by Ron Carter
“I think the Almighty had an interest in it.” He stopped, considered for a moment, and remained silent, waiting for Jefferson. There was scarcely a pause or a change in Jefferson’s expression as he shifted directions.
“I take it you are married?”
“Yes. One child.” Matthew paused for a moment.
“I think you previously said you went into the carrying trade—ships—following the surrender. Is that correct?”
“Yes.”
“Boston?”
“Yes.”
“You mentioned a problem with a ship on the Potomac?”
“Yes, sir. Our ship—the Jessica—seized for taxes on the Potomac River by both the state of Virginia and the state of Maryland.”
For the first time Jefferson sat back in his chair and for a moment his eyes wandered over the stacks of paperwork and books and pads of drawings on his desk. “You shouldn’t have to pay taxes to both states.”
Matthew came erect and his expression sharpened. “Your experience—governor, legislator, in Congress—I hoped that you could advise us what to do about it.”
“Us? You have a partner?”
“Yes. Billy Weems. He also served in the war. Billy was badly wounded at the Concord affair and fought in most major battles through Yorktown, where he led a company when they stormed Redoubt Number Ten. He was a lieutenant at the time of his discharge and is skilled in accounts and business.”
Jefferson reflected for a moment. “I suspect you operate the ships while he handles the business?”
“That’s our agreement.”
“Then you both must be aware of the chaotic state of affairs this country is in right now. I mean, both Congress and the various states issuing their own paper money—most of it worthless—the lack of hard specie, the French and British and Spanish limiting and cutting into our foreign trade, bankruptcies, bank closures, border disagreements between the states, taxes, tariffs, battles over river rights, good men out of work.” He gestured with his hands as he spoke.
“I know about some of it, sir. It’s my deepest concern. We fought a war to be free, and now we’re learning that perhaps freedom is more difficult than the shooting.”
Matthew was aware his words had reached deep into Jefferson, but was unaware why. Matthew went on.
“I should also say that last month—March—another of our ships, the Rebecca, loaded Virginia tobacco in the port of Jamestown. Four days before they were to sail with the tides, the port taxing authority told our captain there had been a three percent increase in the export tariff on tobacco. They seized the ship.”
Matthew stopped to weigh his words before he went on. “We had prepared to pay the acknowledged five percent tariff we knew about, but not the added three percent. The port authorities were ready to put the ship up for sale to collect the tax and ordered ten Virginia militiamen to guard her. Our crew took the ten captive and sailed the Rebecca out, to New York. After we collected the money for the cargo, we paid the ten militiamen dockhand wages for the days we had them, paid their ship passage back to Jamestown, and sent the three percent added export tariff with them. I thought you should know that.”
A look of concern crossed Jefferson’s face, then turned to a smile of admiration. “Were you there?”
“No, sir, I was on the Potomac, trying to get possession of the Jessica.”
“The Captain of the Rebecca was so intrepid?”
Matthew looked down at his hands in his lap. “Not exactly. The plan came from my brother. Caleb Dunson.”
Jefferson beamed. “You have a rebel brother?”
Matthew smiled back at him. “It appears so, sir.”
“Well, a little rebellion now and then is not necessarily a bad thing.” Jefferson sobered. “Obviously, your need is to regain possession of your ship, Jessica.”
“I hoped you could advise us.”
Thoughtfully Jefferson picked up his quill for a moment, handled it, and laid it back down. “I have the feeling you are not here to be solicited. Patronized. My sense of it is you’ve come here to get the best I can give you, whether it be good or bad.”
The frankness caught Matthew by total surprise. “Correct.”
“To do that I think I must begin with the problem that lies at the root of most of the trouble that is leading the country toward self-destruction. Do you have the time?”
“Yes.”
Jefferson stood and began to pace behind his desk, gesticulating, gesturing with his hands, his face charged with passion as he spoke.
“The thirteen states are bound together by the Articles of Confederation. Congress convenes under authority of that document. The affairs of government at the congressional level are absolutely limited to the grant of power set forth in the Articles, and therein lies the fatal flaw.”
He stopped pacing to fix Matthew with glowing eyes. “The Articles grant Congress no power to regulate affairs between the states. No powers to tax. No power to regulate commerce. No rules, no policies, no power to set out uniform laws to govern contracts. No authorized establishment to enforce a single Congressional law! Nothing!”
Jefferson thrust a long finger upward. “The single grant of power the Articles vest in Congress to control disputes between the states is in Article Number Nine, and it is limited to disputes over borders and territory. It does not address disputes over rivers, and I doubt Congress would be willing to interpret it to stretch that far. Do you know what it says?”
“Not entirely, sir.”
“It says Congress can appoint a committee! A committee! The committee will consist of representatives from the two contesting states, and other who have no interest in the outcome. They will hear both sides of the argument, and then they will make a decision. That sounds all well and good, until the question arises, what powers do the Articles vest in Congress to enforce the decision of the committee?”
