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Secretaries of State: Timothy Pickering

When John Adams became President in March of 1797, he wisely decided to keep the same Cabinet members as had last advised George Washington. The first and second president both agreed on the principle of a strong central government, and Adams was also mindful of his his predecessor's popularity and esteem. Timothy Pickering was a politician from Massachusetts and a former soldier who served was the last to serve in the roll of United States Secretary of State under Washington. He also had represented Massachusetts in both houses of Congress, and was a member of the Federalist Party.



Pickering was born in Salem, Massachusetts on July 17, 1745. He graduated from Harvard University and took up the practice of law following his graduation. He was elected to the Massachusetts General Court and served as a county judge. He also became an officer in the colonial militia and served in the Siege of Boston during the early stages of the American Revolutionary War. As the war progressed he rose to the rank of Adjutant General and Quartermaster General of the Continental Army during the war. After the war, Pickering moved to the Wyoming Valley and took part in Pennsylvania's 1787 ratifying convention for the United States Constitution.

Washington appointed Pickering to the position of Postmaster General in 1791. Pickering changed cabinet positions at the beginning of 1795, becoming Secretary of War and serving in that job for a year. From August 20, 1795 he pulled double duty when he became the Secretary of State in 1795, holding that position for the remainder of Washington's presidency. John Adams kept him in the job.

As Secretary of State, Pickering favored close relations with Britain, singing from the same page as Alexander Hamilton and as most Federalists. But he clashed with his President Adams over the issue of how to deal with France. Britain and France were at war in Europe at the time and Hamilton and the Federalists supported Britain, while Vice-President Thomas Jefferson and the Democratic-Republicans favored France. The French had supported Jefferson for president in the election of 1796 and they became even more difficult to deal with following Jefferson's defeat in the Presidential election. When Adams entered office, he continued Washington's policy of staying out of the European war. The nation became politically polarized over the Jay Treaty in 1795. The French perceived American neutrality as support for Britain. They began seizing American merchant ships that were trading with the British. Many Americans were initially pro-French, remembering how France had supported them during the Revolutionary War.

On May 16, Adams gave a speech to the House and Senate in which he called for increasing defense capabilities in case of war with France. The pro-Jefferson newspapers criticized him for this, but Pickering was one of those leading the cry for war with France. In 1797, anti-French sentiment grew as a result of what became known as the XYZ Affair. Adams had appointed a three-member commission to represent the United States to negotiate with France. The commission was made up of John Marshall, Charles Cotesworth Pinckney and Elbridge Gerry. When the three arrived in Paris in October 1797, they were kept waiting for several days, and then granted only a 15-minute meeting with French Foreign Minister Talleyrand. After this, they were only seen by Talleyrand's agents who refused to conduct diplomatic negotiations unless the United States paid enormous bribes, including one to Talleyrand personally. The French agents claimed that this was reparations for Adams and his anti-French speech. The Americans refused to negotiate on these terms. Marshall and Pinckney returned home, while Gerry remained.

The conduct of the French officials weakened popular American support of France. The pro-French Jeffersonians lost support and quickly became the minority as many began to demand full-scale war. Pickering was now urging his President to go to war with the French. But Adams knew that America could not win such a conflict. The French military was much stronger than the Americans at that time. Adams pursued a strategy (known as the "Quasi-War") in which American ships harassed French ships in order to deter the French assaults on American interests. This undeclared naval war between the U.S. and France began in 1798 and had Pickering's support, even though he did not feel that it went far enough.

Fearing an invasion from the more powerful French forces, Adams and the Federalist congress built up the army, bringing back Washington as its commander. Washington wanted Hamilton to be his second-in-command and Adams reluctantly accommodated. It soon became apparent that Hamilton was truly in charge, something that did not displease Pickering. Adams rebuilt the Navy, adding six fast, powerful frigates, most notably the USS Constitution. To do so however, Congress imposed new taxes on property, known as the Direct Tax of 1798. Taxpayers were angered, especially in southeast Pennsylvania, where the bloodless Fries's Rebellion broke out among rural German-speaking farmers.

Hamilton assumed control in the War department, and the rift between Adams' and Hamilton's supporters widened. Pickering wanted to give Hamilton command authority over the army. They also resisted giving prominent Democratic-Republicans positions in the army, something Adams wanted to do in order to gain broad bipartisan support. By building a large standing army, Hamilton's supporters raised rallied the Democratic-Republicans into opposition. Adams was in a difficult position, facing opposition from Jefferson supporters, while Pickering and other Federalists thought that he was not going far enough to meet the threat of aggression from France.

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In February 1799, Adams sent diplomat William Vans Murray on a peace mission to France. Napoleon saw nothing to gain from the conflict and he expressed readiness for friendly relations. At the Convention of 1800, the two sides agreed to return any captured ships and to allow for the peaceful transfer of non-military goods to an enemy of the nation. It was at this time that Adams dismissed Pickering as Secretary of State and brought in John Marshall to fill the post. Adams demobilized the emergency army. He avoided war with France, but in the process he divided his base of supporters, almost ensuring his defeat in the next election.

After leaving the cabinet, Pickering returned home to Massachusetts. He was elected to represent Massachusetts in the United States Senate in 1803, where he was a strong opponent of the Embargo Act of 1807. He continued to support Britain in that nation's conflict with France. Pickering left the Senate in 1811 but served in the United States House of Representatives from 1813 to 1817. During the War of 1812 he became a leader of the New England secession movement and helped organize the Hartford Convention. The fallout from the convention ended Pickering's political career. He lived as a farmer in Salem until his death in 1829.
Tags: alexander hamilton, george washington, john adams, thomas jefferson
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