USA > New Jersey > New Jersey as a colony and as a state; one of the original thirteen > Part 21
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[Vol. 2]
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preparing or altering any money bill, "which shall be the privilege of the Assembly."
The choice of a governor fell not upon the peo- ple, but upon the members of the Assembly and Council in joint meeting. The term of office of the chief executive was limited to one year, he acting as president of the Council, chancellor, commander-in-chief of the militia, and surrogate-general, with power to consti- tute a privy council, composed of three or more members of council. The Council and the gov- ernor were designated a court of appeals at law as well as a court of pardons. No further pro- visions were made concerning the organization of new tribunals or altering those already in ex- istence. Upon the 2d of October, 1776, the Legis- lature confirmed all existing courts in New Jersey.
The concentration of the appointing power in the joint meeting of the Council and Assembly is a characteristic feature of the constitution. Judges of the Supreme Court, holding office for seven years, judges of the inferior court of com- mon pleas, justices of the peace, the clerk of the supreme court, clerks of the inferior courts of common pleas and quarter sessions, the at- torney-general and provincial secretary, with terms of five years, the provincial treasurer hold- ing office one year, as well as the field and gen- eral officers of the militia, were appointed in joint
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meeting and commissioned by the governor. To the people was delegated the election of county sheriffs and coroners, township constables, and commissioners of appeal, the latter acting in cases of unjust tax assessments.
The assurances of religious freedom are made in no uncertain terms. Every person in the col- ony was granted the right of worshiping God "agreeable to the dictates of his own conscience." No one could be compelled to attend a place of worship contrary to his faith, or be obliged to pay "tithes, taxes, or other rates" for the pur- pose of building or repairing churches or sup- porting a ministry contrary "to what he believes to be right, or has deliberately or voluntarily en- gaged himself to do." No one religious sect was to be established in preference to another, and all persons "professing a belief in the faith of any protestant sect" were qualified for election to any office of profit or trust.
The hope of reconciliation, the possibility of a reunion, and the reestablishment of the crown's power in America led to the insertion of a consti- tutional proviso that if the colonies should be again taken " under the protection and govern- ment of the crown of Great Britain this charter shall be null and void." With such a contingency in view all the common and statute law of Eng- land as hitherto practiced in the colony remained
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in force so far as they were not incompatible with the provisions of the constitution. Subsequent Legislatures were given the power of altering the same, but "the inestimable right of trial by jury shall remain confirmed, ** without re- peal, forever."
The word " Colony," required by the constitu- tion for use on the great seal, in commissions, in writs and indictments, was purely nominal. The first Legislature at Princeton refused to adopt the form and substituted "State" on the great seal, while on the 20th of September, 1777, the word "State" was declared by the Legislature as the official term by which New Jersey should be desig- nated in commissions, writs, and indictments.
The new constitution, while it was ridiculed by Tories, possessing as it did some obvious defects, was nevertheless a powerful factor in developing a feeling of loyalty to the State. The Provincial Congresses were simply a series of rallying points; the committees of observation were operative just so far as local prejudice and sentiment would permit them to act. While the services of the committees to the cause of American independ- ence were immeasurable, they were at best merely reflective of local conditions. Such on a larger scale were the Provincial Congresses, and it was not until the passage of the constitution that the people were able to feel the awakening impulses
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of a larger degree of self-government. More than this, the constitution centralized power in the hands of the governor and the Legislature, where during the Revolution it was most needed. To the people were emerging into a newer, wider life, action in elections, the indiscriminate extension of the suffrage would have plunged them into polit- ical excesses and made them easy prey for dem- agogues. From the narrow confines of the colony the people of New Jersey, then unused to free full of responsibilities of which they had no knowledge. To assume these was a burden of surpassing magnitude, and with a foresight as keen as it was comprehensive the framers of the constitution did not divert the masses from their well accustomed lines of political activity. The lines remained much as of old; the activities were vastly increased.