For a moment Jefferson’s jaw clenched. “None! Absolutely none! Should either state refuse to abide by the decision, there is nothing Congress, or the committee, or the other state can do about it.”
He stopped and sat back down, leaning forward on his forearms. “Therein is the problem. We have created a government but denied it the power to govern!”
Silence held for a few moments while Matthew allowed Jefferson’s impassioned words to settle in, and then he asked, “Why haven’t the Articles been amended?”
Jefferson threw a hand in the air. “We tried! In 1783. The proposal was to grant Congress the power to tax and to regulate commerce between the states and to arbitrate disputes over the rivers and the borders. Twelve states were in total agreement! But the Articles require the thirteen states be unanimous. Rhode Island defeated the entire proposal by their single vote against it!”
Matthew was incredulous. “One state defeated the vote of twelve?”
“It did!”
“Who was responsible for the provision requiring all thirteen?”
Again Jefferson became animated. “One must understand, the Articles of Confederation were the best that could be drafted at the time. That was 1776 and 1777. You have to know, as weak as they are, they were the result of generations of learning the principles of self-government. No foreign state in the world had either the experience or the vision of the Americans when they drafted the Articles. We’ve learned much from those experiences, and probably the greatest lesson is how weak they are—the basic concept is sound, but the detail almost defeats it.”
Matthew leaned forward, caught up in Jefferson’s thoughts. “What do you mean, America was the country with the most experience in self- government?”
Jefferson turned and made a sweeping gesture to the shelves of books and documents. “It’s all there. Beginning in the seventeenth century. States banding together for their common good—protection against the Indians and French, commerce, survival, food—many reasons. Finally the representatives of the colonies convened in Albany. They appointed a committee that included Benjamin Fran
klin to draft a proposal for a permanent union. Dr. Franklin was on the committee because he had been working on such a plan since 1751. They appointed him to draft the final document. He did, it was approved, and then the Albany Congress dissolved.”
Matthew sat astonished, his mind reeling with the flood of information coming from Jefferson.
“That plan proposed a government with authority to operate directly on the citizens, without interference from the colonies. The colonies rejected it for that very reason—they feared any form of government that ran contrary to their traditional concept of the local assemblies being responsible to the people. The principle, as they saw it, was simple. Government closest to the people is the best. What they have not yet accepted is the lesson those early experiences tried to teach us. If we are to have a union—a nation—of all thirteen states, that union must be clothed with sufficient power to sustain itself. That means the power to tax, and the power to create and enforce all matters of common concern to the several states. Commerce, contracts, borders, navigation—all of it.”
Matthew’s mind was racing. Jefferson relaxed for a time, then said, “So you see, the simple question of how you are to take possession of your ship in the Potomac is really a part—small, but a part nonetheless—of a great flaw in the very weak document we call our Articles of Confederation. Worse, and quite paradoxically, the answer has not yet been created. As we sit here today, there is not a man alive who can give you a reliable solution.”
For a time Matthew sat staring at Jefferson while his brain reached beyond any limits he had ever known in his thoughts on what was happening all around him. His voice croaked when he tried to speak, and he started again.
“You know of no way I can get the Jessica?”
Slowly Jefferson shook his head. “None. Absolutely none, unless you pay the taxes to both Virginia and Maryland. And that, sir, is unconscionable.”
“You mentioned a committee that could be formed under Article Nine?”
“Yes. But by its own language, it does not address disputes concerning rivers. You can file your complaint with Congress. They will appoint such a committee, and the committee will first decide if they have jurisdiction of rivers. If by some chance they think they do, they will hear the case, and issue a written decision. All told, that will take between twelve and eighteen months. Then if either state, or yourself, refuses to abide by the committee’s decision, nothing will be done because no one is vested with power to enforce it. That is the only remedy of which I am aware and, sir, if I were in your position, I doubt I would proceed with it because I doubt Article Nine includes rivers.”
“So there’s nothing to be done, except pay the double tax?”
“I know of no other practical way. I’m sorry. There is one thing I can share with you. Less than three weeks ago I was approached by James Madison—Congressman Madison—who very sensibly suggested that both states—Virginia and Maryland—appoint a committee to meet and create a workable compromise of their competing claims. Both states have agreed and are now working on appointing the committees. It’s far too early to predict the outcome, but I thought you should know that everything possible is being done to settle the dilemma.”
For a moment hope rose in Matthew. “How soon will they meet?”
Jefferson shook his head. “With good luck, within a year.”
Matthew shook his head. “Too late.”
There was a look of frustrated sadness as Jefferson nodded. “I’m afraid so.”
Matthew placed his hands on his knees to rise. “I’ve taken too much of your time. I want to thank you for your forthrightness, sir.”
“It was my pleasure to meet you.”
Before he rose, Matthew pointed to the stack of several large diagrams on the edge of Jefferson’s desk. “If I may ask, those appear to be maps of the east coast. Canada to Florida. But I don’t recognize the lines extending to the west.”
Jefferson lifted the top one and spread it before Matthew. “You recognize the thirteen states?”
“Yes.”
