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bucknell
gerry_elbridge_0_0_0_0.xml
Document
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?><?xml-model href="http://www.tei-c.org/release/xml/tei/custom/schema/relaxng/tei_all.rng" type="application/xml" schematypens="http://relaxng.org/ns/structure/1.0"?><?xml-stylesheet type="text/css" href="https://raw.githubusercontent.com/LEAF-VRE/code_snippets/refs/heads/main/CSS/leaf.css"?><TEI xmlns="http://www.tei-c.org/ns/1.0" xmlns:rdf="http://www.w3.org/1999/02/22-rdf-syntax-ns#"> <teiHeader> <fileDesc> <titleStmt> <title>Elbridge Gerry</title> <author>William Plumer</author> </titleStmt> <publicationStmt> <p>The Plumer Project</p> </publicationStmt> <sourceDesc> <p>Information about the source</p> </sourceDesc> </fileDesc> <xenoData><rdf:RDF xmlns:rdf="http://www.w3.org/1999/02/22-rdf-syntax-ns#" xmlns:rdfs="http://www.w3.org/2000/01/rdf-schema#" xmlns:as="http://www.w3.org/ns/activitystreams#" xmlns:cwrc="http://sparql.cwrc.ca/ontologies/cwrc#" xmlns:dc="http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/" xmlns:dcterms="http://purl.org/dc/terms/" xmlns:foaf="http://xmlns.com/foaf/0.1/" xmlns:geo="http://www.geonames.org/ontology#" xmlns:oa="http://www.w3.org/ns/oa#" xmlns:schema="http://schema.org/" xmlns:xsd="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#" xmlns:fabio="https://purl.org/spar/fabio#" xmlns:bf="http://www.openlinksw.com/schemas/bif#" xmlns:cito="https://sparontologies.github.io/cito/current/cito.html#" xmlns:org="http://www.w3.org/ns/org#"/></xenoData></teiHeader> <text> <body> <div> <pb facs="/sites/default/files/2024-12/plumer_vol5_008.jpg" n="1"/> <head><persName key="Elbridge Gerry" ref="http://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q1325397">Elbridge Gerry</persName>.</head> <p><lb/>The son of Thomas Gerry, a native of Newton, England, but <lb/>emigrated to this country in 1730, was born at Marblehead, <lb/>Massachusetts, the 17th of July 1744. He entered Harvard college <lb/>before he was fourteen years of age, & graduated there in 1762. <lb/>He was at first destined to the profession of medicine, to which <lb/>he was strongly attached; but soon after he left college he engaged <lb/>in the same business his father followed & at his request, that of a <lb/>merchant; & for sometime attended the routine of mercantile pur= <lb/>=suits in his native town. The knowlege he acquired of commerce & the <lb/>modes of transacting that branch of business was useful to him in future <lb/>life. <fw>[July 7, 1831]</fw> <pb facs="/sites/default/files/2024-12/plumer_vol5_009.jpg" n="2"/> <fw>1814</fw> <fw>Elbridge Gerry.</fw> <lb/>The strong political excitements of the times attracted his <lb/>attention from the compting house, tho for the time he was successful, <lb/>& terminated his connection with commerce, to which he had little <lb/>partiality. In the intervals of public employment he did indeed <lb/>resume the avocation, but as might be expected, when not steadily <lb/>pursued with no great satisfaction or advantage; & after a few <lb/>years he finally abandoned it for other objects more congenial to <lb/>his mind.</p> <p><lb/>He made his first appearance in public life as a represen= <lb/>=tative of his native town in May 1772-a period when the <lb/>royal government & people were in a high state of acrimony & <lb/>almost open collision. The next year he was re-elected, & tho one of <lb/>the youngest members, was appointed a member of the standing <lb/>committee of correspondence & enquiry with the other colonies; & <lb/>of the committee to prepare an address to the provinces. He was <lb/>distinguished for his zeal & firmness in support of the rights of his <lb/>country. His spirit was nourished by close communion with the <lb/>Adamses, the Hancocks, & the Warrens of those days. He entered early, <lb/>from principle, in opposition to British encroachments, & continued <lb/>one of the most uniform republicans to the end of the contest. During <lb/>the revolution, beside his own personal exertions, which were unre= <lb/>=mitted & indefatigable, he did not hesitate, in many cases, to advance <lb/>his own funds, when immediate payment was required, & to <lb/>incur responsibities on his own credit, which the government was <lb/>then unable to redeem, & which in fact, occassioned him in the end <lb/>heavy pecuniary losses.</p> <p><lb/>In 1774, in consequence of difficulties which arose in Marblehead on <lb/>account of the small pox, he declined a re-election to the legislature. <lb/>But in October he was elected member of an assembly which met at <lb/>Salem, & adjourned to Concord, where they assumed the form of a legisla= <lb/>=tive assembly under the name of the provincial congress.</p> <p><lb/>In 1775 he was a member of the provincial congress of Massachusetts <lb/>which virtually destroyed the royal authority in that province. He was <lb/>chairman of the committee of supplies to provide ammunition & pro= <lb/>=visions, & to deposit them in some place of safety for future use. This <lb/>trust he executed with great punctuality & unwearied industry. On the <lb/>18th of April the British troops on their march to Lexington, in the middle <lb/>of the night, passed the house in which the committee held their ses= <lb/>=sion. After the foremost of the troops passed, Gerry from his bed saw <lb/>a portion of them preparing to surround the house, he sprang from <lb/>his bed, & half dressed escaped undiscovered & concealed himself in a <lb/>cornfield, till the troops entered & searched the house & bed chambers, and <lb/>joined the main body & marched off; Gerry then returned, & tho his <fw>[July 8, 1831]</fw> <pb facs="/sites/default/files/2024-12/plumer_vol5_010.jpg" n="3"/> <fw>1814</fw> <fw>Elbridge Gerry.