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CHAPTER XXVI
WASHINGTON'S TRIUMPHAL TOUR
W HEN upon the 6th of April, 1789, the choice of the people of the United States fell upon George Washington as the first Pres- ident of the republic, those sent to acquaint him with his signal demonstration of favor found him engaged upon his plantation at Mount Vernon. Worn with the cares of war, the bitterness of partisan politics, and the burdens of statecraft, Washington had retired to the banks of the Potomac, willing and anxious that his de- clining years should be spent far away from the northern centers of activity. Yet in obedience to popular demand the one great hero of the Revolu- tion generously, yet sadly, left his home to enter once more upon a new career of devotion to the re- public which he had helped to establish.
Whatever may have been the antagonisms that rankled in the breasts of Washington's personal encinies, or whatever may have been the bitter- nesses growing out of the controversy over the federal constitution, all factions united to extend to Washington a welcome as inspiring as it was spontaneous. Called to meet Congress in New York City, his pathway from Mount Vernon to the metropolis was that of a conqueror. The cit- izens of Virginia, Maryland, and Pennsylvania ac- claimed him the "greatest of Americans," while
WASHINGTON'S CHAIR. ( Used by him on the occasion of his inauguration as President.)
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Philadelphia gave him a reception at once regal and inspiring.
In New Jersey the name of Washington was sufficient alone to thrill the people; his presence was electrical. Few there were in the State who could not remember the days of battle upon the icy streets of Trenton and Princeton, the huts of Morristown, the ensanguined field of Monmouth, and even children had seen Washington as he met Congress in Princeton or entertained his guests in Somerville and Rocky Hill. In the plenitude of peace, memories of the Revolution rushed over the minds of Jerseymen, and with a single thought the State united to do him the most distinguished honor ever paid any man in the New World.
Leaving the City Tavern in Philadelphia upon the morning of April 21, 1789, the carriage con- taining Washington and members of his staff pro- ceeded in the rain along the Pennsylvania shore. It was about two o'clock in the afternoon when the presidential party arrived in Morrisville. Then, under the ferriage of Patrick Colvin, Wash- ington crossed to New Jersey, where the inhab- itants of Trenton and the then adjacent villages of Bloomsbury and Lamberton assembled in "an admiring concourse." Amid the shouts of the people, the presence of State dignitaries, with salvos of artillery and an escorting column of militia, the triumphal tour of New Jersey was in-
Tobias Lear, b. Portsmouth, N. H., Sept. 19, 1762 ; grad. Harvard University 1783; private secretary to General Washington 1785; congul-generai to Santo Domingo 1802 and Algiers 1804; accountant in war department at Washington ; d. there Oct. 11, 1816.
Lobias Tear -
GEORGE WASHINGTON
Born Bridges Creek, Westmoreland County, Va., Feb. 22, 1732; went to Mount Vernon, the home of his half-brother Law- rence, 1747; surveyor 1748; trained in army tactics by two old veterans; commanded ex- pedition against the French 1752; served under Braddock; commanded Virginia forces 1756; member House of Burgesses and Continental Congresses.
Took command of Continental army at- Cambridge, Mass .. July 3, 1775; retired to Mount Vernon 1783:
Presided over federal constitutional con- vention at Philadelphia 17ST. First President United States, 1789-97. Died Mount Vernon. Dec. 14, 1799:
--
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Leaving the City Tavern in Philadelphia upon the morning of April 21, 1789, the carriage con- taining Washington and members of his staff pro- ceeded in the rain along the Pennsylvania shore. It was about two o'clock in the afternoon when the presidential party arrived in Morrisville. Then, under the ferriage of Patrick Colvin, Wash- ilglon crossed to New Jersey, where the inhab- uants of Trenton and the then adjacent villages of Bloomsbary and Launberton assembled in "an hamiring concourse." Amid the shouts of the porpic, the presence of State dignitaries, with Mivos of artillery and an escorting column of politia, the triumphal tour of New Jersey was in-
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(From the original portrait by Charles Willson Peale.)
