Congress, at their last session, of the enterprises against the public peace which were believed to be in preparation by Aaron Burr and his associates; of the measures taken to defeat them, and to bring the offenders to justice." 1808.-Nov. 8. "The communications made to Congress at their last session explained the posture in which the close of the discussion relative to the attack by a British ship of war on the frigate Chesapeake' left a subject on which the nation had manifested so honorable a sensibility. Every view of what had passed authorized a belief that immediate steps would be taken by the British Government for redressing a wrong, which, the more it was investigated, appeared the more clearly to require what had not been provided for in the special mission. It is found that no steps have been taken for the purpose. On the contrary, it will be seen in the documents laid before you that the inadmissible preliminary which obstructed the adjustment is still adhered to, and, moreover, that it is now brought into connection with the distinct and irrélative case of the orders in council. With our Indian neighbors ... the public peace has been steadily maintained. Of the gunboats authorized, it has been thought necessary to build only a hundred and three in the present year. . . . Considering the extraordinary character of the times in which we live, our attention should unremittingly be fixed on the safety of the country. For a people who are free, and who mean to remain so, a well organized and armed militia is their best security. . . . Availing myself of this, the last occasion which will occur of addressing the two houses, I cannot omit the expression of my sincere gratitude for the repeated proofs of confidence manifested to me by themselves and their predecessors since my call to the administration, and the many indulgences experienced at their hands. The same grateful acknowledgments are due to my fellow-citizens generally, whose support has been my great encouragement under all embarrassments. Retiring from the charge of their affairs, I carry with me the consolation of a firm persuasion that Heaven has in store for our beloved country long ages to come of prosperity and happiness. "THOMAS JEFFERSON." PRESIDENT: JAMES MADISON, VIRGINIA. VICE-PRESIDENTS: GEORGE CLINTON, NEW YORK. SECRETARIES OF STATE: 1809.-ROBERT SMITH, Maryland. 1811.- JAMES MONROE, Virginia. SECRETARIES OF THE TREASURY: 1809.- ALBERT GALLATIN, Pennsylvania. 1814.-G. W. CAMPBELL, Tennessee. .— Alexander J. DALLAS, Pennsylvania. 1814. SECRETARIES OF WAR: 1809.-WILLIAM EUSTIS, Massachusetts. 1813. JOHN ARMSTRONG, New York. 1814. -JAMES MONROE, Virginia. 1815. 1809. WM. H. CRAWFORD, Georgia. SECRETARIES OF THE NAVY: 1814. BENJAMIN W. CROWNINSHIELD, Massachusetts. POSTMASTERS-GENERAL: 1809.- -GIDEON GRANGER, Connecticut. 1814.-R. J. MEIGS, Ohio. ATTORNEYS-GENERAL: 1809. - CESAR A. RODNEY, Delaware. CONTEMPORANEOUS ENGLISH HISTORY. George III., King of England. Mr. Spencer Perceval, Prime-Minister, 1810 to 1812. (Assassinated May 11.) Lord Liverpool, Prime-Minister, 1812 to 1817. Peninsular War, American War, and Waterloo. Napoleon escapes from Elba, March 1, 1815. England, Austria, Prussia, and Russia allied against him. Returns to Paris the 20th; supplants Louis XVIII. Fights at Waterloo, June 18; abdicates on the 22d. Surrenders, and is exiled to St. Helena, July 15. Vote of thanks and $1,000,000 presented to the Duke of Wellington. JAMES MADISON. FROM-1809 to 1817. DURATION:- Two terms, -eight years. PARTY.-Republican. PRINCIPAL EVENTS.-Continued difficulties with England. Favorable negotiations commenced with Erskine, the resident British minister. Intercourse again opened with Great Britain. Nego.tiations disavowed by the ministry. Non-intercourse re-established. Ocean covered with French and English cruisers, and Danish privateers, plundering American vessels. Bonaparte issues the "Rambouillet Decree" against American vessels entering French ports. One hundred and thirty-two ships captured and sold for eight million dollars by the French Government. Archangel, Russia, the only port open to the United States. Rencounter between the American frigate "President," off Delaware, and "The Little Belt." Inland troubles increase. In 1811, Tecumseh, and his twin-brother the Prophet, stir up a revolt. Gen. William Henry Harrison, the Governor of Indiana Territory, conquers at Tippecanoe. American commerce still interfered with. Impress. ment of American seamen. Henry Clay and John C. Calhoun members of the House. Question of peace, or war, agitated. Seaport towns against it; interior and Western towns for it. War declared June 18, 1812. Professorships established at West-Point Academy. Gen. Hull crosses from Detroit to Canada, and is forced to surrender to Gen. Brock, the governor. France repeals the Berlin and Milan Decrees, and Great Britain repeals her Orders in Council. Impressment question still unsettled. six thousand cases on record at Washington. Sixteen hundred |