Title
[Document, 1808 December 24]
Library Location
Rare Book & Manuscript Library, Columbia University
Name
Jay, John, 1745-1829 (Author)
Pickering, Timothy, 1745-1829 (Addressee)
Format
correspondence
Digital Project
Papers of John Jay
Date
December 24, 1808
Language
English
Physical Description
2 pages
Subjects
United States--History--Constitutional period, 1789-1809; Jay, John, 1745-1829
Summary
Thanks him for the papers. Knowing from history and experience that men generally act according to their real characters, he is seldom disappointed in that respect. Republics are to be pitied rather than blamed when they mistake demagogues for patriots. Proprieties attached to his own situation limit participation in political concerns; he attends every election but does not mingle in the disputes they occasion. Admires the "Perspicuity and Force" with which Pickering discusses the embargo. A further investigation would make a strong impression, especially if the House should go into a Committee of the Whole on the state of the nation.
Identifier
columbia.jay.09520