WASHINGTON AND JEFFERSON COMPARED. AMONG the people of antiquity, it was esteemed almost miraculous for men to rise to supreme power in virtue of their genius and merit, independent of those adventitious aids at that period so much resorted to; such as force, fraud, fortune, or some other accident, distinct from native vigor of mind, and felicity of genius, on the one hand, and the beauty and harmony of the elective franchise on the other; by which a free people spontaneously confer sovereign authority as a reward to merit, or a token of gratitude for public services. In modern ages, but especially in this happy country, we have become so accustomed to this imposing spectacle, as no longer to behold it with surprise; and it therefore excites little emotion, although worthy of the highest admiration, as a circumstance ennobling to human nature, to behold Washington and Jefferson springing up from the obscure condition of plebeian rusticity, to occupy the chair of supreme power, arrayed in all the attributes of kings, and armed with the mighty energies of empire. Yet this fact illustrates with so much force, the most beautiful feature of our free and equal government, where all native Americans are eligible to the highest post of honour, that we may reasonably pause for a moment to moralise on this resemblance in their humble origin, and splendid fortunes-to contemplate in the young Surveyor of Lord Fairfax, the renowned FATHER OF HIS COUNTRY; and to trace in the Village Lawyer, of a small town in Virginia, the future author of the Declaration of American Independence, and the third President of the United States-one of whom, by his achievements in arms shook the British empire to its centre; while the other, by his masterly exposition of human rights, scattered the seeds of revolution over every soil cursed by the hand of oppression, or blighted by the shade of tyranny. It was for the poets of antiquity to sing of the creative powers of genius, and to invent monstrous fables to illustrate its transcendant career; but it was left for American history to exhibit in the common occurrences of real life, the force of superior intellect to mould for itself that high destiny for which nature had qualified it at its birth, by endowing it with faculties to overturn the mighty fabric of feudal ages, consolidated by tyranny, and cemented by time. It was left for WASHINGTON in the field, and JEFFERSON in the cabinet, to accomplish a revolution without a parallel in history for its grandeur, and which may challenge the wisdom and judgment of mankind to surpass it in the wholesome principles it has established for the government, or the mass of happiness it has secured for the enjoyment of the human family. An excess of glory is highly injurious to a just appreciation of character; for, while greatness intoxicates the mind, virtue is sure to captivate the judgment: and the lustre of both combined, are naturally calculated to lead to adulation on the one hand, or give birth to envious detraction on the other. The unanimous award of mankind in favour of the genius and honesty, purity and patriotism of the character of GEORGE WASHINGTON, While it furnishes ample reason to abstain from an indiscriminate indulgence in panegyric, which his greatness can well dispense with, presents us, on that account, with sufficient inducements to analyse the peculiar traits of his great mind, with an impartial freedom, which, being equally removed from servile flattery, and rigid justice, may preserve that happy medium, in which truth, softened by benevolence, may draw a faithful picture, without deepening the shadows by malice, or flinging the lustre of fiction over the bright and smiling features of its virtues. Genius, like Nature, combines such opposite qualities, as either to kindle enthusiasm, or excite incredulity and dislike. Hence men, too great, are equally liable to become objects of adoration to some, and of abhorrence to others. In this manner, it is always more difficult to dissect than to appreciate the concentrated merits of one who is alike distinguished in opposite professions, than another who is merely noted for excellence, however transcendant, in a single pursuit. Thus, where the glory of the statesman and the warrior unite, the glare and effulgence of his entire fame, will scarcely permit us to survey with cool and impartial reason the qualities and deeds of the one, separate and apart from the talents and achievements of the other, so as to arrive at an exact knowledge of the principles and views of the politician, distinct from the honesty and zeal of the patriot; or the courage, skill, and prudence of the military commander. We all know that Jove has his thunders; but it is permitted to few only to trace the mysterious course of his wisdom, or admire the infinite beneficence of his decrees, that govern and control the harmony of nature. In the same manner, the verdict of the public has attested, in a voice too emphatic to admit of a doubt, to the genius, learning, statesmanship, and patriotism of THOMAS JEFFERSON, so as to dispense with that spirit of adulation, which we are so prone to fall into when engaged in an investigation of the merits, or a comparison of the characters of individuals, prominent on the page of history, for their virtues, talents, and public services: for, true greatness, like Nature in her majesty, is when unadorned adorned the most. The statue of Jupiter does not require to have its brows entwined with roses, in order to add to its sublime proportions, or deepen the veneration felt for the god. But here again a fresh difficulty arises; for genius in one branch of greatness only, however resplendent, must suffer disparagement when brought into contrast with concentrated greatness, that