xt7jm61bkh5m https://exploreuk.uky.edu/dips/xt7jm61bkh5m/data/mets.xml McCaleb, Walter Flavius, 1873-1967. 1903  books b9297348m12419032009 English Dodd, Mead and Company : New York Contact the Special Collections Research Center for information regarding rights and use of this collection. Burr Conspiracy, 1805-1807. The Aaron Burr conspiracy; a history largely from original and hitherto unused sources. text The Aaron Burr conspiracy; a history largely from original and hitherto unused sources. 1903 2009 true xt7jm61bkh5m section xt7jm61bkh5m 
  
  
  
  
T h e A a r o n B u r r C onspiracy

  
  
  
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AARON

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The u4aron Burr Conspiracy
A History largely from original and hitherto unused sources
By WALTER FLAVIUS MCCALEB, A.M., Ph.D.

F e l l o w i n the T e x a s S tate H i s t o r i c a l Association S ometime F e l l o w i n H i s t o r y i n the University of Chicago

NEW

Y ORK

DODD,

MEAD

AND
1903

COMPANY

  
  
TO HERMANN EDUARD VON HOLTZ

T EACHER AND FRIEND

  
  
P reface *

F
Age.

O R a c entury the conspiracy of A a r o n B u r r h as b een a p u z z l i n g theme. A p a r t f r o m the d istinguished figures that move across its s tage, t he extravagance

n ature of the enterprise f r o m its very

m ust always e ngage t he attention of those who care t o k n o w something of the U n i t e d S tates i n its H e r o i c T h e conspiracy was of much wider and deeper o r i g i n t han h as been usually supposed, and the conditions w hich g ave r ise to it, as well as the e vents w i t h w h i c h i t w as v i t a l l y connected, have received scant treatment f rom h istorians. Social and political upheavals are not g rowths of a night, but are the results of the w o r k i n g s o f r eal and definite causes w h i c h are traceable i n every case a nd susceptible of some d egree o f analysis. p roject is no exception to this general law. Burr's A n d hapand to

pily w e are now far enough removed f r o m his time to see more clearly the perspective of events, o f m en. I n t he discussion of the subject writers have i n nearly e very case f ailed to distinguish between the conspiracy a nd A a r o n B u r r     i n o ther words, they have attempted
vii

m easure w i t h more certainty the motives and conduct

  
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PREFACE

t o explain it through the character of B u r r h imself, a p rocedure which is fundamentally erroneous. Burr's c haracter was apparently never more seriously involved, a nd n ever reflected more disastrously upon the conspiracy, than i n the correspondence of M e r r y and Y r u j o       the ministers respectively of Great B r i t a i n a nd S p a i n     t o whom he ostensibly disclosed his designs. I f the r evelations of the ministers could be accepted at their f ace v alue, treason was i n B u r r ' s m i n d , a nd the separation o f the West f r o m the U n i o n w as his plot, open a nd a vowed. However, v i e w i n g the correspondence which as a whole, in conjunction w i t h other facts

c annot here be discussed, it appears certain that B u r r ' s i ntrigue w i t h M e r r y and Y r u j o was but a consummate p iece of imposture. I n order to secure funds for the c arrying o ut of his expedition against M e x i c o , B u r r r esorted to the expedient of p l a y i n g on the hatred of the E uropean p owers for the A m e r i c a n Republic. s undering o f the States? Could t hey be brought to contribute moneys to aid i n the B u r r t hought so, and to s ecure the sum he conceived to be necessary for his p urposes he never scrupled at discoursing of treasons, a lthough at the moment every step he was t a k i n g l ooked t oward an invasion of the Spanish territories. N o w eight can be placed upon M e r r y ' s and Y r u j o ' s l etters as concerns the nature of the conspiracy, except i ndeed i n a negative sense; and I say this w i t h all deference t o M r . H e n r y A d a m s and those who have l aid so m uch stress on t hese m anuscripts, m a i n t a i n i n g that they