</fw> <lb/>bed had been rumpled, he found his clothing & watch safe. <lb/>Being ardent & persevering in his measures to oppose the public <lb/>enemy, early in November he proposed that the provincial congress <lb/>should raise a committee upon the subject of fitting out armed <lb/>vessels & establishing a court for the trial & condemnation of assizes. <lb/>The committee was appointed, a bill reported, & passed; & soon after the <lb/>council appointed him, under the authority of that Act, maritime judge <lb/>for the counties of Suffolk, Middlesex, & Essex; but thinking he could <lb/>be more useful as a legislator & preferring it to that of a judge, <lb/>he declined the appointment.</p> <p><lb/>On the 18th of January 1776 he was elected a delegate to the general <lb/>congress, & on the 9th of February following took his seat, & continued <lb/>such under other elections till the 5th of July 1780. As a delegate he was <lb/>constantly attentive, active, industrious, exact, & tenacious of public & <lb/>private honor, & rendered great service to the nation. He was a zealous <lb/>& able advocate for the independence of this country, & signed the declara= <lb/>=tion of it. From his first entrance into congress, till the organization <lb/>of the treasury board in 1780, he continued to be a member, & generally <lb/>chairman of the committee of the treasury. In his capacity of presiding <lb/>officer of the board of the treasury, he rendered himself particularly <lb/>invidious to general Arnold, whose extravagant accounts he rejected <lb/>with a spirit which deserves admiration, as Arnold was then known <lb/>only as a gallant soldier, whose skill & courage had been conspicu= <lb/>=ously exerted for his country, & the liberality with which such talents & <lb/>activity were then promptly rewarded, inclined men to a favorable <lb/>consideration of his claim. To Arnold's abusive appeal to congress, <lb/>for he appealed there, Mr Gerry replied, and after exhibiting with great <lb/>calmness the reasons of his decisions on his accounts, concluded with <lb/>a severe reprehension of the conduct of his assailant. "If," said he, <lb/>"the faithful discharge of our official duty, unpleasant enough in <lb/>itself, is to bring with it the liability of personal attack of men who <lb/>have neither honesty in their public dealings nor curtesy in private <lb/>life, it might be well to abolish all guards on the treasury, & admit <lb/>rapacity & crime to help themselves at pleasure." This was intrepid lan= <lb/>=guage at the period, & must be sound doctrine at all times.</p> <p><lb/>On the 14th of January 1778, in a letter to a friend, he says, "I am worn <lb/>down with fatigue, & have been waiting with some impatience to return <lb/>to Massachusetts; but I have wished to see certain measures accomplished <lb/>before I left congress; when those were finished, others presented themselves <lb/>equally important & I waited for them, & so on; but this mode of travelling <lb/>will never get me home. I must therefore determine at all events to leave <lb/>this place in the spring." The 24th of April he says, "I wish to see a return of <fw>[July 11, 1831]</fw> <pb facs="/sites/default/files/2024-12/plumer_vol5_011.jpg" n="4"/> <fw>1814</fw> <fw>Elbridge Gerry.</fw> <lb/>some of my colleagues, in order to obtain such relaxation from business, <lb/>as at length has become indispenably necessary for preserving my health. <lb/>Two years constant attention to the business of congress & the board of <lb/>the treasury, the members of which have been unequal in number to the <lb/>duties required, with opportunity for very little exercise, is <lb/>rather hazardous to the constitution, & I feel the effects of it." The <lb/>26th of May he says, "I had before this thot to have set off for Massa= <lb/>chusetts, but have not been able to break away from the incessant la= <lb/>=bors which occupy me day & night much of this time & close application <lb/>was devoted to forming & vindicating the articles of confederation between <lb/>the States." Near the close of 1779 he was appointed at the head of the com= <lb/>=mittee chosen by Massachusetts to meet delegates from other states <lb/>at Philadelphia, to devise a corrective for the deplorable state of the <lb/>paper currency.</p> <p><lb/>On the 19th of February 1780, upon the question of proportioning sup= <lb/>=plies to be furnished by the several states & the value of them, he moved <lb/>that the prices should conform to those agreed upon by a convention <lb/>previously held at New Haven. This motion was objected to as being <lb/>out of order; on the question of order, he requested the yeas & nays, but congress <lb/>refused to record them. This course he considered improper & injurious <lb/>to Massachusetts, who he thot was required to contribute more then her equal <lb/>proportion to the common cause. He therefore on the 5th July left congress <lb/>where he had devoted, without recess or intermission four years & a half to <lb/>his official labors for which he received about four thousand dollars specie <lb/>value.</p> <p><lb/>Soon after his return to Massachusetts, he made his complaint to their <lb/>general assembly; the house approved of his conduct, & voted to sustain his <lb/>complaint but the council probably thinking the opinion expressed by the <lb/>popular branch would answer all the purposes proposed by the measure <lb/>let the resolve lie on the table. This course did not satisfy Mr Gerry. In <lb/>November he was re-elected delegate to congress, but declined the appoint= <lb/>=ment, assigning as a reason that the rights & prerogatives of the state had <lb/>been invaded in his person, & no redress had on his own application, & no <lb/>demand had been made by his constituents. The court resolved that they <lb/>approved of the high sense which he had of his right of priviledge, and <lb/>instructed their delegates to make such representation to congress as the im= <lb/>=portance of the subject required. Their delegates accordingly presented a <lb/>remonstrance & protest against the proceedings of congress, which was <lb/>placed in their files. Tho Mr Gerry was absent, congress appointed him a <lb/>member of the committee to visit the army.