Timothy Pickering, Salem, Massachusetts, to John Marshall, Washington, D.C., 1826

Containers:

Box 3, Folder 4

Scope and content:

Has read Mr. William Branch Giles's latest article in the Richmond Enquirer on John Quincy Adams, which attributes his John Quincy Adams's "past conversion to Jeffersonism" to "his own personal promotion and aggrandizement;" Giles claims that Adams's message indicated his intentions to introduce unlimited powers into the government, but Pickering disagrees; discusses Adams's policies regarding internal improvements, a national university, and the promotion of agriculture, all of which Washington recommended, and their constitutionality; discusses Giles, his character, and his political ambitions; writes of James Monroe's and William Pinckney's treaty with Great Britain and their letter to Congress, Monroe's bid for the Presidency, and his subsequent reconciliation with Jefferson; mentions Secretary of the State Robert Smith's correspondence with the British Minister Jackson; his resignation, and published defense; discusses the death of Virginian US District Court Judge Cyrus Griffin and the appointment of his successor John Tyler, ex-Governor of Virginia; which was made to make room for Monroe as Governor; Monroe was appointed to the State Department, "the vestibule to the President's Palace," when Smith resigned; discusses Jefferson's motives for not laying the treaty with Great Britain before Congress; concludes with Joseph Hopkinson's thoughts on Jefferson, Madison, and Monroe.

Access and use