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ADAMS, JOHN (1735-1826).—By John T. Morse, Jr. [30a]

... Adams kept a Diary and very much of this Life is told from his own records. His son and grandson have displayed “the same odd form of heredity" and kept Diaries. The career of a man who was a Member of the first Continental Congress in 1774; President of the Board of War in 1776; Vice-President of the United States when Washington was inaugurated President in 1789; and became the Second President of the U. S. in 1796, cannot fail to furnish materials for a very interesting volume.

His unpopularity in his later years of political life, and his signing the alien and sedition laws, whereby the expression of opinions on public men and measures was made penal, and his hostility to Thomas Jefferson, are all well and calmly told. The volume closes on the reconciliation between Adams and Jefferson effected by Dr. Rush. Oddly enough, both Jefferson and John Adams died on July 4, 1826, the fiftieth anniversary of American Independence.

ADAMS, JOHN QUINCY (1767-1848).—By John T. Morse, Jr. [306]

... He was the son of John Adams, and his father lived to see him elected (1824) as the sixth President, but had died before he failed to secure his reelection in 1828. The writer enters fully, and in a most interesting manner, into the presentation by John Quincy of antislavery Petitions and the firmness with which he continued to present these Petitions one by one, amidst a perfect tempest of vituperation and abuse, to the number sometimes of 200 in a day, demanding the action of the house on each separate petition, notwithstanding the rule at that period adopted that no Petition relating to Slavery should be read, printed, or debated.

In addition to his Diary of his public life he wrote much prose and verse.

ADAMS, SAMUEL (1722-1803).—By James K. Hosmer. [30c]

· This is an interesting Life in which the Author has not taken the indiscriminately laudatory view of everything Samuel Adams did which is displayed in Mr. William V. Wells's Life of Samuel Adams (3 vols.). Mr. Hosmer claims to “estimate more fairly "his character and that of his opponents."

He was a Member of the Continental Congress in 1774, and was one of the two popular leaders excepted from the General Pardon offered by the British Government in 1775. He signed the Declaration of Independence and was Lieutenant-Governor of Massachusetts 1789-1794 and Governor in succession to John Hancock 1794-97. He was a strict Calvinist and opposed the establishment of a Protestant Episcopate in America.

BENTON, THOMAS HART (1782-1858), Life of.-By Theodore [30d] Roosevelt.

... In the Senate of 1826 he distinguished himself as a strong advocate for a gold and silver currency, and was nicknamed “Old Bullion," while his followers were called Hards," his opponents (advocates of soft money and pro-slavery fanatics) being

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called "Softs." His son-in-law was Colonel Fremont, the Conqueror of California, and Benton "was never tired of talking in the Senate and out of the Senate of his son"in-law's courageous exploits," but he advocated the election of Buchanan to the Presidency in 1856 in preference to Fremont. He published "The Thirty Years' View of "American Government 1820-50” and “ An Abridgment of the Debates of Congress "1787-1856" in 16 vols., both of which have been found of great value to historians and others who write on subjects connected with American History.

CALHOUN, JOHN CALDWELL (1782-1850).-By Dr. H. von [30] Holst.

From 1830 to the day of his death Calhoun "may be called the very impersona"tion of the Slavery question." His public career (for little is known of his private life) will always be that of an intensely interesting account of a man "who failed," says Parton," in all the leading objects of his public life except one," to force the slavery issue on the North. He "honestly believed slavery to be a good, a positive good,” and that "slavery was the most solid foundation of liberty." His last words were, "The South, the poor South, God knows what will become of her." He had approved the Missouri Compromise of 1820, but in 1847 he denounced all compromises and claimed to "go back and stand upon the Constitution." He was elected Vice-President in 1824 and again in 1828. Among his principal writings are his posthumous “Dis"quisition on Government" and the "Discourse on the Constitution and Government "of the United States," in which he advocates the election of "two Presidents, one "for the North and one for the South, each having a veto on all Acts of Congress." CLAY, HENRY (1777-1852), Life of. Third Edition. [30] By Carl Schurz,

2 vols.

