1H. G. Letter IV, 24 February 1789 (Hamilton Papers)
You will perceive, my dear Sir, from the sketch, I have given you, that though the present Governor has a just title to credit for his exertions in the late revolution; yet the degree of credit to which he is truly entitled has been immodestly exaggerated. It is to be wished, nevertheless, for the honor and interest of the state, that his administration since the peace was proportionably...
2H. G. to Marinus Willett, [15 April 1789] (Hamilton Papers)
H___ G___. having been informed that Mr. Willet has received a letter from the Attorney General, stating the circumstances of the interview between them, takes occasion to express his expectation that Mr. Willett will communicate it to the public. The [New York] Daily Advertiser , April 15, 1789. For information on the controversy between “H.G.” and Willett, see “H.G. Letters. Introductory...
3H. G. Letter III, 22 February 1789 (Hamilton Papers)
You mention towards the close of your letter, two reports circulating in your county, which you say operate to the advantage of Mr. Clinton; the one, that at the time he first took the chair of government, “the great men” as they are insidiously called, declined the station, through apprehension of the dangers that might attend it. Not less willing then to set him up as a mark for the...
4H. G. Letter VI, 26 February 1789 (Hamilton Papers)
I shall now proceed to give you a brief history of the Governor’s administration since the peace, as it respects the United States; from the whole of which, preferring the evidence of actions , to that of professions , I am persuaded you will agree with me, that there is satisfactory proof of his being an enemy to the AMERICAN UNION. The facts from which I shall draw this conclusion are of the...
5H. G. Letter VI, 27 February 1789 (Hamilton Papers)
In my last I stated a number of facts tending to prove that Mr. Clinton is not a friend to the UNION. I would not be understood, that either of these facts singly would authorise such a conclusion, but that it is the result of them collectively. Many men, of whose good intentions, I have no doubt, have entertained similar sentiments with him on several of the points stated; but I am mistaken...
6H. G. Letter VII, 28 February 1789 (Hamilton Papers)
The embarrassments experienced in carrying through the first plan, the increase of the national debt, and other circumstances induced Congress to devise a new system of impost, which was finally agreed upon on the 18th of April 1783. In this system, the appointment of the officers, to collect the duties, was referred to the several states, which it was supposed would remove the principal...
7H. G. Letter X, 4 March 1789 (Hamilton Papers)
Sometime in the latter part of the year 1785, or beginning of 1786, the state of Virginia proposed the holding a convention for the purpose of devising some system of commercial regulations for the United States. This state among others acceded to the proposition; and the deputies from different states appointed pursuant to it met at Annapolis in the fall of 1786. But the number actually...
8H. G. Letter XIII, 9 March 1789 (Hamilton Papers)
The last of the circumstances mentioned by me in my letter of the 26th of February, as evincive of the inimical disposition of the governor towards the union, is that he is unfriendly to the residence of Congress in this city. This may be inferred from the disrespectful manner in which he has treated that honorable body, aggregately and individually, as detailed in some former letters; and...
9H. G. Letter II, 21 February 1789 (Hamilton Papers)
Shortly after the breaking out of the war with Great-Britain, Mr. Clinton received an appointment as brigadier-general, in which capacity he served until he was elected governor of the state, some time in the early part of the year 1777. In both these situations, from the condition of the state, which, during the greatest part of the war was its principal theatre, Mr. Clinton was frequently...
10H. G. Letter IX, 3 March 1789 (Hamilton Papers)
I have mentioned as a third circumstance tending to prove the enmity of the Governor to the UNION, “That his behaviour towards the individuals composing Congress has been of a nature calculated to give them just cause of disgust.” I am well informed, that his Excellency never made a visit to, or had any intercourse of civilities with either of the two last Presidents of Congress. This neglect...