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augurated. Passing to the banks of the Assan- pink Creek, Washington on horseback looked upon a scene which deeply moved him. A little over a decade before he, by a masterly movement, had turned the tide of battle and saved the fate of a nation. In memory of so auspicious an event the women of Trenton had prepared a re- ception both unique and gratifying. Spanning the Assanpink Creek, and uniting the Counties of Hunterdon and Burlington, was a bridge over which it was necessary to pass before the limits of Trenton should be reached. On the Trenton side of the bridge a wooden arch, a por- tion of which is yet preserved, was raised, supported on one side by seven and on the other by six pillars. This arch was nearly twenty feet wide and about twelve feet in length. Each of the thirteen pillars was entirely covered with masses of evergreens and wreaths of laurel, and the arches above were closely twined about with the same material, and festooned inside with long ropes of laurel and early spring flowers. On the south side of the archway, the side which first appeared to the presidential party, was this. inscription in large gilt letters on a blue ground, and beautifully ornamented with flowers:
THE DEFENDER OF THE MOTHERS WILL BE THE ยท PROTECTOR OF THE DAUGHTERS.
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Above this arch was a circlet of laurel and flowers, wreathing the memorable dates:
December 26, 1776-January 2, 1777.
On the top of this mass of evergreens was a large sunflower, which was intended to emblemize the American people, "who turned toward him as the only Sun which would give life and warmth to the body politic."
Upon the Trenton shore a touching and beauti- ful scene was enacted. Here were gathered, on one side of the arch, six little girls dressed in white, carrying baskets of flowers. On the other side were thirteen young women, representing the several States, who were dressed in a similar style, and also had baskets filled with flowers. Behind all these were a number of matrons of the town and neighboring villages.
As Washington entered the arch the six little girls sang an ode which had been written by Major, afterward Governor Richard Howell, and which they performed with taste:
Welcome, mighty Chief! once more Welcome to this grateful shore! Now no mercenary foe Aims again the fatal blow- Aims at thee the fatal blow.
Virgins fair, and Matrons grave,
COULD PROTECT THE
Those thy conquering arms did save,
WASHINGTON'S RECEPTION AT TRENTON.
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Build for thee triumphal bowers, Strew, ye fair, his way with flowers __. Strew your Hero's way with flowers!
The first four lines were sung by both matrons and young women, the young women sang the fifth line, the matrons the first part and the young women the last part of the sixth line, then both sang the next two lines, the matrons the ninth, the young women the tenth line.
His horse paced slowly through the arch, and as the last two lines of the ode were sung the path- way was strewn with flowers by the young women and little girls. General Washington bowed in deep emotion, and ever referred to this event as one of the most charming incidents of his life.
After dining at the City Tavern, on the south- west corner of State and Warren Streets, a recep- tion to the citizens of Trenton completed the day. Later in the afternoon General Washington ex- pressed his sentiments in this letter, which is yet preserved :
General Washington cannot leave this place without expressing his acknowledgments, to the Matrons and young Ladies who re- ceived him in so novel and graceful a manner at the Triumphal Arch in Trenton, for the exquisite sensation he experienced in that affecting moment .- The astonishing contrast between his former and actual situation at the same spot-The elegant taste with which it was adorned for the present occasion-and the innocent appearance of the white-robed CHOIR who met him with the gratula-
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tory song, have made such impressions on his remembrance as, he assures them will never be effaced-
Trenton April 21St. 1789
From Trenton the same evening General Wash- ington and his suite proceeded to Princeton, where it is generally understood that the night was spent at the residence of the president of the college, the Rev. Dr. John Witherspoon.
In company with William Livingston, the war governor of New Jersey, the general went on to Woodbridge, where tradition points to John Manning's inn as their place of entertain- ment. Along the route enthusiastic groups of farmers assembled at crossroads, gentry bowed dignified welcome from the porches of wayside inns, soldiers who had fought their nation's bat- tles saluted and cheered as the presidential party passed their homes. Unbounded joy animated the people that, in the creation of their government, the power lodged in the chief executive would be directed by their Washington.
Thursday morning, April 23d, dawned bright and fair. Departing from Woodbridge, the militia and citizens met Washington and his suite near Rahway, escorting them to Elizabethtown, where they "received a federal salutation." After a popular reception, Washington received a committee of Congress at the home of the Hon.