</p> <p><lb/>On the 31st of January 1781 he was elected a member of the American <lb/>Academy of Arts & Sciences. In October he was elected a representative <lb/>by the inhabitants of Marblehead, & a senator by the county of Essex, to <lb/>the Massachusetts legitature. The office of senator he declined, but that <fw>[July 11, 1831]</fw> <pb facs="/sites/default/files/2024-12/plumer_vol5_012.jpg" n="5"/> <fw>1814</fw> <fw>12</fw> <fw>Elbridge Gerry</fw> <lb/>of representative he accepted. In April 1782 he was again elected <lb/>senator, but again declined the office.</p> <p><lb/>The 21st of June 1781 he was again elected a delegate to the congress of the <lb/>United States; but the controversy which induced him to leave congress the <lb/>preceeding year not being settled, nor such measures adopted by the <lb/>State in relation to it as he thot satisfactory, he formally declined the <lb/>appointment; but the legislature did not accept his decline. In June 1782 <lb/>the legislature re-appointed him delegate to congress; & in June 1783 they <lb/>again re-appointed him. Yielding to the solicitations of personal & political <lb/>friends, & satisfied at length with the measures which had been ta= <lb/>=ken on his remonstrance, he resumed his seat in congress on the <lb/>third of November following, where he remained till some time in <lb/>September 1785, when he closed his career in the old congress. It is said <lb/>that at the age of less than forty two years he had been longer a mem= <lb/>=ber of congress than any other man in it. He was opposed to the society <lb/>of Cincinnati-he considered it too aristocratical for our institutions, <lb/>& as having a tendency to introduce an order of nobility into the country. <lb/>He preserved his habits of industry, & close attention to every subject <lb/>that was moved in congress; he transcribed with his own hands their <lb/>public & private proceedings during every day of his attendance. Congress <lb/>appointed him one of the commissioners to settle with the contractors <lb/>of the army; but he declined the appointment.</p> <p><lb/>Before he left congress, but after he was more than forty years old, he <lb/>married a daughter of James Thompson of New York. By her he had <lb/>a numerous family of children. She, and three sons, & six daughters <lb/>survived him.</p> <p><lb/>In May 1785 he was elected a member of the Senate of Masachusetts, <lb/>but declined the office; observing he was elected a representative, which <lb/>he intended to accept as soon as his term of delegate to congress should <lb/>expire.</p> <p><lb/>In 1786 he was appointed by the legislature of Massachusetts one of their <lb/>delegates to meet delegates from the other States at Annapolis the first of <lb/>September, to consider the commerce of the United States, & how far a <lb/>uniform system of commercial regulations was necessary, & to report a <lb/>bill upon the subject to congress. The delegates from Massachusetts con= <lb/>=sidered the plan too limited & inefficient for the purpose, & severally declined <lb/>the appointments. At the meeting only five States attended at Annapolis; <lb/>& nothing was done, except recommending the States to appoint a convention <lb/>to meet the next year at Philadelphia.</p> <p><lb/>The general court of Masachusetts appointed him a delegate to the con= <lb/>=vention, which met at Philadelphia & formed the constitution of the United <lb/>States. On the 29th of May 1787 he attended & took part in the business and <lb/>debates of that assembly; but having arrived at the conclusion in his own mind <lb/>that it did not comport with the well being of the country, with regret. but <fw>[July 11 1831]</fw> <pb facs="/sites/default/files/2024-12/plumer_vol5_013.jpg" n="6"/> <fw>1814</fw> <fw>Elbridge Gerry.</fw> <lb/>without hesitation, he declined signing the constitution. In his letter <lb/>of the 18th of October following to the president of the Senate & speaker of <lb/>the house of representatives of Massachusetts, he stated his objections <lb/>to the constitution in a frank & candid manner, addressed to their <lb/>understanding, not their passions. "My principal objections," he says, <lb/>"to the plan are, there is no adequate provision for a representation <lb/>of the people; that they have no security for the right of election; that <lb/>some of the legislature are ambiguous, & others indefinite & dangerous, <lb/>that the executive is blended with, & will have an undue influ= <lb/>=ence over, the legislature; that the judicial departments will be <lb/>oppressive; that treaties of the highest importance may be formed by <lb/>the president with the advice of two thirds of a quorum of the Senate; <lb/>& that the system is without the security of a bill of rights." But <lb/>in the conclusion he says, "I shall only add, that as the public <lb/>welfare requires a better constitution than the confederation, I <lb/>shall think it my duty, as a citizen of Massachusetts, to support <lb/>that which shall be finally adopted, sincerely hoping it will <lb/>secure the liberty & happiness of America."</p> <p><lb/>The convention of Massachusetts, which met the 9th of January 1788, <lb/>to decide the question whether they would ratify the constitution, on <lb/>the 14th of that month voted that Mr Gerry "be requested to take a <lb/>seat in the convention, to answer any questions of fact from time <lb/>to time, that the convention may ask, respecting the passing of the <lb/>constitution;" & appointed a committee to request him to attend, & he <lb/>attended accordingly. On the 18th the convention voted that his an= <lb/>=swers should be in writing; with which he complied. On the 22d he <lb/>wrote a long letter to the convention respecting the constitution; to <lb/>which objections & some pointed remarks were made; & no further <lb/>communications appear to have been made by him. His opposition <lb/>to the constitution exposed him to the censure of many of his former <lb/>political friends, & to much abuse in the journals of the day. He felt <lb/>severely the revulsion of public opinion, & the loss of popularity.