Founding Rivals

by Chris DeRose

  If one man became the personification of the weakness of Congress, it was David Howell. Later, when he had reached the three-year term limit imposed by the Articles of Confederation, Howell nevertheless sought and won re-election. (Rhode Island, always charting its own course, chose its members of Congress by election of the people, not of the legislature.) Congress once again held a debate on the subject of David Howell. The issue seemed straightforward; the Articles limited members’ terms of service to three years within a six-year period. Since all agreed Howell had exceeded the term limit, he was asked to leave.

  Howell not only refused. He became a cause célèbre among opponents of the Confederation throughout the states. With no authority to remove him, Congress had simply embarrassed itself.

  The Howell affair was emblematic of the sorry state of American affairs in 1782. France and the United States were finding it increasingly difficult to negotiate as one. Madison noted the truism: “The closest friends on a rupture are apt to become the bitterest foes.”30

  While Madison watched the impost sink, the debts of the United States, estimated to be about $40 million, continued to mount.31 At the beginning of 1783, two representatives of the army, Ogden and Brooks, came to Congress to try to settle arrears in pay. Ogden and Brooks had come to ensure that with the prospect of peace their concerns and those of their fellow soldiers would still be addressed. Congress first responded by asking what would happen in the event no pay could be advanced. That wasn’t the message Ogden and Brooks were hoping to take back to their battle-hardened, hungry, and apparently forgotten comrades.32 Instead of holding back wages, Congress ordered the Superintendent of Finance to pay the army as soon as possible and then asked the states to turn in their arrearages from August 1780 onward.33 The Articles had given Congress complete accountability without the power to fulfill its monumental responsibilities.

  As the war continued to wind down, George Washington issued a passport to British officials to bring supplies to their prisoners of war held in Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Virginia. The shipment landed at Wilmington, Delaware, and all went as planned until an unfortunate encounter with the sheriff’s department of Chester County, Pennsylvania. The sheriffs ignored Washington’s passport and impounded the wagons. Their ostensible excuse was that the British were planning to sell the goods illegally, rather than use them to aid their starving soldiers in American custody. A committee with Madison at the helm was established to look into the affair. The members of the committee concluded that the only option was to repay the British out of the common treasury. So weak was our national government at the time that it could be thwarted by the greedy sheriff of Chester, Pennsylvania.34

  Virginia, having previously passed the impost bill, suddenly repealed it—costing Madison the high ground in Congress. If the crisis in government finances persisted, he feared that “the foundations of our independence will be laid in injustice and dishonor,” resting as they did upon the backs of unpaid soldiers and other patriots.35 Madison considered other ways to raise the money. A poll tax—a per-person assessment—was forbidden by the Maryland Constitution, and therefore that state legislature could never agree to it. The $40 million dollar debt continued to mount at 6 percent interest. The interest payments alone were $2.4 million each year.36

  Concern that the British might decide to renew the war persisted, and Madison calculated that America would need at least $600,000 to mount any kind of defense. Coupled with the interest on the debt, this made revenue of at least $3 million absolutely necessary.

  Madison considered a number of solutions, including a half dollar tax on a barrel of salt, which was consumed in small amounts by many and “in great quantities by none.” He estimated the salt tax would yield $1 million annually. Another possible source of revenue was a land tax of one dollar per hundred acres, which would bring in $500,000 or perhaps even $1 million. An impost would bring in $500,000, but in the event of peace with Britain, that number could climb to $3 million.

  Madison rejected the idea that states already collecting the impost should have their requisitions reduced accordingly. The states were divided between those supplied by ships and those supplied by land because they lacked deep harbors. Since the impost tax would be passed on to consumers, it would be manifestly unjust to credit the amount collected back to, for example, South Carolina, which received goods into its ports and then exported them to North Carolina, where the citizens would actually foot the bill.37

  Complicating the debate in Congress were the instructions by which various state legislatures had bound their delegations. Delegates in Congress were employees of the state legislatures. In almost every case they were chosen by the legislatures, and they were even paid out of state treasuries. When the state legislatures gave instructions, their delegates in Congress could do no other. Delegates to Congress could be recalled by the states at any time and for any reason, and they needed to be reappointed by the legislatures every year.

  After Congress spent a week in February debating the subject of revenue, Madison felt that “we seem only to have gone round in a circle to the point at which we set out... the only point on which Congress are generally agreed is that something ought to be attempted, but what that something ought to be, is a theorem not solved alike by scarcely any two members.”38 Madison told his family that Congress was just as uncertain as they were about the future of the country: “Every day almost brings forth some fresh rumor.”39

  Congress decided to commit the revenue issue to a committee of five, including Madison and Alexander Hamilton. The committee proposed a 5 percent tax on imports, a 5 percent tax on goods condemned in a court of admiralty (when an individual captured a British ship but then had to bring the cargo to court to gain proper title), and various taxes on salt, wine, sugar, brandy, rum, and tea. The money would be earmarked specifically for the interest and principal on the debt, and the taxes would last for only twenty-five years. To address state concerns about collection, the report included a significant compromise. States could choose the collectors of the impost, who would be removable by Congress. If states attempted to stonewall by not choosing anyone, Congress would have the right to choose instead.