Henry Clay has himself decided the salient points of his career by which he desired most to be remembered, in the List of Events inscribed on a large gold medal struck in commemoration of his public services and amended by himself. The events are: Senate 1806-Speaker 1811-War of 1812 with Great Britain which he strongly advocated-Ghent 1814, when he and his colleagues brought to an issue and signed the treaty for peace with Great Britain-Spanish America 1822-Missouri Compromise 1821, of which he was "the father," by which Missouri was admitted into the Union with slavery, and slavery was prohibited in the territories north of 36° 30′ north latitudeAmerican System 1824-Greece 1824-Secretary of State 1825--Panama Instructions 1826-Tariff Compromise 1833-Public Domain 1833 to 1841-Peace with France preserved 1835-and Compromise 1850 which was mainly due to his efforts and postponed for ten years "the conflict between slavery and freedom." His principle was that each citizen owes a "paramount allegiance to the whole Union-a subordinate one "to his individual State."

GALLATIN, ABRAHAM ALFONSE ALBERT (1761-1849).—Fifth [30g] Edition. By John Austin Stevens.

... Gallatin was born in Geneva, but coming to America in early youth "rose to fame "in the political service of the United States." The author gives an interesting account of the Whiskey Insurrection in 1794. Gallatin was a successful Secretary of the

Treasury, 1801-1813: one of the signatories of the Treaty of Ghent (1814): the author of able pamphlets on Currency (1829): and in 1843 became the president of the New York Historical Society.

HAMILTON, ALEXANDER (1757-1804).-By Henry Cabot [30h] Lodge.

... "No American except Washington has had everything which he ever wrote, said, "or did, published with such elaboration as has fallen to the lot of Hamilton, nor has

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any other American, historically speaking, been so much discussed, so much criticised, "and so much written about." He was a strong opponent of Jefferson and Aaron Burr, and the latter ultimately challenged and mortally wounded him. It was but little satisfaction that Burr had to leave the State-lived many years in Europe in poverty, and never recovered his position on his return to New York in 1812, where he resumed practice as a lawyer. Hamilton's eldest son was killed in a duel two years previously to his father's death.

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HENRY, PATRICK (1736–1799).—By Moses Coit Tyler.

[301]

No life of this Orator has been previously written except Wirt's of 1817. This, therefore, furnishes a very large amount of new information about this remarkable man. He failed in business three times and then tried the profession of the law, and after many years of obscurity sprang into sudden distinction by his victory in 1763 in "the Parsons Cause," when he defeated the clergy who were trying to enforce their rights under an old Statute to receive 16,000 pounds of tobacco in payment of their salaries. His speech was very violent and "charged with treason and trampled under foot the inte"rests of religion," but unrebuked by the Judges (one of whom was his father) he carried the jury with him and created for himself a great popularity. In presenting his resolutions (1765) against the Stamp Act he cried: "Cæsar had his Brutus, Charles the First his Cromwell, and George the Third" (here he was interrupted by loud cries of Treason), and after a pause he added "and George the Third may profit by their "example. If this be treason, make the most of it." He was Governor of Virginia 1776-79 and again 1784-85.

JACKSON, ANDREW (1767-1845), as a Public Man: What he [30] was, What chances he had, and What he did with them. Tenth Edition. By William Graham Sumner. .. He was elected President in 1828, and probably the most important event of his first administration was the veto (July, 1832) of the Re-Charter of the Bank of the United States and the most stirring in his second administration (he was reelected 1832) was the Proclamation of December, 1832, against the Nullifiers and his determination to stamp out the treason. Mr. Sumner sums up the character of Jackson by remarking that his successes outran his ambition-that he had his desire upon all his enemies, Clay, Calhoun, the Bank, and Biddle, adding that "It does not appear that he ever "repented of anything, ever thought he had been in the wrong in anything, or ever "forgave an enemy as a specific individual."

The volume closes with a List (pp. 387–392) of the Books referred to in this work.

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It was during Jackson's administration that the Spoils system became a part of politics. It was in the debate on Van Buren's confirmation that William L. Marcy ❝ cyni"cally avowed the doctrine 'To the victors belong the spoils.'"

Jefferson, Thomas (1743–1826).—Tenth Edition. By John [30k] T. Morse, Jr.

Jefferson was the third President of the United States and served for two terms, viz., from 1801 to 1809, and established his Jeffersonian simplicity. He wore a suit "of plain cloth" on the day of his inauguration and rode unattended on horseback instead of in a coach and six, dismounted without assistance and hitched the bridle of his horse to a fence. He effected the purchase of Louisiana for $15,000,000, which had been ceded by Spain to France, and among his greatest acts may be recorded the inauguration by him of the suppression of the Algerine pirates in the Mediterranean. He sent out the overland exploring expedition to the Pacific, conducted by Captains Lewis and Clarke.