  
PREFACE l ay b are the heart of the conspiracy.

ix T h e heart of the

c onspiracy, however, was far removed f r o m any communication o f B u r r ' s . T h e conspiracy was an affection o f s o c i e t y     B u r r was but a member of that society, an a gent. I t follows that i f the nature of the conspiracy i s t o be disclosed, it can only be through an examination i nto t he s tate o f that society whose social, p olitical, a nd t raditional a ffiliations g ave r ise to it. T h i s is basic. T hat the ideas of B u r r , w hatever they may h ave b een, n ecessarily betray the s ecret o f the movement, cannot be successfully maintained. B u t that the prevailing i mpression o f B u r r ' s character lent weight to the i mputation o f treason cannot be doubted; nor more can it be doubted that the isolation of the West, together w i t h t he ignorance of the E a s t concerning the pioneers w ho built their l o g cabins i n the wilderness beyond the A l l e g h a n y M ountains, t ended to distort extraordinarily t he affair i n the public m i n d . W h a t w ere t he ideas, W a s there t hen, p revailing i n the Western country?

a c ontingent that plotted disunion ? W a s there a party t hat clamored loudly for war against whatever power i nsulted t he Republic? a bundance. O f the first there is no trace w o r t h c onsidering; of the latter there is evidence i n T h e spirit of the Westerners is proclaimed i n n o uncertain voice, and i f its tone could h ave b een m istaken i n 1806, there was no doubting its meaning i n 1 812, when, i n spite of the opposition of N e w E n g l a n d , t he Second War with Great Britain w as forced. A n d y et this was done by the very men upon w h o m

  
X

PREFACE

B u r r h ad counted, and the g reatest l eaders i n that s truggle had been his associates. I f we look more c losely we shall see, what has been but too t i m i d l y s uggested, that it was the W e s t and South that took up the b urden o f the Republic when it had well n i g h wearied o f t he load. A s f or the conspiracy, patriotism was but one of its e lements. F o r h i m w h o reads the secret of the A n g l o S a x o n character, there is epitomized i n the movement t he whole course of the race that threw d o w n the b ulwarks of Rome, that terrorized E u r o p e i n a V i k i n g ' s fleet, that conquered the W e s t e r n W o r l d , a nd that looks c onfidently f orward to the time when the struggle for u niversal s upremacy shall t est i ts powers. t he keynote of the history of the race. T h i s n arrative of the conspiracy of A a r o n B u r r h as been i n large part written f r o m o r i g i n a l and hitherto u nused s ources of i nformation. I t must not be thought, h owever, that the w o r k of scholars i n this field h as been i g n o r e d ; on the contrary, I have made much use of- it, but never intentionally without due credit e ither i n text or notes. I have not found it expedient, Expansion     conquest   was the keynote of the c o n s p i r a c y ;     i t is

h owever, to point out even the most g l a r i n g anachronisms i n many of the secondary narratives w h i c h treat o f t he conspiracy; much less have I attempted to i n d i cate d ivergences of o p i n i o n     a n d there are divergences as wide as misdemeanor is f r o m treason. I n t he endeavor to make this study exhaustive m u c h

  
PREFACE

xi.