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Elias Boudinot, and thence repaired to Elizabeth- town Point, attended by a vast concourse of people. He then reviewed the escorting troops and at noon departed from the confines of New Jersey. This termination to his welcome was at- tended by another outburst of intense devotion to the person of the President. Entering a large boat, manned by thirteen skillful harbor pilots dressed in white sailor costume, the "elegantly adorned" craft passed between the shores of New Jersey and Staten Island and thence into the Up- per Bay. Among boats of all sizes, gay with bunt- ing, their decks crowded, and even the distant shores of New York and New Jersey lined with spectators, the presidential party slowly made its way toward the Battery. With vocal and in- strumental music, with the discharge of artillery and the loud welcome of the people, the Pres- ident reached Murray's Wharf, now Wall Street, in the City of New York, between two and three o'clock in the afternoon. Here he was received by George Clinton, the governor of the State, and Richard Varick, the mayor of the city, and, after several days of continuous ovation, on April 30 Washington was inaugurated first President of the United States.
In April, 1889, upon the celebration of the cen- tennial of the inaugural procession of Washing- ton, ex-President Benjamin Harrison followed, in
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part, the route taken by his predecessor. A spe- cial train conveyed the President and distinguished guests from the capital of the United States to New York. A change of plans necessitated the abandonment of a popular reception in Trenton, and the train passed through the town to Eliza- beth, where President Harrison was the guest of the then governor, Robert Stockton Green. A truly royal welcome awaited the successor of General Washington, and there the enthusiasm and patriotism of all New Jersey found its ex- pression.
To commemorate this occasion the New Jersey Historical Society, upon the occasion of its fiftieth anniversary, in May, 1895, in Newark, presented ex-President Harrison with a gold medal of ex- quisite beauty and workmanship, tendered on the part of the society by President Austin Scott, of Rutgers College.
BONWILL
WASHINGTON TAKING THE OATH AS PRESIDENT.
CHAPTER XXVII
NEW JERSEY IN THE PENNSYLVANIA INSURREC- TION OF 1794
[Vol. 2]
T HE earliest of open protests against the policy of the federal leaders was the "Whiskey War," or the Penn- sylvania Insurrection, which so deeply stirred the western part of that State and, in 1794, culminated in open law- lessness among the anti-Federalist Scotch-Irish settlers of Washington, Westmoreland, Fayette, and Allegheny Counties.
In accordance with Alexander Hamilton's plan for raising revenue by the establishment of an in- direct tax Congress, in the year 1791, levied duties not only upon all distilled liquors, but upon the stills in which such liquors were made. From the view-point of those who opposed the act the "whiskey tax," as it was called, was unjust, in that it interfered with the right to use a beverage dis- tilled from rye, which, as the Pennsylvanians claimed, should be as free for consumption as water. Further such legislation was unconstitu- tional, and lastly it was federalistic, autocratic, and a precedent dangerous to the liberties of a free people.
So intense did the opposition become that the matter finally culminated in the passage of an act of Congress, May 9, 1794, calling upon the States for eighty thousand effective militia, of which New Jersey's quota was 4,318. men. Upon the 20th of June of the same year New Jersey,
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HAMILTON'S TOMB IN TRINITY CHURCHYARD.
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by act of the Legislature, authorized the com- mander-in-chief to detail a detachment of militia to serve against the so-called "rebels" in West- ern Pennsylvania.
In his proclamation of August 7, 1794, Presi- dent Washington declared certain of the inhabit- ants of Western Pennsylvania to be in a state of war against the United States by reason of their committing acts of overt treason. It was charged in the proclamation that unlawful combinations, subversive of governmental and individual rights, had effected a criminal purpose by holding irregu- lar meetings, where a lawless spirit was encour- aged by misrepresenting the spirit and letter of the law. Individuals were deterred from accept- ing office through fear of public resentment and injury to person and property, while existing offi- cers were intimidated in the discharge of their duties. Citizens who complied with the statute were subjected to "vindictive measures" in the destruction of their property and the infliction of "cruel, humiliating punishment" upon their per- sons, employing for all these purposes "the agency of armed banditti in such manner as for the most part to escape discovery."
To correct these evils the proclamation stated that various Legislatures had recommended that duties be lowered, while the federal government had expostulated, forborne, and advised, but to
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no purpose. On the 16th and 17th of July the revenue inspector had been attacked by an armed mob, the United States marshal for the district of Pennsylvania had been fired upon and seized, and finally had been obliged to fly for safety. . In addition Associate Justice James Wilson had ad- vised the President that the Counties of Washing- ton and Allegheny were in a state of practical in- surrection. The proclamation closed with a warn- ing to all insurgents to return to their homes.
