August 10, 2010--"The Greatest Intriguant In the World"

In the spring of 1800, former president George Washington died. His successor, John Adams, finally felt free of his influence and vaunted reputation. So he at last, after more than three years in office, began to ask for the resignation of his cabinet members, all of whom were appointed by Washington and who Adams kept in office for the sake of continuity and, more revealing, because he lacked the self confidence to name his own people.

When he turned to his War Secretary, James McHenry, he asked him to resign after accusing him of being unduly influenced by his hated rival, former Treasury Secretary Alexander Hamilton, and plotting with Hamilton to turn command of the U.S. military over to him.

Lying, McHenry denied such influence and rejected the idea that he had been conspiring with Hamilton to, in effect, make him commander in chief.

Adams raged, "Hamilton is an intriguant, the greatest intriguant in the world--a man devoid of every moral principle."

Not only was Hamilton a master of intrigue, but Adams went on to say that Hamilton was "a Bastard [true--he had been born out of wedlock on the island of Nevis]. You are subservient to Hamilton, who ruled [George] Washington and would still rule if he could [also true]. Washington saddled me with three [cabinet] secretaries who would control me."

At the time, there were only three members of a president's cabinet. "But," Adams continued, "I shall take care of that. You cannot sir, remain longer in office."

To quote Michael Beschloss, in Presidential Courage: Brave Leaders and How They Changed America--1789-1989, "McHenry thought Adams sounded 'insane.' He found it 'a most mortifying scene,' with 'insults I will never forget.'"

McHenry quickly submitted his letter of resignation.

Adams next turned to his Secretary of State, Timothy Pickering, calling him "an Idolater of Hamilton," qualified only to be a "collector of customs," who, he claimed, "embarrassed me to the utmost of his power."

Pickering, though, refused to quit. He wrote to Adams, condescendingly saying that Adams couldn't cope without him and therefore, "I do not feel it my duty to resign."

In a rage, John Adams fired back, "You are hereby discharged from any further service as Secretary of State."

Hamilton thus lost his influence over Adams who then served out his last months in office after being defeated for a second term by Thomas Jefferson.

Hamilton played a significant role in Adams' defeat, before the election having published under his own name (unusual, for at that time essays and political pamphlets were published with authors using pseudonyms) a tract that attacked Adams viciously. In it Hamilton exposed Adams' "defects"--his "distempered jealousy," "extreme egotism," and "ungovernable temper." Qualities with which he was familiar since he very much shared them. He, also like Adams, was remarkably talented.

I bring this to your attention as a way of saying that the more things change the more they often remain the same.

We too are living in very partisan times with the likes of Rush Limbaugh and Glenn Beck and various Republican leaders calling Barack Obama a racist, and worse. And with the Keith Olbermann's and various Democrat firebrands accusing their GOP rivals and media flacks crypto-Nazis, and worse.

In 1880 the country faced a number of crises--a so-called "pseudo-war" with France and then war with England, which broke out in 1812. And we are now fighting at least two wars while our economy is virtually broken.

They should have then and we should now, as a young friend says, cool our jets