  On March 12, Captain Joshua Barney arrived in Philadelphia, having sailed from France on the ship General Washington. He carried a short letter from Benjamin Franklin indicating that preliminary articles of peace had been signed and would go into effect once France and Britain had concluded terms.40

  The articles of peace themselves came a month later.41 Independence was recognized, and all British claims to the territory of the thirteen states relinquished. Seizures of American vessels would come to an end, and both sides would enjoy reciprocal trade. British forts would be handed over, Americans would have free access to the Atlantic, and there would be a mutual amnesty. British citizens would have their property returned and their pre-war debts honored.42

  Madison must have wondered whether, if the British knew what he knew, they would have agreed to terms so generous. In March of 1782, Washington sent Congress two anonymous fliers that were circulating through the military. One such exhortation called for soldiers to “assemble for the purposes of seeking by other means, that justice which their country showed no disposition to afford them.” The business community, it appeared, was fanning the flames among the army, hoping to incite violence that might result in repayment of commercial creditors.43

  In a Virginia Council of State meeting on April 19, Governor Harrison announced that “a general peace has taken place between the belligerent powers.” The Council ordered the soldiers to be dismissed, their guns to be collected, and the paymaster to compensate them.44 Monroe could not have helped but consider all that he had seen and done leading up to this happy result.

  Matters in Congress were in disarray, but Madison’s personal affairs were taking on a new, more favorable aspect. William Floyd, a congressman from New York and a signer of the Declaration of Independence, boarded with his fami
ly at the Trists’ house along with Madison. His daughter Catherine, or Kitty, was nearing the age of sixteen, when she would be presented to society and eligible for marriage.45

  Before negotiations had been concluded in Europe, it had been proposed to send Jefferson to join the delegation there. Jefferson had traveled to Philadelphia to be ready in case the appointment, which seemed all but certain, came. There he joined his friend Madison in the Trist boarding house.

  The Floyds, Jefferson, Madison, and the other boarders considered themselves “family,” enjoying evenings together filled with interesting conversation and laughter.46 Kitty, though young, was well educated, a woman of “more than usual beauty and of irrepressible vivacity.”47 The charming young woman had an unprecedented effect upon the notoriously stiff and serious Madison, and he had—for the first time in his life—an interest that could compete with his important public duties.

  Madison was in love with Kitty Floyd, and it seemed to all their friends that the object of his affection loved him in return. Jefferson certainly believed this to be the case and was eager to facilitate the match, which, as he wrote to Madison later, would “give me a neighbor whose worth I rate high” and “render you happier than you can possibly be in a single state.”48

  Jefferson raised the issue with Kitty and informed Madison that he “was able to convince [himself] that she possessed every sentiment in your favor which you could wish.” And when peace eliminated the need for Jefferson in Europe and he returned to Virginia, he asked Madison to pay his compliments to “Miss Kitty particularly.”49 Madison was pleased to inform his friend, “Your inference on that subject was not groundless. Before you left us, I had sufficiently ascertained her sentiments. Since your departure the affair has been pursued. Most preliminary arrangements although definitive will be postponed until the end of the year in Congress. At some period of the interval I shall probably make a visit to Virginia.” Jefferson was thrilled at the news of his friend’s engagement.

  At some point, the two lovers walked down the streets of Philadelphia to the studio of artist Charles Willson Peale. He painted miniature portraits, and each was sealed with a lock of the other’s hair. Madison and Kitty exchanged them to be reminders of each other when they were apart.

  Madison must have believed that things could only get better. He was at the height of his influence in Congress. He received his first letter from Washington, recommending one of his majors for an appointment to the delegation at London or Versailles. Addressed to Madison and only one other member of Congress, this letter from the commander in chief is a mark of the recipient’s excellent reputation.50

  A committee that Madison chaired and Hamilton also served on published an “Address to the States” detailing the scope of the debt and the increasing interest and demonstrating what revenue could be expected from approval of the impost. This appeal ended with the encouragement that the money would go to a good cause: it would repay France (which had made the victory possible), individuals in other countries who had believed in the United States, soldiers who had risked their lives, and American patriots who had put their private credit at the service of their country.51

  On April 25, Madison cheerfully recorded in his notes on the proceedings of Congress, “The writer of these notes absent till Monday, May 5.”52 Madison was traveling with William Floyd and his daughters to New Brunswick, New Jersey. The spring weather would have made it a beautiful journey for Madison and his future family. As they passed the town of Princeton, perhaps Madison showed Kitty where he had gone to college and, like a good alumnus, discussed their children following in his footsteps. The girls likely stayed with family in New Brunswick. William Floyd went on to New York to see if he could get access to his estate on Long Island, which had been held by the British since the first days of the war.53 On May 2, Madison headed back to Philadelphia to attend to business and await word from his bride-to-be.54