t ime has been expended i n searching for new data. B r i e f m ention must therefore be made of the various s ources w h i c h h ave been consulted, and of the materials e xploited. I n 1 896 documents relating to the conspiracy w ere d iscovered i n the B e x a r A r c h i v e s at San A n t o n i o , the S panish c apital of the Province of Texas. From e arly i n the eighteenth century, much of the correspondence o f the provincial Governors w i t h the CaptainsGeneral a nd V i c e r o y s of M e x i c o found lodgment i n the m usty files of the archives of the province. a re concerned w i t h the westward It is needof the less t o say that they contain many manuscripts w h i c h growth U n i t e d S tates a nd w i t h the uninterrupted conflict w h i c h w as waged w i t h t he retreating c ivilization o f S pain. T h e v iews of the officers of Carlos I V . i n that quarter as t o the nature of the conspiracy are i lluminating. They r i g h t l y c lassed it as a manifestation of the restless, e ncroaching activity of the nation w h i c h f ate h ad p laced on their borders. T h e archives of the State of T e x a s c ontain materials d ating f r o m the Spanish regime and are of value on m ore than one doubtful point. T h e V i c e r o y a l t y of M e x i c o on account of the p r o m i nent position it held among the Spanish colonies b ecame t he g reat c enter for the accumulation of official correspondence; and the treasure of manuscripts n o w contained i n the Archivo General de Mexico, Mexico City, i s o f inestimable value to the history of the N e w

  
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PREFACE

W o r l d , a nd i n an almost equal measure to that of E urope. A l t h o u g h we h ave i gnored as far as possible t he presence of the Spanish civilization i n the affairs of A m e r i c a , a nd h ave r emained b lind t o the tremendous f ormative and directive influence w h i c h it has exerted o n t he course of our national growth, it is f r o m this c ollection t hat our o w n history is to be enriched and b rought nearer to truth. T h e Departments of M a r i n e , W a r , a nd the Provinces, together w i t h the correspondence w hich passed between the V i c e r o y s of N e w Spain a nd t he home Government d eserve s pecial mention. In t he latter collection are letters f r o m V i c e r o y Jose de I turrigaray t o D o n P e d r o Cevallos, then M i n i s t e r of S tate, which go a l o n g w a y toward explaining the conduct of General James W i l k i n s o n a t the crisis on the S abine in November, 1806. w hich r esulted i n the T h e cloudy transactions Neutral Ground lamentable

T reaty and in the over-vaunted d efeat o f B u r r a re s omewhat cleared of the mist w h i c h has enshrouded t hem. T h e M ississippi V a l l e y also proved a f r u i t f u l f ield f or r esearch. N e w Orleans was the focus for the v a r i ous lines of forces which mingled i n the conspiracy: i t w as the home of the Creoles who are supposed to h ave been at the heart of the p l o t ; it was the place, i f w e follow generally accepted conclusions, specially designed by the adventurers for plunder; and it had the u nenviable distinction to be subjected for two months t o the tyranny of General W i l k i n s o n . I n its C i t y H a l l

  
PREFACE a re files of the Monitenr lished c ontemporaneously de la Louisiane

xiii a nd of the The

Orleans Gazette, b oth of w h i c h n ewspapers w ere p ubw i t h the conspiracy. f ormer was the organ of the Creole population, the l atter represented the Americans proper, while both c ontain, apart f r o m valuable documentary evidence, a t rustworthy reflection of the public m i n d of the time. I t is n eedless t o say that much new light is shed on t hat dark chapter i n the history of the conspiracy which i s concerned w i t h the attitude of the native Louisianians t oward B u r r , and w i t h W i l k i n s o n ' s reign of terror i n t he capital of Orleans. T h e official manuscript J o u r n a l o f W . C. C. Claiborne, the first Governor of the T e r r i tory, preserved i n the o l d Tulane L a w L i b r a r y , is of e xceeding interest, containing as it d oes m uch of his c orrespondence w i t h the National Government, W i l k i n son, and others. C olonel R . T . D u r r e t t of L o u i s v i l l e has i n his splend i d l ibrary a file of the Palladium, n ewspaper published at Frankfort, e dited by W i l l i a m H u n t e r . an independent and Kentucky,

I n it are voiced the early Most

c ontroversies that rent K e n t u c k y society, w h i c h has a lways b een regarded as rife w i t h disaffection. o f the sensational articles concerning B u r r , W i l k i n s o n , a nd the Spanish Association, w h i c h appeared i n the Western Palladium. World, a n incendiary newspaper established a t F r a n k f o r t i n J u l y , 1806, w ere r eprinted i n the L i k e w i s e a f ull a ccount is given of the Another i m t wo arraignments of B u r r i n K e n t u c k y .

