkins at once organized a relief expedition, consisting of the militia of the central and eastern counties, but the British sailed southward for Florida without attacking Beaufort or Wilmington. There were no further raids of sufficient import to call out the mili- tia. The only activities of the North Carolina troops during the war were beyond the boundaries of the state. In 1814 a regiment was sent to the Creek country and another to Norfolk, Virginia, and in 1815 a third was ordered for serv- ice on the Southern frontier of the United States.
The state's martial association with the conflict was prin- cipally through the achievements of three individuals, Otway Burns, Johnston Blakeley, and Benjamin Forsythe. Of these three Burns only operated from North Carolina. When the war began, he was in command of a merchantman plying between Newbern and Portland, Maine. At once he pur- chased a larger and swifter ship, which he named the "Snap Dragon," took out letters of marque and reprisal. organized a stock company to defray initial expenses, and for two years preyed on British commerce all the way from Newfoundland to South America. The amount of spoils taken is unknown, but one voyage brought in $2,500,000 worth. Auctions of
PATRIA TUA TE TEGET
R
CONGRESSIONAL MEDAL IN HONOR OF CAPTAIN JOHNSTON BLAKELEY
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the booty held in Newbern were attended by merchants and traders and were advertised as far west as Raleigh. In June, 1814, the "Snap Dragon," then under command of a lieutenant, was captured by the British. Other privateers ply- ing from North Carolina ports were the "Lovely Lass," of Wilmington, the "Hero," of Newbern, and the "Hawk," of Washington.
In the navy lasting fame was achieved by Johnston Blake- ley. A native of Ireland, educated at the University of North Carolina, he became a midshipman in 1800 and by July, 1813, had risen to the rank of master commandant. In charge of the "Enterprise," he captured the British brig of the same name, and was then transferred to the "Wasp," a sloop built after the war opened, with an armament of twenty thirty-twc pounders and two eighteen-pounders. Running the British blockade at Portsmouth, New Hampshire, Blakeley sailed straight for the English channel, and for two months during the summer of 1814 he was the terror of English merchant- men. He also won two naval victories, one over the British brig "Reindeer," for which Congress voted him a gold medal, the other over the sloop "Avon." His ship mysteriously disappeared in August, 1814.
In the army laurels were won by Benjamin Forsythe. A native of Stokes County, he was appointed second lieutenant of the Sixth United States Infantry in 1800, but was soon after honorably discharged. In 1808 he re-entered the serv- ice as captain, and in 1813 was promoted to the rank of major, and in 1814 to that of lieutenant-colonel. During the war his regiment was stationed at Ogdensburg on the Canadian fron- tier, and was very active in operations along the St. Law- rence River, notably in the capture of Elizabethtown, in Feb- ruary, 1813, and of Fort George in May of the same year. Forsythe himself was slain in a skirmish near Odelltown on June 28, 1814.
Notable as were the achievements of Blakeley and For- sythe, their most memorable service was to awaken in North Carolina a sentiment of state pride and public spirit. The legislature voted Blakeley a sword; when it became known that the "Wasp" and her commander were lost, the legisla-
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ture also resolved to make his infant daughter, Udney Maria, a ward of the state, by providing for her education. Likewise, the legislature made a ward of Forsythe's son, James N., by providing for his education. Annual appropriations were made for young Forsythe until 1825, when he left the Univer- sity and entered the navy. Then the lump sum of $750 was ordered to be invested for him, principal and interest to be paid upon reaching his majority. However the young man lost his life in the wreck of the "Adinet" in 1829 before he re- ceived the endowment established for him. The annual ap- propriation for Maria Blakeley was continued until 1829. The interest and generosity shown by these appropriations were in strong contrast to the apathy toward public causes that had prevailed in earlier years and marked the dawn of a new epoch in public expenditures.
The most important aspect of the war so far as North Carolina was concerned was its political aspects. The con- flict opened during a reaction against the leaders of the re- publican party, caused by the act of 1811 which placed the choice of presidential electors in the legislature rather than the people. Consequently sixty federalists were returned to the legislature of 1812, and in the House of Commons John Steele was defeated for the speakership by a vote of 64 to 59. The obnoxious electoral law was repealed and resolutions were adopted recommending an amendment to the Federal Constitution guaranteeing to the people the choice of presi- dential electors. Failure of the Federal Government to im- prove coast defenses was the subject of protest in the session of 1813. Resolutions that were really a censure of the War Department were defeated after a warm debate; a more mod- erate memorial was adopted expressing disappointment at the neglect of coast defenses in the past and asking protection for the future. The memorial was presented to the President; the only result was an inspection of the defenses by an agent of the War Department. The same session failed to provide for the assumption of the state's quota of the federal land tax.
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