</p> <p><lb/>At the first election of representatives to congress under that consti= <lb/>=tution, he was brot forward as a candidate; but at the first meetings <lb/>in Middlesex there was no choice, & previous to the second his friends <lb/>again named him. He then published, under his own signature, a <lb/>manly address to the electors, requesting such of them as were dispo= <lb/>=sed to vote for him to turn their attention to some other candidate ex= <lb/>=plicitly declaring that an election would by no means be agreeable to him. <lb/>After mentioning the unjust accusations & abuse which had been <lb/>heaped upon him, for acting according to his own judgment re= <lb/>=specting the constitution of the United States, he says, "Some <lb/>have endeavored to represent me as an enemy to the <lb/>constitution; than which nothing is more remote from truth <fw>[July 12, 1831]</fw> <pb facs="/sites/default/files/2024-12/plumer_vol5_014.jpg" n="7"/> <fw>14.</fw> <fw>Elbridge Gerry</fw> <fw>1814.</fw> <lb/>Since the commencement of the revolution, I have been solicitious <lb/>for an efficient federal government, conceiving that without it we <lb/>must be a divided & unhappy people. A government too democratical <lb/>I have deprecated; but wished for one that possessed powers sufficient <lb/>for the welfare of the union, & at the same time so balanced as to se= <lb/>=cure the governed from the rapacity & domination of lawless & insolent <lb/>ambition. To an unconstitutional ratification I was therefore opposed, <lb/>because thereby every necessary amendment would be precarious.</p> <p><lb/>But as the system is adopted, I am clearly of opinion that every citi= <lb/>=zen of the ratifying States is in duty bound to support it, & that an <lb/>opposition to a due administration of it would not only be unjustifiable <lb/>but highly criminal.</p> <p><lb/>"Amendments every citizen has a right to urge without enciting a <lb/>spirit of prosecution, which is unnecessary in a good cause, & never gains <lb/>proselytes in a bad one. Every friend of a vigorous government, as I <lb/>conceive, must be desirous of such amendments as will remove the <lb/>just apprehensions of the people, & secure their confidence & affection. To <lb/>defeat amendments of this description, must be in effect to defeat the <lb/>constitution itself. When the question on amendments shall have <lb/>received a constitutional decision; I shall cheerfully acquiese, & in any <lb/>event, shall be happy to promote the interests of the respectable county <lb/>of Middlesex, of this commonwealth, & of the United States.</p> <p><lb/>"The part, which I have had to act, & the uncandid treatment, & the <lb/>which I have received in this matter will, I trust, justify me in being <lb/>thus explicit, for I am conscious that every part of my political conduct <lb/>has had for its object, the public welfare."</p> <p><lb/>At the second meeting he was elected by a small majority. In his letter of <lb/>acceptance to the governor he says. "I am deeply impressed with the <lb/>honorable testimony of the electors of Middlesex, after I had repeatedly <lb/>informed them of my declining the appointments. This however has placed <lb/>me in a situation, which of all others I wished to avoid; being thereby <lb/>reduced to the disagreeable alternative of disappointing my fellow <lb/>citizens; who have conferred on me their suffrages, or of filling a place, <lb/>which the most cogent reasons had urged me to decline. Under these <lb/>circumstances, in the critical state of public affairs, I have preferred <lb/>the latter, being determined to sacrifice every personal consideration, <lb/>to the acceptance of the office; that desirous as I am of the establishment <lb/>of a federal government, no act of mine may have the least appearance <lb/>of impeding it." To his confidential friends he wrote on this subject in <lb/>the same strain; & there is not the slightert reason to doubt the <lb/>truth & sincerty of his declaration.</p> <p><lb/>On the 8th of April 1789 he took his seat in congress. When some <lb/>of the members were for considering the subject of amendements. <lb/>before they had passed the laws necessary to carry the new <fw>[July 12, 1831]</fw> <pb facs="/sites/default/files/2024-12/plumer_vol5_015.jpg" n="8"/> <fw>1814</fw> <fw>Elbridge Gerry.</fw> <lb/>government into full effect, he opposed that object. In the course of <lb/>debate he said, "I am of opinion that we should dispatch the important <lb/>subjects now on the table, & reserve the great questions concerning the <lb/>constitution; to a period of tranquility & leisure. It is indeed a mo= <lb/>=mentuos subject, & very near my heart, & I shall be glad to set <lb/>about it as speedily as possible; but I would not stay the operation of <lb/>government on that account. I think our political ship should first be <lb/>got under way, & that she be not suffered to rot at the wharf, till she <lb/>beats off her rudder, or runs a wreck on the shore. I wish an early <lb/>day may be assigned for the consideration of amendments, to prevent the <lb/>necessity, which the States may feel themselves under of calling a new con= <lb/>=vention. I am not one of those facinated admirers of the system who <lb/>consider it all perfection; I am not so blind or so uncandid, that I <lb/>cannot see, or will not acknowlege it has beauties. It partakes of hu= <lb/>=manity; there is blended in it virtue & vice, excellence & error. If it <lb/>is referred to a new convention, we risk some of its best properties. <lb/>My opinion was openly given, that it ought not to have been ratified <lb/>without amendments, but as the matter now stands, I am firmly of <lb/>opinion that the salvation of America depends on the establishment <lb/>of this government, whether amended or not. If this constitution, which <lb/>is now ratified, be not supported, I despair of ever having a government <lb/>for these United States."