  
XIV

PREFACE Gazette   a file of w h i c h Its

p ortant source is the Lexington

i s p reserved i n the L e x i n g t o n P u b l i c L i b r a r y     o n e of t he most influential journals of the early West. c olumns, l ike those of the Palladium, w eekly i n the Western World, w ere d evoted to

c ombating the inflammatory reports which appeared a nd to asserting the p atriotism o f the frontiersmen. T h e letters cited f r o m the A n d r e w Jackson M S S . are o f m oment, for the relations w h i c h subsisted between J ackson a nd B u r r h ave b een so distorted and amplified t hat any approximation to the truth is to be welcomed. I a m obliged to Messrs. W o o d b u r y and Gist B l a i r f or t ranscripts of the o r i g i n a l documents. T h e H e n r y Clay M S S . and the Breckenridge Letters w ere o pened to my inspection, and it is a pleasure to e xpress m y gratitude to T h o m a s Clay, E s q . , and to C olonel W . C. P . Breckenridge for their respective s ervices i n this connection. T h e Jefferson and M a d i s o n M S S . h ave b een examined w i t h profit. Moreover, the Department of S tate at Washington, contains a notable volume entitled " Letters i n Relation to B u r r ' s Conspiracy," the contents of which, so far as I can ascertain, h ave n ever been m ade public. T h e letters are f r o m various sources, and m any of them are extremely significant, serving to m ake clearer the whole view of the conspiracy, especially t he latter phase of it centering i n the t rial a t R ichmond. T h a t B u r r w as himself a mapmaker is k n o w n , but

  
PREFACE t hat maps exhibiting the geography

XV of his W e s t e r n

e nterprise were i n existence had hardly been suspected. T here are, however, three such maps i n the possession o f M r s . Thomas C. W o r d i n . T h e y were inherited f r o m h er grandfather, D r . J o h n C u m m i n s , who lived on the B a y o u P i e r r e i n M ississippi T e r r i t o r y where B u r r ' s e xpedition c ollapsed. D r . C u m m i n s indorsed for B u r r t o a considerable extent, w h i c h proved his attachment;     a n d n o doubt when the conspirator was under t r i a l i n t he T e r r i t o r y t hese t ell-tale documents were turned o ver to one who could be trusted to s ecrete t hem. t hey undoubtedly do, the outlines of B u r r ' s project. The To m aps are of preeminent significance, illustrating, as d istinguish, M a p N o . i (measuring thirty-nine inches b y thirty-two) shows the lower region of the M i s s i s sippi R i v e r w i t h Natchez, New Orleans, and the W a s h i t a l ands, also N e w M e x i c o and M e x i c o d o w n to Y u c a t a n . M a p N o . 2 is an admiralty chart (twenty-three i nches by nineteen) and g ives w i t h astonishing minuteness a s urvey of the G u l f c oast f r o m N e w Orleans to C ampeche. Islands, bars, and inlets are recorded, a n d T h e chart is beautifully executed M a p N o . 3, s oundings are given.

o n p aper bearing the watermark of 1801. f orty-five inches by nineteen.

w hich i s here reproduced, measures i n the o r i g i n a l It exhibits i n some of its d etails w i t h startling correctness that section of M e x i c o l y i n g b etween V e r a C r u z on the east a nd M e x i c o C i t y o n t he w est. T h e minutise into w h i c h t hese m aps dew h i c h could have been scend display a knowledge

