B. Leadership
1. Gifts
a) To DAVID HUMPHREYS, June 26, 1797.
“Presents . . . , to me, are of all things the most painful; but I am so well satisfied of the motives which dictated yours my scruples are removed; and I receive the buckles (which are indeed very elegant) as a token of your regard and attachment.”
b) To MRS. MATTHEW ANDERSON, Philadelphia, July 20, 1794.
“It is to an established maxim of mine, not to accept a Present from any one.”
2. Leadership Principles
a) Principles:
(1) To GOV. JONATHAN TRUMBULL, August 30, 1799. “If principles, instead of men, are not the steady pursuit of the Federalists, their cause will soon be at an end.”
b) Making Decisions:
(1) To HENRY KNOX, September 20, 1795.
“If any power on earth could . . . erect the standard of infallibility in political opinions, there is no being . . . that would resort to it with more eagerness than myself, so long as I remain a servant of the public. But as I have found no better guide hitherto, than upright intentions and close investigation, I shall adhere to those maxims, while I keep the watch; leaving it to those who will come after me, to explore new ways, if they like or think them better.”
c) Precedents:
(1) To HENRY LEE, October 31, 1786.
“Precedents are dangerous things.”
d) Discipline and Reward:
(1) To COL. WILLIAM WOODFORD, November 10, 1775.
“Be strict in your discipline; that is . . . require nothing unreasonable of your officers and men, but see that whatever is required be punctually complied with. Reward and punish every man according to his merit, without partiality or prejudice; hear his complaints; if well founded, redress them; if otherwise, discourage them, in order to prevent frivolous ones. Discourage vice in every shape.”
e) Accountability:
(1) To DUKE DE LIANCOURT, August 8, 1796.
“Men in responsible positions cannot, like those in private life, be governed solely by the dictates of their own inclinations, or by such motives as can only affect themselves. . . . A man in public office . . . is accountable for the consequences of his measures to others, and one in private life . . . has no other check than the rectitude of his own action.”
f) Execution of Plans:
(1) To JAMES MCHENRY, Secretary of War, July 13, 1796.
“Let me in a friendly way impress the following maxims upon the Executive Officers. In all important matters, to deliberate maturely, but to execute promptly and vigorously; and not to put things off until the morrow, which can be done and require to be done today. Without an adherence to these rules, business never will be well done, or done in any easy manner, but will always be in arrear, with one thing treading upon the heels of another.”
g.) Enforcement of Rules:
(1) To JOHN JAY, August 1, 1786.
“Experience has taught us, that men will not adopt and carry into execution measures the best calculated for their own good, without the intervention of a coercive power.”
(2) To JAMES MADISON, March 31, 1787.
“Laws or ordinances unobserved, or partially attended to, had better never have been made; because the first is a mere nihil, and the second is productive of much jealousy and discontent.”
h.) Problem Solving:
(1) To MALMEDY, May 16, 1777.
“We ought not to convert trifling difficulties into insuperable obstacles.”
(2) To THE PRESIDENT OF CONGRESS, December 20, 1776.
“Desperate diseases require desperate remedies.”
i.) Power of Example
(1) To LORD STIRLING, March 5, 1780.
“Example, whether it be good or bad, has a powerful influence, and the higher in Rank the officer is, who sets it, the more striking it is.”
j.) Communicative Mission and Vision:
(1) To COL. WILLIAM WOODFORD, November 10, 1775.