</p> <p><lb/>In 1791 he was re-elected a representative to congress, & held the office <lb/>till the 3d of March 1793. Having served four years, he declined a <lb/>re-election.</p> <p><lb/>In the years 1796 & 1804 he was chosen an elector of president & vice presi= <lb/>=dent of the United States.</p> <p><lb/>On the 22d of June 1797 he was appointed envoy extraordinary jointly with <lb/>Pinkney & Marshall to France. Nothing could have been more unexpected <lb/>to him than this appointment, which he reluctantly accepted; & on the <lb/>9th of August following embarked for that country. On the 4th October <lb/>the thee envoys met in Paris, & the next day announced then arrival <lb/>to Talleyrand the minister of foreign affairs, & requested an opportunity <lb/>to present their letters of evidence. Three days after they had an interview <lb/>with the minister, delivered the letters of evidence, & received cards of hos= <lb/>=pitality. In a day or two the private & confidential secretary of the mi= <lb/>=nister intimated to the secretary of one of the envoys, that some part <lb/>of the president's speech to congress required an explanation; & that the <lb/>envoys would not probably have an audience tell the negotiation was <lb/>finished. Anonymous persons, afterwards designated by X.Y.&Z, called <lb/>upon the envoys, & proposed that they should give a softening turn to the <lb/>presidents speech; make a loan of some millions of money to the French <lb/>treasury & a gratuity of fifty thousand pounds sterling to certain high officers of <lb/>government, for distribution to prominent individuals. The envoys promptly <lb/>resolved they would not purchase the right of negotiation. It was intimated <fw>[July 12, 1831]</fw> <pb facs="/sites/default/files/2024-12/plumer_vol5_016.jpg" n="9"/> <fw>1814.</fw> <fw>Elbridge Gerry.</fw> <lb/>to Mr Gerry thot Talleyrand expected to have seen the American envoy <lb/>& to have conferred with them individually on the affairs of the mission. <lb/>Gerry communicated the fact to Pinkney & Marshall; they advised him to <lb/>call, but declined going themselves. He reluctantly consented, & had several <lb/>interviews with Tallyrand, at which they occasionally discussed the <lb/>relations of the United States & France.</p> <p><lb/>After waiting thirty days, one of the envoys proposed to address the mi= <lb/>=nister in an official note, requesting his attention to their situation, <lb/>& demanding that measures should be taken to open the negotiation. <lb/>Mr Gerry was of opinion it would be useless; but signed with the other <lb/>envoys a letter to the minister. To this letter no answer was returned; <lb/>but they were given to understand it was laid before the executive <lb/>directory, who would command their minister what steps to pursue. <lb/>Talleyrand informed Mr Gerry that no treaty would be made with <lb/>the envoys, without an apology for the presidents speech, or an equa= <lb/>= valent; but that a voluntary offer of a loan would be accepted as <lb/>an equavalent. In consequence of Gerry's visit to Talleyrand, the latter <lb/>invited the former to one of his customary dinners, & Mr Gerry afterwards <lb/>returned the civility; but his separation from his colleagues was <lb/>so unpleasant, that with a single exception he afterwards declined <lb/>all personal attention to Talleyrand. All three of the envoys signed <lb/>a report to the government of the United States, that there was no prospect <lb/>of effecting the object of their mission, without the payment of a large <lb/>sum of money.</p> <p><lb/>On the 4th of February 1798, Talleyrand invited Mr Gerry to call upon <lb/>him; at their meeting Talleyrand, after enjoining profound secrecy, informed <lb/>Gerry that the directory had determined not to treat with Pinkney & Marshall <lb/>but were willing to commence negotiations with him. On the 27th <lb/>of that month the envoys demanded of Tallyrand an audience; & on <lb/>the 2d & 6th of March were admitted. He insisted on a loan. Pinkney and <lb/>Marshall were decidedly against it; but Gerry appeared, at the conferences, <lb/>silent on the subject. But when the envoys were together by themselves, <lb/>Gerry stated his opinion, that he thot a loan preferable to a war, & was <lb/>therefore willing to open negotiation upon the basis of a loan, & when <lb/>a treaty was formed not agree to it without the sanction of our govern= <lb/>=ment; but the other two envoys met the proposition with an un= <lb/>=qualified negative. On the 18th of that month Talleyrand in an official <lb/>letter to the envoys avows the opinion that the directory will not treat <lb/>with the three envoys, but with one of them. The envoys not being accredited, <lb/>but exposed to personal & official mortifications of a humiliating kind, <lb/> requested that letters of safe post should be granted to them individually <lb/>or to such as they pleased. Letters were accordingly granted to Pinkney <fw>[July 12, 1831]</fw> <pb facs="/sites/default/files/2024-12/plumer_vol5_017.jpg" n="10"/> <fw>1814</fw> <fw>Elbridge Gerry.</fw> <lb/>& Marshall, but not to Gerry; & the two former soon after embarked <lb/>for the United States.</p> <p><lb/>On the 3d of April Talleyrand wrote Gerry that he believed the other two <lb/>envoys had withdrawn from the French territories, & expressed a desire <lb/>to resume communications with him upon the interests of France & <lb/>the United States. The next day Gerry informed him that as an indi= <lb/>=vidual he would confer, but the commission being jointly to three <lb/>envoys, as a minister he had no authority. On the 20th he wrote Talley= <lb/>=rand, That as his colleagues from necessity had left Paris; to prevent a <lb/>rupture between the two nations he had consented to remain; but <lb/>his conferences must be informal-& that he should communicate them <lb/>to his government, but without official authority. Talleyrand abandoned <lb/>the demand of a loan, & the explanation of the president's speech; and <lb/>announced the willingness of the government to give Mr Gerry a public <lb/>reception.