  
XVI

PREFACE

o btained only f r o m Spanish sources; and this opinion i s r eenforced by the fact that the longitude i n one case i s r eckoned f r o m Cadiz. O n the whole, these d ocuments, the authenticity of w h i c h is indubitable, f o r m a s trong l ink i n the chain of evidence. T h e correspondence of A n t h o n y M e r r y , mentioned a bove, w i t h whom B u r r , w hile yet Vice-President, o pened his intrigue, has been carefully examined. I had h oped also to find i n the B r i t i s h A r c h i v e s t races o f M e r r y ' s c orrespondence w i t h B u r r i n 1808, but m y Transcripts e ndeavors and the efforts of M r . H u b e r t H a l l o f the P ublic R ecord Office w ere w ithout result. o f Y r u j o ' s correspondence w i t h his home Government c oncerning B u r r ' s disclosures to h i m h ave been deposited by M r . Adams i n the State Department A rchives at Washington, and students ought to appreciate such a display of good w i l l a nd scholarly spirit. T h e reports of M e r r y and Y r u j o reveal an astonishi n g a udacity of design on the part of the conspirators. W h i l e t hey failed i n their m a i n purpose of obtaining needed moneys from K i n g G eorge and D o n Carlos, t hey succeeded in h o o d w i n k i n g both M e r r y and Y r u j o . H ere, as indicated above, there arises between M r . A d a m s and myself a diversity of opinion w h i c h only s erves t o illustrate what different conclusions may be d rawn f r o m the same materials, taken i n conjunction w i t h a dditional facts. I n this connection it is a pleasure t o say that, while I h ave o ften had c ause t o disagree w i t h M r . A d a m s , he has been of inestimable service to

  
PREFACE

xvii

m e not only b ecause o f his masterly method and the i nspiration d erived f r o m following his work, but because he has said practically the last w o r d on the conspiracy i n its classic form, which t eaches t hat it was d ouble-natured   treasonable and filibustering. A m o n g t hose to w h o m I am under obligations and to w hom I wish i n this place to e xpress m y gratitude are: S enor M a r i s c a l , Vice-President of the Republic of M e x i c o , a nd General Clayton, Ambassador to M e x i c o , t hrough whose cooperation I was granted the f reest access t o the M e x i c a n A r c h i v e s ; M r . W i l l i a m B eer, l ibrarian o f the H o w a r d M e m o r i a l L i b r a r y of O rleans; Colonel Reuben T . Durrett, who Western t o me his rare collection of New opened

Americana;

D r . D a v i d J . H i l l , A ssistant Secretary of State; the H onorable J oseph H . Choate, Ambassador to the C o u r t o f St. James, whose note to the B r i t i s h F o r e i g n Office so much facilitated m y researches; M r . V i l l i e r s of the F o r e i g n O ffice, and M r . H u b e r t H a l l o f the P u b l i c R ecord O ffice, whose u n i f o r m courtesy cannot be forgotten ; a nd M r . and M r s . Thomas C. W o r d i n through w hose kindness the B u r r maps are for the first time c alled t o the notice of the public. I h ave s pecially to acknowledge the services of P r o fessor George P . Garrison, who first encouraged t he M S . me i n t he prosecution of the work, and who k i n d l y read M r . J o h n P . Weisenhagen, D r . and M r s . W i l l i a m B . S eeley, P rofessor Francis W . Shepardson, a nd P rofessor Frederick J . T u r n e r h ave i n more than

  
XV111

PREFACE M y hearty thanks To

one way left me indebted to them.

a re due to Professor J . F r a n k l i n J ameson for his c r i t i cal r eading of the M S . and for his suggestions. ful f or corrections made i n the proof. D r . L o u i s H . Gray and M r . C. C. W h i n e r y I am grateI w i s h also to t hank m y publishers for their readiness to comply w i t h s uggestions and for their constant courtesy. L astly, i f the book has any merit, it is largely due t o Idealie M arie M cCaleb, whose interest i n it sprang u p under peculiar circumstances, whose labors on i t w ere m any-natured, and whose faith i n it has never w avered.
WALTER
WASHINGTON SQUARE, M a r c h 2 5,

FLAVIUS

MCCALEB.

1903.

  
Contents

CHAPTER

PAGE

I. I I. III. IV. V. VI. VII. VIII. IX. X. XI. XII. XIII.

A

B R I E F S U R V E Y OF T H E PERIOD . '.