MADISON, JAMES (1751-1836).—Fifth Thousand. By Sydney [30] Howard Gay.

... Madison was the fourth President of the United States and served two terms, 1809 to 1817. His great work was "finished with the adoption of the Constitution. He "had gained the well-earned title of Father of the Constitution.'" The war of 1812 was the most serious matter during his presidency.

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MARSHALL, JOHN (1755-1835).-Fourth Thousand. By Allan [30m] B. Magruder.

This eminent Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, during the thirty-four years of his judicial career, delivered judgments, etc., filling about thirty volumes. Probably the most important case before him was the trial of Aaron Burr for high treason, 1806-7. His Life of Washington was most severely reviewed. The truth was, probably, that the time had not arrived when a good Life could be written. His "prodigious octavos," equal to about a dozen fashionable quartos, were too soon after Washington's death. The severest criticism upon them is: "The work has long "been out of print and copies of it are not in demand even by reason of rarity.” A statue of the Chief Justice, by Story, has been erected to his memory in Washington.

MONROE, JAMES (1758-1831), In his Relations to the Public [307] Service during half a century, 1776 to 1826.—Eighth Edition. By Daniel C. Gilman.

career.

... Monroe was the fifth President of the United States, and in his time led an active He was Governor of Virginia 1799-1802 and again in 1811, and Envoy Extraordinary to France to complete the Louisiana purchase. He was elected President in 1816 and reelected in 1820. He is best remembered by his formulation of the "Monroe Doctrine” in his Message of 1823 in the words (p. 159): “We owe it there"fore to candor and to the amicable relations existing between the United States and "those [the European] powers to declare that we should consider any attempt on their

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part to extend their system to any portion of this hemisphere as dangerous to our peace and safety."

At the end of the volume is a full “Appendix” (pp. 218–280), containing (1) Memoranda on Monroe's Genealogy; (2) Washington's Notes upon the Appendix to Monroe's "View of the Conduct of the Executive," now first printed; (3) Synopsis of Monroe's Presidential Messages; and (4) Bibliography of Monroe, and the Monroe Doctrine.

RANDOLPH, JOHN (1773-1833).--Ninth Edition. By Henry [300] Adams.

This was the first volume of the Series of "American Statesmen." Randolph's ill-trained youth, quickly developing into violent deism, was a poor preparation for his political Life. Garland says of him, He was an Ishmaelite, his hand against every man and every man's hand against him. His opposition to the War with England in 1812 was so violent that he failed to secure reelection to Congress, and the Richmond Enquirer denounced him as "a nuisance and a curse."

In 1826 he insulted Mr. Clay, describing him as a “combination of the Puritan with "the blackleg” and as “a being so brilliant and yet so corrupt, which like a rotten "mackerel by moonlight shined and stunk." Naturally he had to answer for such language in a duel, and then threw away his shot and held out his hand to the man he had insulted.

His will was disputed and he was held to have been insane for some years, so that the only difficulty for his biographers is to ascertain when his insanity commenced. The descriptions given, in the last chapter, of his speeches towards the end of his life seem hardly credible.

Webster, DaniEL (1782–1852).-Ninth Edition. By Henry [30] Cabot Lodge.

.. Daniel Webster's own summary of his brilliant career as a lawyer and not successful management of his private affairs was: "I have given my life to law and politics. "Law is uncertain and politics are utterly vain." Yet for thirty years he had "stood "at the head of the Bar and of the Senate, the first Lawyer and the first Statesman of "the United States." Some consider that his "greatest and most renowned oratorical "effort" in the Senate was his speech in January, 1830, in defence of the Union and Constitution in answer to the speech of Mr. Hayne of South Carolina affirming the right of a State to nullify the acts of Congress. The account (p. 172, etc.) is very interesting. Webster is said to have really had twenty-four hours only to prepare his speech, but is reported to have said, "That his whole life had been a preparation for it. When "Hayne made that attack,” said Webster, “upon me and upon New England I was "already posted, and only had to take down my notes from my pigeon-hole and refresh "my memory. In other words, if Calhoun had tried to make a speech to fit my notes "he could not have hit it better."

Ames, Joseph.-TYPOGRAPHICAL ANTIQUITIES.

See Dibdin,

Thomas Frognall.

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