</p> <p><lb/>On the 3d of May Mr Gerry in a letter to Mr King says, "I cannot say <lb/>what will be the opinion of the president, or of his constitutients, re= <lb/>=specting my conduct in remaining here, but I will do nothing that <lb/>I cannot justify to my own mind, & which I am not clearly convinced <lb/>ought to merit their approbation. I have no personal views in re= <lb/>=maining, & the moment I can reconcile this government to my <lb/>departure, I shall embark for the United States."</p> <p><lb/>The circumstance of his remaining in France after the other envoys <lb/>had left it, & the apprehension that he would do something that would <lb/>compromit the honor or interest of our country, excited the people to <lb/>censure him with great severity. To a gentleman who had forwarded <lb/>to him, by express, the dispatches published in the United States, advising <lb/>him to withdraw from France before their contents were made known <lb/>& urging the danger of his situation, he writes, "I have received your <lb/>letter with copies of the dispatches enclosed. The prospect of a ten year's <lb/>imprisonment would not induce me to quit this country as a fugitive." <lb/>In his conferences with Talleyrand he displayed tatents, information, <lb/>industry, prudence, & uncompromising integrity. On the eve of hostilities <lb/>between the two nations his zeal, his penetration, & cool perseverance, <lb/>laid the foundation for an accomodation. The minister having given <lb/>him a positive assurance of the reception of another minister, with the <lb/>respect due to the nation he should represent, he on the 10th of June de= <lb/>=manded his pass-ports; but the government of France, under various pre= <lb/>=tents, delayed it till the 26th of July, when he left Paris for Havre. <lb/>There he received an arrete from the French government restraining <lb/>the irregular & vexatious conduct of privateers in the West Indian Seas <lb/>& assurances given that all other anangements should conform to the <fw>[July 12, 1831]</fw> <pb facs="/sites/default/files/2024-12/plumer_vol5_018.jpg" n="11"/> <fw>1814</fw> <fw>Elbridge Gerry.</fw> <lb/>just expectations of the United States. The benefits which Mr Gerry <lb/>considered as resulting from his residence in that country was, an express <lb/>renunciation on the part of France of loans; of reparation for the presi= <lb/>=sidents speech; a renuniciation of a demand for the United States to <lb/>assume debts due her citizens; a disclaimer of any desire that we <lb/>should dissolve the British treaty; an admission of our claim for captures <lb/>on the want of a role d'equipage; advances towards a new negotia= <lb/>=tion; & the actual preservation of peace.</p> <p><lb/>On the first day of October he arrived at Boston; & on the 18th of <lb/>that month in a letter to the secretary of State, giving an account of <lb/>his mission says_ "I was informed that an immediate rupture <lb/>would be the result of my departure from France; & the same com= <lb/>=munication being again made, with information, that if I was <lb/>determined not to negotiate seperately, this government would be <lb/>satisfied with my residence here, untill the government of the United <lb/>States could take their measures. I consented to this from public con= <lb/>=siderations solely; for every private one was opposed to it. In my <lb/>embarrassed situation, not losing sight of the great object of our <lb/>mission, a reconciliation with this powerful republic. I have taken <lb/>a position, by which I meant to ascertain, if possible, without com= <lb/>=promitting the government of the United States, or myself, the ulti= <lb/>=timate views of France with respect to them. It would have <lb/>been impossible for me under existing circumstances to have consented <lb/>to a seperate negotiation, had the provision been made in our powers <lb/>& instructions: for two of my colleagues, one from the southern, & the <lb/>other from the middle states, having been sent back, I could have had <lb/>no prospect of forming a treaty, which would have given general <lb/>satisfaction to my country; & I could never undertaken any nego= <lb/>=ciation, without that prospect. It is therefore incumbent on me to <lb/>declare, that should the result of my endeavors present to our govern= <lb/>=ment more pleasing prospects, it is nevertheless, my firm determi= <lb/>=nation to proceed no further in this negotiation."</p> <p><lb/>Tho the mission was very unpleasant to each of the envoys, it was <lb/>useful to the United States-it opened a way for the termination of <lb/>hostile feelings, & the preservation of the peace & honor of our country. Pre= <lb/>=sident Adams, the elder, some years after says, Mr Gerry "finally <lb/>saved the peace of the nation, for he alone discovered & furnished evi= <lb/>=dence that X.Y &Z. were employed by Talleyrand; & he alone <lb/>brot home the direct, formal, & official assuran= <lb/>=ces upon which the subsequent commission proceeded & peace made." <lb/>After his return from France a number of his friends were desirous <fw>[July 13. 1831]</fw> <pb facs="/sites/default/files/2024-12/plumer_vol5_019.jpg" n="12"/> <fw>1814</fw> <fw>Elbridge Gerry.</fw> <lb/>that he should be candidate for representative to congress; but <lb/>he positively declined it. In April 1800 & 1801 he was supported <lb/>as candidate for governor of Massachusetts, but the opposing can= <lb/>=didate succeeded by a small majority: in the last of those years <lb/>of 45,816 votes Gerry had 20,169.