. .

. .

. .

i 16 41 72

B U R R ' S T O U R OF T H E W E S T BURR'S INTRIGUES

P L A N S A N D PREPARATIONS T H E CRISIS O N T H E FRONTIER . WILKINSON'S Two DUPLICITY . . . . . . .

105 136 .172 .201 242

KENTUCKY ARRAIGNMENTS IN NEW ORLEANS

WILKINSON THE

EXPEDITION TRIAL IN AT I N MISSISSIPPI WASHINGTON RICHMOND . . . . . . .

BURR'S

.271 285 310 363

MEASURES T H E TRIAL T H E LAST

YEARS

six

  
  
T h e Aaron Burr C onspiracy
CHAPTER 'A Brief I. Period

Survey of the

H E C onspiracy of A a r o n B u r r w as preeminently a revolutionary product, receiving its JL i nspiration f r o m that unprecedented period of u pheaval w h i c h began w i t h the Revolution of 1776, its i mpelling f orce f r o m the character of the A m e r i c a n p ioneer, its license f r o m the disturbed condition of a ffairs existing i n the N e w W o r l d . I t is therefore necessary, i n order correctly to view the movement, to d evote a f ew words to a general survey of contemporaneous history, w i t h especial regard to the W e s t and t he Spanish-American colonies. A m e r i c a w as i n the Eighteenth Century, as now, i nseparably bound up w i t h Europe, the thought and f eeling of the one instantly finding response i n the o ther; so the flame of war for larger liberty, kindled f irst o n the shores of A m e r i c a , was destined to lose i tself i n the v astness o f the general conflagration. T h e d octrines set forth i n the Declaration of Independence s truck at the root of existing European i n s t i t u t i o n s     1

  
THE AARON

BURR CONSPIRACY

a mong which were privileged o r d e r s     a n d denied the d ivine r ight of kings. T h e phrase that all men are created equal lent overwhelming impetus to the oncoming F rench Revolution, and made possible the freedom o f the wretched colonies of Spain i n the Western W o r l d . T h e news of the r i s i n g i n E u r o p e t hrilled t he T hirteen C olonies w h i c h had been recently at war for t heir r ights. The tricolor and the cockade became a lmost national emblems, while the mass of the people, w hom the Constitution had sought in a measure to exclude from power, came to feel their weight i n the affairs o f t he nation. In the Spanish-American provinces, because o f the strenuous measures resorted to by the authorities, t he force of the Revolution was much abated; b ut in spite of the H o l y I nquisition the seditious doctrines of the French enthusiasts were disseminated a mong the natives. P resently there were some who, b rooding o ver the condition of their country, began to d irect stirring pamphlets against the iniquities of the S panish G overnment, and to plot for its disruption. S ummary and bloody were the proceedings of the authorities a gainst the conspirators, but n o t h i n g could s tay the spread of the maxims of liberty and equality set i n motion by the g reat R evolution, although at the m oment its crimes appalled the w o r l d .
1 2

I f w e examine into the internal conditions of the c olonial e stablishments of Spain we shall see that e verything was ripe for disunion and rebellion. A
" Ataman's Historia ' Restrepo's i; 55Historia de Mexico, i . , 127. de Nueva Granada,