  Public matters were not going as swimmingly as Madison’s private affairs. A regiment of one hundred men under the command of Colonel George Baylor mutinied and marched from South Carolina to their home state of Virginia to obtain redress for their grievances. Governor Harrison wrote the delegates in Congress, “They really are a band of heroes, who have performed a great and meritorious service, and I am satisfied would not have taken this rash step if their sufferings had not been very great.”55

  Madison was encouraged by friends in Virginia to continue his service in Congress. He politely declined. “Staying in Congress does not coincide with my plans following November,” he wrote.56 Madison had now been working for three years on the business of his country. The Articles of Confederation limited terms in Congress to three years of service out of any six-year period. Still, the Articles had not been ratified by all states until March of 1781. Congress had conducted itself as though bound by them prior to that date, yet there was legitimate disagreement about when the term limits had officially gone into effect. But having left so much undone in Congress, and aware of the indispensible role he played there, Madison would likely not have stepped down had he not believed himself to be term-limited from continuing to serve.

  On June 7, 1783, James Monroe was selected by the legislature to replace James Madison in Congress.57 For a one-year term (not to begin until the fall) Monroe would join his uncle Joseph Jones, his mentor Thomas Jefferson, and his best friend John Mercer in the Virginia delegation. 58 A more exciting entrée to national politics was scarcely imaginable for the twenty-five-year-old veteran. Monroe’s career was following the same path as Madison’s: service in the House of Delegates, on the Council of State, and in Congress.

  Meanwhile, on June 19, unrest in the army boiled over when eighty soldiers entered the city of Philadelphia, captured the arsenal, and surrounded the Pennsylvania State House, pointing their muskets menacingly in the windows of Congress. Inside, the members frantically discussed what should be done while outside the soldiers drank heavily and cursed loudly.59 There was some concern that the soldiers might kidnap and ransom members of Congress or loot the national bank. Members who dared to step outside were confronted by the angry soldiers .60

  State governments were little help. The executive of Pennsylvania refused to provide assistance or call the militia for Congress’s protection. For their own safety, members of Congress fled to Princeton like common deadbeats. After this shameful incident, Washington wrote a letter to the executive of each state begging for some kind of action to provide justice for his men. But even in Virginia the legislature adjourned without taking action on his request.

  While Pennsylvania was offering Congress little support, Virginia had been hard at work on a proposal to make Williamsburg the national capital. The Virginia legislature offered $100,000 to build thirteen hotels, a presidential palace, the capitol, and all the public buildings. In Williamsburg, or anywhere along the Potomac River, Virginia would cede five miles square to the national government.61 Their first proposal had been made earlier, on April 10. Along with Maryland, they offered to cede a “small tract of territory... in the neighborhood of George Town on Potowmack.”62 Madison believed this was the best course of action, “to unite” with Maryland “in offering a double jurisdiction.”

  Nearly every Virginian of importance was eager to have the capital, but Pendleton was an exception: “No doubt there are advantages in the great circulation of money wherever Congress sit, yet I am not so old fashioned to think that overbalanced by another thing which circulates with it and need not be named.… I doubt if Philadelphia would not have a good bargain to give up all advantages on this head to be restored to the morals her citizens possessed in 1775.”63 In the end, Annapolis, Maryland, was chosen as the next capital of the Confederation.

  Madison’s thoughts were firmly fixed on the next stage of his life—his marriage, and his return to Virginia. Madison would not join his colleagues in Princeton for the remainder of the session before July 1, and he wrote, “[M]y preparations for leaving Congress wi
ll keep me much of the remainder of my time.”64 His near perfect attendance now became a near perfect absence. Madison was always sure, however, to be present when his vote would be decisive.

  Ironically, the government of the United States was now housed in Nassau Hall of the College of New Jersey in Princeton, where Madison had lived and learned for three years. Congress met in the very library where Madison had poured himself into his studies. When Madison was in Princeton to attend Congress, he was forced to share a room of ten square feet, with a bed and no desk, with Joseph Jones while his belongings remained in Philadelphia. He began one letter from Princeton, “My situation here for writing is so incommodious, that you must excuse my brevity.”65 The dorms, it seemed, were not now as livable as they seemed when he was “perfectly pleased” with his “three years confinement” as a college student.

  On July 28, Madison wrote of “a disappointment in some circumstances which must precede my setting out for Virginia.”66 Kitty, it seemed, had failed to write as expected—or worse yet, had said something in a letter to create uncertainty in the engagement.

  But the days during which America was suspended between two possible futures were over, and those days would soon be over for Madison as well.

  Chapter Five

  THE TEDIOUS SESSIONS

  “Of all machines, ours is the most complicated and inexplicable.”