</p> <p><lb/>He spent his time at his farm in Cambridge in philosophical <lb/>retirement, attending to his favorite pursuits, the education of his <lb/>children, & the cultivation of his land. But in his retirement he <lb/>was unfortunate. A friend for whom he had become surety <lb/>for a large amount, failed, & left him with a weight of pecuniary <lb/>obligation, from which he was never able to extricate himself. <lb/>Indeed, at his discease he left to his family only his example and <lb/>his fame.</p> <p><lb/>Immediately after the attack made in 1808 by the British ship <lb/>Leopard upon the American frigate Chesapeake, there was a great <lb/>meeting held in Boston on the occasion. Mr Gerry being there, <lb/>but not in the assembly, was appointed presiding officer. After <lb/>being conducted to the chair, he observed "I had not anticipated <lb/>that at my time of life, there could have been a scene like of <lb/>the present, but I yield to the call that is made on me, as I hold <lb/>it to be the duty of every citizen, tho he may not have but one day <lb/>to live, to devote that day to his country.</p> <p><lb/>In August 1810 Harvard college conferred on him the degree of doctor <lb/>of laws; the people, in the preceeding April, having elected him governor <lb/>of Massachusetts, on the duties of which he entered the 2d of June. In <lb/>appointments to office, he respected the claims of his political friends <lb/>whom he found to have been heretofore almost entirely excluded; <lb/>but of the incumbents holding their place at the will of the exe= <lb/>=cutive, no one was disturbed in the enjoyment of his situation. <lb/>A strong effort was made by influential individuals to change the <lb/>governor's policy in this respect, & there were not wanting those <lb/>who expressed their dissatisfaction at the tolerance he was disposed <lb/>to observe. But their disapprobation was without effect: his policy <lb/>was to effect a conciliation between the people & the administration <lb/>of the government of the United States.</p> <p><lb/>In April 1811 he was re-elected governor. The opposition of the fede= <lb/>=ralists of Massachusetts, to the administration of the government <lb/>of the Unted States, had become not only active but violent. The go= <lb/>=vemor in his speech, of the 7th of June, to the legislature, speaking <lb/>of the appointments he had made, says, "To diminish, & if possible to <lb/>exterminate party spirit, the executive of this commonwealth, during <fw>[July 13, 1836]</fw> <pb facs="/sites/default/files/2024-12/plumer_vol5_020.jpg" n="13"/> <fw>1814</fw> <fw>Elbridge Gerry.</fw> <lb/>in the last year, has confirmed in his place, or re-appointed within <lb/> or requisite, every state officer under his control, who has been correct in <lb/>his conduct, & faithful to his trust; disregarding his polities, & requir= <lb/>=ing only his support of the federal & state constitutions, govern= <lb/>=ments & laws, with a due regard to the rights of officers and <lb/>individuals subject to his official discretion. But it cannot <lb/>be expected of any executive, so far to disregard the sound obli= <lb/>=gations of duty & honor, as to preserve in official stations such <lb/>individuals as would abuse the influence of their public characters, <lb/>by sanctioning resistance to laws, or by such other conduct as will <lb/>beguile peaceable & happy citizens into a state of civil warfare. <lb/>In all the branches of the government the republicans had a de= <lb/>=cided majority, & to aid their partizans passed laws removing she= <lb/>=riffs & clerks of court from office, & requiring the governor and <lb/>council to appoint men to fill those offices. Impelled by the <lb/>considerations mentioned in his speech & the zeal of his partizans, <lb/>he turned out some men from office & appointed some others, which <lb/>if left to the unbiased exercise of his own judgment it is proba= <lb/>=ble he would not have done.</p> <p><lb/>On the 25th of April 1812, in compliance with a requisition from <lb/>the government of the United States, he promptly issued orders to the <lb/>militia officers to detach ten thousand men to be organized and <lb/>ready to march at a moments warning for the defence of the coun= <lb/>=try. In a private letter of that date he says, "We have been long <lb/>enough at peace; we are loosing our spirit, our character, & our <lb/>independence. We are degenerating into a mere nation of traders, <lb/>& are forgetting the honor of our ancestors, & the interest of poste= <lb/>=rity. We must be roused by some great event that may stir up <lb/>the ancient spirit of the people. Policy has kept us quiet till it <lb/>ceases to be policy. Weakness & exhaustion prevented us from noble <lb/>daring, & it was wise in us to temporize untill we gained strength <lb/>& vigor. We have now grown to manhood, & it will be shameful in <lb/>the man to bear what the child might submit to without dishonor." <lb/>At the April election this year for governor, of 104,156 votes he had <lb/>51,326, but the opposing federal candidate was elected by a majority <lb/>of 1,370.</p> <p><lb/>He possessed a sagacity, a fortitude, an inflexibility, & an indefatigable <lb/>application which few men can equal. Forming his opinions with <lb/>deliberation, he yielded them with reluctance. Feeling the conviction <lb/>arising from thorough investigation, it was not easy to change his results. <fw>[July 13, 1831]</fw> <pb facs="/sites/default/files/2024-12/plumer_vol5_021.jpg" n="14"/> <fw>1814</fw> <fw>Elbridge Gerry.</fw> <lb/>The tenacity with which he clung to such sentiments as his judgment <lb/>approved was at times too determined, & probably obstinate. This tendency <lb/>was increased by another, which was the weakest trait of his mind. <lb/>He was habitually suspicious, & this habit increased as he advanced <lb/>in years. There was little in such a state of mind of the art of acquiring <lb/>popularity, & still less in letting it be seen. They who were associated <lb/>with him were often oppressed with a conviction that he was doubtful <lb/>of their sincerity, & this feeling on their part, generated a state of things <lb/>which otherwise would not have existed. It is something anomalous <lb/>in the history of character, that an individual punctiliiously upright <lb/>in his own conduct, should entertain so many doubts of the sincerity <lb/>of others.