de la Revolution

  
A BRIEF SURVEY OF T H E PERIOD

3

w riter i n Bell's Messenger, a n influential j o u r n a l of the d ay, said that the Spanish Colonies supported the p arent as Anchises of old was supported by his c h i l d r e n ; b ut that they had become tired of the weight a nd c ared not h o w soon the burden was shuffled off. T h e condition of affairs i n many parts was indeed d eplorable, for the system of government which Spain b ound u pon her colonies was antiquated and i l l adjusted to the progress and necessities of the time. E verywhere absolutism, i n C h u r c h and State, pressed t he superstitious natives f r o m one s tage o f degradation t o a lower. A l m o s t three centuries of Spanish r ule i n the Americas passed before the g ross i njustices i n the prevailing order of things appealed to m en w i t h a force not to be repressed. Once more the m asses w ere a rrayed against privileged classes, and the f ury o f the M e x i c a n s w i t h their pikes at Guanajuato w as not unlike that of the "sans-culottes" w h i c h overturned t he Bastille and inspired the T e r r o r . T h e U n i t e d States, through social and commercial r elations, knew of the insurrections i n the Spanish A mericas and watched the political situation w i t h keen a nd l ively interest. T h i s was but natural, for sentimentalism and revolutionary intoxication completely p ossessed the A m e r i c a n m ind. I t was a radical regime t hat bore T h o m a s Jefferson i n triumph. A r i s t o c r a c y w as spurned; the oligarchy of our early national period w as rudely c ast off, while i n its place was installed v irile, c onfident democracy. T h e sympathy of the y o u n g Republic for the F r e n c h people i n their struggle a gainst the tyranny of E u r o p e was unquestioned; i n -

  
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deed, tyranny i n any quarter excited them to reprobate the existence of kings. I t was i n the West that this madness reached its h eight. The course of political e vents h ad told m i g h t i l y i n m olding the character of the Westerners. Their nearest neighbors were the Spaniards i n L o u i s i a n a , and these, through repressive laws and encroachments, had l ost no opportunity to make life i n the M ississippi V alley u nendurable. T h e S tates l y i n g to the east o f t he Alleghanies, the original U n i o n , c ontributed much i n a n egative way to estrange the Western settlements b y neglecting and i g n o r i n g their interests. W h e n S p a i n confiscated property on the M ississippi t he Westerners b lazed with indignation; and yet Congress seriously c onsidered a treaty which w o u l d have closed the M i s sissippi to their commerce for twenty-five years. T h u s o utraged, the pioneers expressed their feelings through o utspoken petitions to the Assembly of V i r g i n i a a nd to C ongress. Their rights, they declared, were considered b ut subsidies to be traded for commercial concessions t o the E a s t ; they had no market for their corn and p ork; t heir g oods w ere appropriated; the Indians were sent against them: they would end the tyranny by e xpelling the enemy from L o u i s i a n a ! T here followed from 1787 a decade f ull o f confusion a nd intrigues. The most conspicuous movement w as known as the Spanish Association, or Conspiracy, w hose vital principle comprehended the incorporation o f the West with the possessions of Spain. T h i s , however, played an insignificant part i n the course of events, for the people instinctively recoiled at the

  
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5

t hought of becoming subject to a nation and a c ivilizat i o n t hey loathed. I n reality it has never been shown t hat the movement embraced more than a few p oliticians and pensioners of Spain, of w h o m James W i l k i n son w as the chief, not only in point of service, but in t alents. T h e Spanish movement can not have had, f rom t he nature of things, roots that went deep i n I s ociety   the Westerners were bound to the S tates b y u nseverable ties of blood and tradition. W h e n F rance rose against E n g l a n d and Spain, she had the sympathies of the Americans, who were e ven ready to take up arms i n her behalf. Indeed, so tremendous was the force brought to bear on the G overnment that President W a s h i n g t o n hardly w i t h stood i t ; even the devotion of the people to h i m seemed f or a t ime irretrievably lost. A t such a moment ( 1793) G enet, the F r e n c h M inister, l anded i n A m e r i c a . T a k i n g a dvantage of the tide of feeling he equipped p rivateers, harassed the Government and launched a p roject for the invasion of the Spanish Possessions f rom o ur W e s t e r n States. L o u i s i a n a and the F l o r i d a s w ere to be taken and, perhaps, M e x i c o . D u r i n g the s ummer Genet pushed his L o u i s i a n a expedition, w h i c h w as f o r m i n g i n the W e s t under the leadership of G eorge Rogers Clark. U p o n receiving notice to the effect t hat two hundred and fifty men were actually c ollected i n that quarter, Thomas Jefferson, then Secretary of State, appealed to Governor Shelby of K e n - | t ucky for information. T h e Governor admitted the I
1

