6035. OCEAN, Freedom of.—
I join you
* * * in a sense of the necessity of restoring
freedom to the ocean. But I doubt,
with you, whether the United States ought
to join in an armed confederacy for that
purpose; or rather I am satisfied they ought
not. It ought to be the very first object of
our pursuits to have nothing to do with the
European interests and politics. Let them
be free or slaves at will, navigators or agriculturists,
swallowed into one government or
divided into a thousand, we have nothing to
fear from them in any form. * * * To
take part in their conflicts would be to divert
our energies from creation to destruction.
Our commerce is so valuable to them that
they will be glad to purchase it when the
only price we ask is to do us justice. I believe
we have in our own hands the means
of peaceable coercion; and that the moment
they see our government so united as that
they can make use of it, they will for their
own interest be disposed to do us justice. In
this way you shall not be obliged by any
treaty of confederation to go to war for injuries
done to others.—
To Dr. George Logan.
Ford ed., viii, 23.
(W.
March. 1801)
See Navigation and Ships.