</p> <p><lb/>In religion he was a liberal episcopalian-willing that those who <lb/>differed from him should conform to their own opinions. In his temper <lb/>he was naturally ardent & impetuous; but subjected his passions to the <lb/>dictates of his judgment. Belonging to that school of manners, which <lb/>commenced under the royal government, & perfected its pupils in the <lb/>camp & cabinet of the revolution, regulating the deportment with <lb/>curtesy towards others, & a personal dignity that never lost its self= <lb/>respect, lofty without arrogance, affable without familiarity, he <lb/>was at all times & under all circumstances, entitled to the character of <lb/>a real gentleman.</p> <p><lb/>On the 8th of June 1812, at a meeting of severty six members of congress, <lb/>all but two of them voted to nominate him as a candidate for vice <lb/>president of the United States; & a committee immediately wrote him reque= <lb/>=ting his consent. In his letter to them, of the 11th he consented, observing <lb/>"That in a republic, the service of each citizen is due to the state, even <lb/>in profound peace, & much more so when the nation stands on the <lb/>threshold of war." On the first wednerday of December of 217 electoral votes <lb/>he had 131, & was elected; & on the 4th March 1813 took the oath of office <lb/>at his own house. He was a zealous, firm, effective supporter of the war <lb/>to it he devoted his time & all the energies of his mind. The <lb/>24th of May, the first day of the session, he took his seat as presiding officer in the Senate of <lb/>the United States, & continued till the senate adjourned on the 2d of <lb/>August. As a presiding officer he was not distinguished; but he rendered <lb/>great service in supporting the government & the rights of the nation. <lb/>During his residence at Washington, the private letter he received from <lb/>his friends, & from applicants for office, were numerous. The mere read= <lb/>=ing was fatiguing & oppressive, & often deprived him of both <lb/>rest & exercise. He politely answered as many of them as he was able. <fw>[July 13, 1831]</fw> <pb facs="/sites/default/files/2024-12/plumer_vol5_022.jpg" n="15"/> <fw>1814</fw> <fw>Elbridge Gerry.</fw> <lb/>There was a town in Massachusetts incorporated by his name <lb/>but in 1814 the town petitioned legislature to change its name <lb/>to Phillipstown, alledging that Gerry while chief magistrate had <lb/>rendered "the name itself a term of odium & reproach," "& requesting <lb/>that it might no longer bear his hateful name." That a town should <lb/>use such virulent language against a man strictly honest & the <lb/>second officer in the government of the nation, & that the legislature <lb/>should so far approve of it as to grant their request, can be imputed <lb/>only to the blindness & madness of party spirit, which then prevailed <lb/>in both. Such proceedings reflect more distance on the petitioners & the <lb/>legislature, than reproach on Mr Gerry.</p> <p><lb/>Mr Gerry attended the second & third sessions of the Senate; and <lb/>on the 22nd of November 1814 provided during the whole of a long debate, with his <lb/>usual spirit, & in the enjoyment of accustomed health. On returning <lb/>to his lodgings he complained of slight indisposition, but amused <lb/>himself thro the evening in arranging the letters of the day, & in a <lb/>cheerful conversation with the immates of the house. He conversed <lb/>about his family in Massachusetts, & taking from his bosom a minia= <lb/>=ture, which was always suspended round his neck when the <lb/>original was absent, & had hitherto, with a peculiar delicacy of <lb/>feeling, been his own personal secret, he spoke of it with an in= <lb/>=terest which shew that altho the surpassing beauty delineated <lb/>on the picture might have first charmed the imagination, more <lb/>enduring qualities had left the impress of affection on his heart. <lb/>He rested well thro the night, & breakfasted as usual with the fa= <lb/>=mily on the morning of the 23rd, & altho he spoke of some vague <lb/>indications of disease, he did not consider them sufficient to prevent <lb/>his taking his seat in the Senate, at the hour in which it was to <lb/>meet. The carriage coming to cany him to the capitol rather earlier <lb/>than usual, he directed the coachman on his way there, to stop at the <lb/>office of the register of the treasury, at which he had some business that <lb/>required his attention. This being arranged he returned to his carriage, <lb/>& had proceeded but a short distance, when a sudden extravasation <lb/>of blood took place upon the lungs, & terminated his life in twenty <lb/>minutes, almost without a struggle, & apparently without pain, in the <lb/>seventy first year of his age.</p> <p><lb/>The next day he was buried, under the direction of a committee of <lb/>the Senate, in the city of Washington. Congress afterwards erected a <lb/>monument of white marble over his remains, with the following in= <lb/>=scription. "The tomb of Elbridge Gerry. vice president of the United <lb/>[July 13, 1831] <pb facs="/sites/default/files/2024-12/plumer_vol5_023.jpg" n="16"/> <lb/><fw>1814</fw> <lb/><fw>Elbridge Gerry.</fw> <lb/>States, who died suddenly in this city, November 23, 1814, on his way <lb/>to the capitol as president of the Senate, aged seventy years. Thus <lb/>fulfilling his own memorable injunction. It is the duty of every <lb/>man, tho he may have but one day to live, to devote that day to the <lb/>good of his country.</p> </div> </body> </text> </TEI>