glows with equal lustre in every path of duty. Apollo may captivate the hosts of heaven. with his lyre; but it is for Jove only equally to excite affection, admiration and awe. This contrast of their characters and career, however, is not only natural, but unavoidable. Both were the founders of the republic-both flourished in the same administration-both co-operated to produce the same revolution, and establish the same government-both acted as Presidents of the republic-both headed antagonist parties-both conferred unbounded benefits on the same age, and on posterity -both interwove their minds in the government, and infused their principles into the people. To bring two such characters into comparison appears inevitable; if that comparison results in contrast, it is still more extraordinary, but equally unavoidable. It will scarcely be denied, that a man may be honest in his views of State policy, and firm in his political principles of constitutional liberty; that he may love his country with an unalloyed and holy love, seeking to promote its welfare and happiness, with a single eye to its glory and freedom; and yet, that his principles may be invalidated or impaired by a constitutional moral weakness that gives the hue of truth to his fallacious impressions, or arrests his best judgment by the irresistible force of a predominant passion. The history of man proves him a creature of delusions, by showing his convictions to be the offspring of his passions rather than the effects of his reason. This, indeed, is more or less the fallible tenure of all greatness; even the highest intellect and genius, to which every man, however he may rise in the scale of superiority or perfection is liable; but which is too frequently confounded with a total exemption from error, in the general glare of renown which encircles a great and a good name. As time rolls on, and the experience of new generations reveals discrepancies of opinion, or starts doubts of principles and powers, in relation to the organic structure of our government:-or conflicting interests give birth to fresh. questions of right, or novel propositions of liberty; the authority of great names, as well as the force of illustrious examples, as additional inducements arise to recur to them, become of the most essential importance, and not only excite an intense interest and curiosity, but prompt us, from a regard to our own rights, to ascertain the principles and opinions of those eminent men who were instrumental in forming the government, or achieving the independence of the nation; and thus beget an additional curiosity, of a character peculiar to itself, to pry into the motives of their conduct, and compare the merits of their deeds, as well as the soundness of their principles, the sincerity of their opinions, and the honesty of their professions. Among the events within the compass of the present age, which have thrown a new and exciting interest over the lives, deeds and opinions of these two extraordinary men, the animated and still protracted discussion of the rights of the individual States, and the controlling power of the Union-stand prominent for their formidable consequences, and maintain a fearful attitude, both in respect to the permanence of the Union, and the popular fame of its two most distinguished founders. The reference that has so frequently been made to the opinions of Mr. Jefferson, to sustain the doctrines of the party in favour of State supremacy; and the implied sanction of Washington to principles of an opposite tendency, seem to have invested those eminent patriots with a responsibility for modern opinions, which an investigation of facts will scarcely warrant. Yet, how far these presumptions are justified by historical events and political testimony, presents a subject for curious investigation, at the same time that it gives rise to another, still more deeply interesting, because involving considerations of the highest moment to the rights, liberties and happiness of the human family, not only in respect to their popular appreciation, and the true value which we ought to place on their respective characters, but whether their principles, attributes and achievements, as statesmen, politicians and Presidents, were truly modelled on the frame of the Constitution, or the Constitution modelled on the frame of their opinions and principles? And it will appear strange, if, in the progress of this investigation, we should arrive at the extraordinary fact, that the mind of Washington was the fountain whence flowed the wisdom and beauty of the federal Constitution-and that Constitution became the fountain of Mr. Jefferson's political principles: so that instead of bringing them into conflict, upon this vexed and litigated question, we reduce them to harmony by showing that while both were republicans, both were at the same time federalists: the only difference between them consisting in this-that Washington, as the Father of the Constitution, viewed it with the eye of knowledge-and that Jefferson, as its disciple, surveyed it with the prying glance of criticism, content to acquiesce in its doctrines, yet as captious, to question its wisdom, as he felt disposed to acquire celebrity by pointing out its defects, or suggesting improvements, which might fortify liberty in impregnable strength or diffuse its blessings to the more universal enjoyment and happiness of mankind. It is a striking circumstance, in the history of these distinguished men, that the most ardent friendship should have subsisted between them from the year '76 to 93; and that on the part of Jefferson it never abated up to the day of his death, as far as professions serve to indicate affection and esteem; while as it respects Washington, he seems suddenly E e |