220 



JKFFERSON 



John Dickinson, who deemed a rupture \vilh the 

 mother country, at that moment, rash and premature. 

 September 2, 1776, Mr Jefferson retired from his seat 

 in congress, and, on the 7th of October, took his 

 place in the legislature of Virginia, of which he had 

 been elected a member from his county. In this 

 situation, he was indefatigable in his labours to im- 

 prove the imperfect constitution of the state, which 

 had been recently and hastily adopted, before a 

 draught of one which he hud formed on the purest 

 principles of republicanism, had reached the conven- 

 tion, which was deliberating at Richmond. The 

 chief service which he performed was as a member 

 of a commission for revising the laws, consisting, 

 besides himself, of Edmund 1'endleton, George Wythe, 

 (Jeorge Mason, and Thomas Ludwell Lee, by whom 

 no less than 126 bills were prepared, from which are 

 derived all the most liberal features of the existing 

 laws of the commonwealth. The sliare of Mr Jefler- 

 son in this great task was prominent and laborious. 

 June 1, 1779, he was chosen the successor of Mr 

 Henry, in the office of governor of the state, and 

 continued in it for two years, at the end of which 

 period he resigned, " from a belief," as he says, 

 " that, under the pressure of the invasion under 

 which we were then labouring, the public would 

 have more confidence in a military chief, and that 

 the military commander being invested with the civil 

 power also, both might be wielded with more energy, 

 promptitude and effect, for the defence of the state. 1 ' 

 General Nelson was appointed in his stead. Two days 

 after his retirement from the government, he nar- 

 rowly escaped capture by the enemy, a troop of horse 

 having been despatched to Monticello, where he was 

 residing, for the purpose of making him prisoner. 

 He was breakfasting, when a neighbour rode up at 

 full speed with the intelligence that the troop was 

 descending a neighbouring hill. He first sent off his 

 family in a carriage, and after a short delay for some 

 indispensable arrangements, mounted his horse, and 

 taking a course through the woods, joined them at 

 the house of a friend a flight in which it would be 

 difficult to discern any thing dishonourable, although 

 it has been made the subject of sarcasm and reproach 

 without end , by the spirit of party. 



June 15, 1781, Mr Jefferson was appointed mini- 

 ster plenipotentiary, in conjunction with others, to 

 negotiate a peace then expected to be effected, 

 through the mediation of the empress of Russia ; but 

 he declined, for the same reason that had induced 

 him, in 1776, to decline also the appointment of a 

 commissioner, with doctor Franklin, to go to France 

 in order to negotiate treaties of alliance and commerce 

 with that government. On both occasions, the state 

 of his family was such that he could not leave it, and 

 he " could not expose it to the dangers of the sea, and 

 of capture by the British ships, then covering the 

 ocean." He saw, too, that " the labouring oar was 

 really at home," especially at the time of his first 

 appointment. But, in November, 1782, congress, 

 having received assurance that a general peace would 

 be concluded in the winter and spring, renewed the 

 offer which they had made the previous year; and 

 this time it was accepted ; but the preliminary arti- 

 cles being agreed upon before he left the country, 

 he returned to Monticello, and was chosen (June 6, 

 1783) a member of congress. It was during the 

 session at Annapolis, that, in consequence of Mr Jef- 

 ferson's proposal, an executive committee was formed, 

 called the committee of the states, consisting of a 

 member from each state. Previously, executive and 

 legislative functions were both imposed upon con- 

 gress ; and it was to obviate the bad effects of this 

 junction, that Mr Jefferson's proposition was adopted. 

 Success, however, did not attend the plan ; the mem- 



bers composing the committee quarrelled, and, finding 

 it impossible, on account of their altercations, to fulfil 

 their duties, they abandoned their post, after a short 

 period, and thus left the government without any visi- 

 ble head, during the adjournment of congress. May 

 7, 1784, congress having resolved to appoint another 

 minister, in addition to Mr Adams and doctor Frank- 

 lin, for negotiating treaties of commerce with foreign 

 nations, selected Mr Jefferson, who accordingly sailed 

 from Boston July 5, and arrived in Paris August 6. 

 Doctor Franklin was already there, and Mr Adams 

 having, soon after, joined them, they entered upon 

 the duties of their mission. They were not very suc- 

 cessful, however, in forming the desired commercial 

 treaties, and, after some reflection and experience, it 

 was thought better not to urge them too strongly, 

 but to leave such regulations to flow voluntarily 

 from the amicable dispositions and the evident inter- 

 ests of the several nations. In June, 1785, Mr 

 Adams repaired to London, on being appointed mini- 

 ster plenipotentiary at the court of St James, and, 

 in July, doctor Franklin returned to America, and 

 Mr Jefferson was named his successor at Paris. In 

 the February of 1786, he received a pressing letter 

 from Mr Adams, requesting him to proceed to Lon- 

 don immediately, as symptoms of a better disposition 

 towards America were beginning to appear in the 

 British cabinet, than had been manifested since the 

 treaty of peace. On this account, he left Paris in 

 the following March, and, on his arrival in London, 

 agreed with Mr Adams on a very summary form of 

 treaty,proposing "an exchange of citizenship for our ci- 

 tizens, our ships, and our productions generally, except 

 as to office." At the usual presentation, however, 

 to the king and queen, both Mr Adams and himself 

 were received in the most ungracious manner, and, 

 after a few vague and ineffectual conferences, he re- 

 turned to Paris. Here he remained, with the excep- 

 tion of a visit to Holland, to Piedmont, and the south of 

 France, until the autumn of 1789, zealously pursuing 

 whatever was beneficial to his country. September 

 26 of that year, he left Paris for Havre, and, cross- 

 ing over to Cowes, embarked for the United States. 

 November 23, he landed at Norfolk, Va., and, whilst 

 on his way home, received a letter from president 

 Washington, covering the appointment of secretary 

 of state, under the new constitution which was jusl 

 commencing its operation. He soon afterwards 

 received a second letter from the same quarter, giving 

 him the option of returning to France, in his ministe- 

 rial capacity, or of accepting the secretaryship, but 

 conveying a strong intimation of desire that he 

 would choose the latter office. This communication 

 was produced by a letter from Mr Jefferson to the 

 president, in reply to the one first written, in which 

 he had expressed a decided inclination to go back to 

 the French metropolis. He then, however, consented 

 to forego his preference, and, March 2 1, arrived in 

 New York, where congress was in session, and im- 

 mediately entered upon the duties of his post. It 

 would be altogether inconsistent with our limits to 

 give a minute account of the rest of Mr Jeffer- 

 son's political life. This could not be done without 

 writing the history of the United States for a certain 

 period. We must, therefore content ourselves with 

 stating that he continued to fill the secretaryship of 

 state, until the 31st of December, 1793, when he 

 resigned. From that period until February, 1797, 

 he lived in retirement. In this year he was elected 

 vice-president of the United States, and, in 1801, was 

 chosen president, by a majority of one vote over his 

 competitor, Mr Adams. At the expiration of eight 

 years, he again retired to private life, from which he 

 never afterwards emerged. The rest of his life was 

 passed at Monticello, which was a continued scene 



