a) To JAMES MONROE, August 25, 1796.
“I have always given it as my decided opinion, that no nation had a right to intermeddle in the internal concerns of another; that every one had a right to form and adopt whatever government they liked best to live under themselves.”
b) To PATRICK HENRY, October 9, 1795.
“My ardent desire is, and my aim has been . . . to comply strictly with all our engagements, foreign and domestic; but to keep the United States free from political connexions with every other country, to see them independent of all and under the influence of none. In a word, I want an American character, that the powers of Europe may be convinced we act for ourselves, and not for others. This, in my judgment, is the only way to be respected abroad and happy at home; and not, by becoming the partisans of Great Britain or France, create dissensions, disturb the public tranquility, and destroy perhaps for ever, the cement which binds the union.”
c) To WILLIAM HEATH, May 20, 1797.
“No policy, in my opinion, can be more clearly demonstrated, than that we should do justice to all, and have no political connexion with any of the European powers beyond those, which result from and serve to regulate our commerce with them.”
d) To EARL OF BUCHAN, April, 22, 1793.
“I believe it is the sincere wish of United America to have nothing to do with the political intrigues, or the squabbles, of European nations; but, on the contrary, to exchange commodities and live in peace and amity with all the inhabitants of the earth.”
11. National Debt
a) FAREWELL ADDRESS, September 19, 1796
“As a very important source of strength and security, cherish public credit. One method of preserving it is to use it as sparingly as possible: avoiding occasions of expence by cultivating peace, but remembering also that timely disbursements to prepare for danger frequently prevent much greater disbursements to repel it; avoiding likewise the accumulation of debt, not only by shunning occasions of expence, but by vigorous exertions in time of Peace to discharge the Debts which unavoidable wars may have occasioned, not ungenerously throwing upon posterity the burthen which we ourselves ought to bear. The execution of these maxims belongs to your Representatives, but it is necessary that public opinion should cooperate.”
12. National Interest
a) To HENRY LAURENS, Fredericksburgh, November 14, 1778.
“I am heartily disposed to entertain the most favourable sentiments of our new ally and to cherish them in others to a reasonable degree; but it is a maxim founded on the universal experience of mankind, that no nation is to be trusted farther than it is bound by its interest; and no prudent statesman or politician will venture to depart from it. In our circumstances we ought to be particularly cautious; for we have not yet attained sufficient vigor and maturity to recover from the shock of any false step into which we may unwarily fall.”
b) To PRESIDENT JOSEPH REED, Head Quarters, Bergen County, July 4, 1780. “In general I esteem it a good maxim, that the best way to preserve the confidence of the people durably is to promote their true interest.”
13. Nominations
a) To JAMES McHENRY, Philadelphia, April 8, 1794.
“I have experienced the necessity in a variety of instances, of hardening my heart against indulgences of my warmest inclination and friendship; and from a combination of causes, as well as more fitness of character, to depart from first impressions and first intentions with regard to nominations; which has proved most unequivocally, the propriety of the maxim I had adopted, of never committing myself, until the moment the appointment is to be made; when from the best information I can obtain, and a full view of circumstances, my judgment is formed.”
14. Peace
a) To FIELDING LEWIS, Morris-Town, May 5[-July 6], 1780.
“We shall never have Peace till the enemy are convinced that we are in a condition to carry on the War. It is no new maxim in politics that for a nation to obtain Peace, or insure it, It must be prepared for War.”
b) To THE PRESIDENT OF CONGRESS, Head Qurs., Orange Town,
August 20, 1780. “Many circumstances will contribute to a negotiation. An Army on foot not only for another Campaign but for several Campaigns, would determine the enemy to pacific measures, and enable us to insist upon favourable terms in forcible language. An Army insignificent in numbers, dissatisfied, crumbling into pieces, would be the strongest temptation they could have to try the experiment a little longer. It is an old maxim, that the surest way to make a good peace is to be well prepared for War.”
c) To JAMES McHENRY, Philadelphia, December 11, 1781.
“You know it is an old and true Maxim that to make a good peace, you ought to be well prepared to carry on the War.”
d) To JONATHAN BOUCHER, August 15, 1798.
“Peace with all the world is my sincere wish.”
e) To GOUVERNEUR MORRIS, June 25, 1794.
“My primary objects, to which I have steadily adhered, have been to preserve the country in peace if I can, and to be prepared for war if I cannot; to effect the first, upon terms consistent with the respect which is due to ourselves, and with honor, justice, and good faith to all the world.”
15. Public Good
a) To JOHN JAY, Head Quarters, Middle brook, April 14, 1779.
“Conscious that it is the aim of my actions to promote the public good, and that no part of my conduct is influenced by personal enmity to individuals, I cannot be insensible to the artifices employed by some men to prejudice me in the public esteem.”
16. Respect
a) To BENEDICT ARNOLD, September 14, 1775.
“As the contempt of the religion of a country by ridiculing any of its ceremonies, or affronting its ministers or votaries, has ever been deeply resented, you are to be particularly careful to restrain every officer and soldier from such imprudence and folly, and to punish every instance of it. On the other hand, as far as lies in your power, you are to protect and support the free exercise of the religion of the country, and the undisturbed enjoyment of the rights of conscience in religious matters, with your utmost influence and authority.”
b) To LAFAYETTE, August 15, 1787.
“Being no bigot myself, I am disposed to indulge the professors of Christianity in the church with that road to Heaven, which to them shall seem most direct, plainest, easiest and least liable to exception.”
c) To the HEBREW CONGREGATION OF NEWPORT, August, 1790.
“It is now no more that toleration is spoken of, as if it was by the indulgence of one class of people that another enjoyed the exercise of their inherent natural rights. For happily the Government of the United States, which gives to bigotry no sanction, to persecution no assistance, requires only that those who live under its protection should demean themselves as good citizens, in giving it, on all occasions their effectual support. . . .May the Father of Mercies scatter light and not darkness on our paths, and makes us all, in our several vocations useful here, and in his own due time and way everlastingly happy.”
d) To THOMAS JEFFERSON, August 23, 1792.
“Without more charity for the opinions and acts of one another in governmental matters, or some more infallible criterion by which the truth of speculative opinions, before they have undergone the test of experience, are to be fore-judged, . . . I believe it will be difficult, if not impracticable, to manage the reins of government.”
17. Republic
a) To LAFAYETTE, September 1, 1778.
“In a free and republican government, you cannot restrain the voice of the multitude. Every man will speak as he thinks.”
b) To EDMUND PENDLETON, January 22, 1795.
“Republicanism is not the phantom of a deluded imagination. On the contrary, . . . under no form of government, will laws be better supported, liberty and property better secured, or happiness be more effectually dispensed to mankind.”
18. War
a) To BENEDICT ARNOLD, September 14, 1775.
“Prisoners . . . you will treat with as much humanity and kindness, as may be consistent with your own safety and the public interest. Be very particular in restraining . . .your . . . troops . . . from all acts of cruelty and insult, which will disgrace the American arms.”
b) To BOARD OF WAR, November 30, 1776.