Both upon August 23 and September 1, 1794, Governor Richard Howell promulgated general orders directing Major-General Elias Dayton to or- ganize the New Jersey militia and hold it in readi- ness for instant marching, consisting of one briga- dier-general, fifteen hundred non-commissioned officers and privates of infantry, and a due pro- portion of commissioned officers. Two companies of artillery were ordered to move with the detach- ment.
A portion of the troops were first sent to New Brunswick, the general rendezvous being at Tren- ton. The cavalry was mustered into the service of the United States at Trenton upon September 14th, and upon the 17th was ordered to move into Pennsylvania. Upon September 20th the artillery muster occurred, and thence until the end of the month the infantry was mustered. The troops of New Jersey having crossed the Delaware, the
PRESIDENT WASHINGTON'S DESK. ( Used by him in Federal Hall, New York. )
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route of march lay through Newtown, Norristown, Reading, Harrisburg, and Carlisle, at which point the army was reviewed by President Washington. Thence the road led through Shippensburg, Strausburg (where the Blue Mountains were crossed to Bedford), Parkinson's Ferry, Brown's Ferry, and lastly to Pittsburg. At Bedford Gov- ernor Henry Lee, of Virginia, was appointed com- mander of the troops.
Although the local militia of Western Pennsyl- vania had joined the mob, which numbered be- tween six thousand and seven thousand men, and had connected itself with Republican secret so- cieties, President Washington determined to meet force with force. Summoning the governors of Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Maryland, and Vir- ginia to lend the effective fighting aid of their States, about thirteen thousand men were at once prepared for action. Commissioners to arrange terms of settlement were sent forward and met the insurgent leaders at Parkinson's Ferry, where a conference was held at a liberty pole upon which was a placard with the legend: "Liberty and no Excise! No asylum for cowards and trai- tors." After negotiations, among the leaders of the movement being Gallatin, a complete submis- sion was effected upon October 24, 1794. Thus at a cost of $1,500,000 the "Whiskey War" igno- miniously collapsed. Meanwhile the army arrived,
Albert Gallatin, b. Geneva, Switzerland, Jan. 29, 1761; grad. University of Geneva 1779; came to America 1780; settled in Fayette County, Pa., 1784; member of Congress 1795; secretary of the treasury 1801-13 ; first president American Ethnological So- ciety ; d. at Astoria, Long Island, Aug. 12, 1849.
Albert Gallatin
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only to start upon a return homeward, which oc- cupied a month's time from November 21, 1794. The New Jersey troops were discharged during the following Christmas season.
So far as is known the only governor of New Jersey who ever appeared in the field as com- mander-in-chief was Governor Richard Howell, who not only accompanied the State troops to Pittsburg, but was assigned to the command of the right wing of the army October 9, 1794. With him were Adjutant-General Anthony Wal- ton White, assigned to command the New Jersey cavalry brigade, and Colonels Aaron Ogden and Jonathan Rhea, comprising the staff. In advance of the army was Major-General Frederick Freling- huysen, of New Jersey, in command of a legion of Philadelphia horse, the McPherson Blues. A com- pany of Jerseymen from Somerset County in this legion was commanded by Ford Morris.
In the organization of the First Regiment of Cavalry Benjamin Williamson was major com- manding. The several troops of light dragoons included companies from Essex, Middlesex, Som- erset, and Monmouth Counties.
Of the Second Cavalry Regiment William Led- del was major. This regiment was divided into two squadrons. There were light dragoons from Morris County, with troops from Bergen, Morris,
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JOSEPH BLOOMFIELD.
Sussex, Somerset, Monmouth, Middlesex, and Hunterdon Counties.
The infantry brigade was under the command of Brigadier-General Joseph Bloomfield, to which was attached the artillery battalion under Cap- tain Eli Elmer commanding. Two companies of artillery composed this battalion, one being re- cruited from Cumberland County, the other from Morris, Essex, and Bergen Counties. The lieu- tenant-colonel of the First Regiment was Frank- lin Davenport. Here were to be found companies from the Counties of Burlington, Cumberland, Salem, Essex, and probably, in part, from Cape May.
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