“Those lines extending west are proposals for new states. The British granted us all claims to the lands as far as the Mississippi River. Some of our leading citizens are preparing proposals for developing those lands.”
Matthew’s mouth dropped open for a second. “New states? Already?”
“See here.” Jefferson pointed. “This map proposes several new states, including one to be called ‘Franklin.’ Benjamin Franklin did not create this. That was done by some settlers in the western sections of North Carolina.” Jefferson stopped to smile. “Dr. Franklin was embarrassed when he heard about it.”
He spread another map. “Here we have proposals for states to be called Kentucky, Ohio, and Indiana.” He reached for another from the stack. “Proposals for the states of Michigania, Assenisipia, Illinoia, Polypotamia, Metropotamia, Saratoga, and Washington.”
He reached for yet another map. “Here are proposals for fourteen states yet unnamed, my best efforts at being evenhanded in colonizing our newly acquired empire from the British. This map settles the ongoing battle between Pennsylvania and at least two other states about the Wyoming Valley.” He pointed. “The rich land here, bordering Pennsylvania. Too many people have laid claim to that vast valley.”
For a time Matthew stood, leaned forward, studying the detail of the various proposals, realizing for the first time that Jefferson was seeing a vision for America that reached generations into the future. His mind was reeling with the vastness of the concept. The grasp of history. The lessons to be learned from hard-won experience. Correct principles of government. Westward expansion. New states. Economics. Philosophy. Were there any limits on this man’s reach?
He straightened. “I didn’t know such plans were being made.”
“They are.” Jefferson sat down. “It occurs to me there are one or two other things we might profitably discuss. Could I take a little more of your time?”
Matthew was dumbfounded. “Yes.”
For several moments Jefferson remained silent as he set his thoughts in order.
“I raise the following points with a purpose in mind, and we shall come to that purpose quite soon.
“I have long sensed that this country has been steadily moving away from the traditional concepts of society. Are you aware that every country in Europe is absolutely entombed in a system of social strata from which no one escapes? Basically, the aristocracy, the middle class, and the desperate poor? In some countries the layers of society are so well-defined that to be born into any one of them is to die in the same one. Denmark, for example. Nine layers of society, and no escape from any of them.”
Matthew was concentrating intensely.
“To preserve their position of luxury and power, the highest of these social strata have developed the laws of entail and primogeniture. Basically the law of entail provides that estates and fortunes must pass from one generation of the aristocracy to the next. It can never pass outside the family bloodlines.”
Jefferson paused before going on. “The law of primogeniture provides that if an aristocrat should die without a will, all of his estate—the entirety of it—must pass to his eldest male descendant, and to no one else. Should he have more than one child, those born after his first son receive nothing.”
Again he paused. “Think on it. The wealth and power must remain within family bloodlines, and should an aristocrat die without a will, the entire estate goes to his eldest son. By any and all means necessary, preserve the money and the power to the aristocracy! Merit, virtue, talent, ability—all irrelevant.”
Matthew saw the deep rebellion arise in Jefferson. “I detest it! There is a natural aristocracy, and it is based on virtue and talent. It is to be found in all levels, all classes of people. That is the truest form of aristocracy. It has nothing to do with lineage or bloodlines. Great and good persons are found among the humble and lowly as quickly as among the privileged.”
Again Jefferson pa
used to set his thoughts in order. “There is one other conclusion I have reached. I am committed forever against anything that attempts to limit the natural right of men to worship their God as to their conscience seems fit. I do not believe government in any of its forms has the right to interfere or dictate how a man shall worship.”
He stopped and looked into Matthew’s eyes, waiting for a response, but Matthew remained silent. Jefferson went on.
“Should I be granted the time and power, I will do everything possible to raise this country far above the evils of the European societies, which by their structure limit and destroy the gifted who are born to humble beginnings. I will support laws which reward virtue, not wealth and power. The laws of entail and primogeniture must be abolished. And no man should be required to sacrifice his conscience regarding his Creator at the whim of his government, nor should he be required by his government to accept membership in a faith that is contrary to his inner self. I will fight those evils until my death.”
Matthew was not moving. Jefferson stopped for a moment, then pointed to a small corner desk on which were two heavy stacks of papers.
“With George Wythe and Edmund Pendleton, I was authorized to rewrite and simplify the laws of the state of Virginia. Most of it is there in those papers.”
Matthew was stunned. “All the laws? You three have rewritten all the laws of Virginia?”
“Nearly all. The original laws were based on principles that offended justice and the natural rights of mankind. That is all to be changed.”
Matthew could find no words with which to respond, and Jefferson went on.
“Now I state my purpose for laying these thoughts before you. You see, there are citizens in most states—Massachusetts in your case—who are considering promoting a committee that has nothing to do with any government institution. It will draw upon groups and individuals on a volunteer basis. It is to be called the Committee of Correspondence. The purpose of the committee is to keep the public informed of current political developments. Write letters. Publish articles in the newspapers. Enlighten the public of all that is being done in the world of government and politics.”