S e e F r e d e r i c k J . T u r n e r , i n American J u l y , 1898.
1

Historical

Review,

  
6

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presence of French revolutionists, and that C l a r k had received a commission to equip an army which had for its object the clearing of the M ississippi o f the Spaniards; b ut he said that he was powerless to interfere, i nasmuch as every citizen had a right to l eave t he S tate, if he pleased, and to take w i t h h i m arms and a mmunition. T his s urvey of e vents i s necessary to us i f we a re rightly to interpret the A a r o n B u r r C onspiracy. It i s o nly by studying the character of the people, the c onditions under which they lived, and the nature of t heir e nvironment that we can comprehend their feelings and their actions. B u t why should the W e s t h ave been eager to w age a w ar against a neighboring power ? O stensibly it was a movement concerted w i t h France a gainst the enemies of humanity and liberty. There was s till a live in the wilds of the N e w W o r l d s omething of the sentimentalism which had animated the best p eriod o f the g reat R evolution; and some of it, indeed, was d estined to remain i n the A m e r i c a n breast to find i ts ( fruition i n a struggle for the freedom of Cuba, w h i c h \ h ad felt for four centuries the leaden weight of mediasvalism. B ut sympathy for the oppressed is too often associated with   indeed, too often conceals   an i n stinct which rises anew w i t h every generation of A nglo-Saxons. In the m ind o f the Westerners, closelinked w ith their hatred of Spain for her insolence on the one hand and her oppression on the other, came t he longing for her fabulous riches, which they meant sooner or later to take for themselves. W h e n the patience of the trans-Alleghany settlers

  
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7

h ad been well-nigh outworn, Jay's Treaty, coupled w i t h t he victories of " M a d A n t h o n y " W a y n e over the I ndians, b rought relief to the Northwest, while the t reaty w h i c h P i n c k n e y negotiated at M a d r i d ( 1795) p acified t he South and West. Spain at last recognized t he claim of the U n i t e d S tates t o the free navigation of t he M ississippi a nd granted under certain conditions t he right of depositing g oods i n N e w Orleans. T h i s d ropping o f the bars to commercial expansion proved a g reat s timulus to e m i g r a t i o n ; and by the end o f t he century the Westerners, numbering 4 00,000 s ouls, were scattered along the Great Lakes, were g a z i n g across the M ississippi, a nd were c r o w d i n g the b oundary lines of the Floridas. Indeed, no longer were b oundaries sufficient to stay their p r o g r e s s     m a n y p ushed into M i s s o u r i a nd L o u i s i a n a ; but for the present t he goal toward w h i c h all eyes w ere turned was the p ossession of N e w Orleans and the M ississippi. " A t the beginning of the nineteenth century," says R oosevelt, " the settlers on the Western waters recognized i n S pain their natural enemy, because she was the power w hich h eld the South and the west b ank of the M ississippi. T hey would have transferred their hostility to a ny other power which f ell h eir to her possessions, for these possessions they were bound one day to make t heir o wn."
1

S uch a n opinion was shared i n E u r o p e . T h e F r e n c h A mbassador, w r i t i n g to his home Government f r o m Madrid, s a i d :    
2

' R o o s e v e l t ' s Winning of the West, 'American State Papers, x ., 185.

i v., 254.

  
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" The Cabinet of M adrid t hinks it has the greatest i n terests not to open the M ississippi to the Americans, and to disgust them from making establishments on that river, as they would not delay to possess themselves of the commerce of New Orleans and Mexico, whatever impediments should be opposed to their progress, and that they w ould become neighbors the more dangerous to S p a i n     as, e\*2n in their present weakness, they conceive vast projects for the conquest of the we