{"id":4093,"date":"2018-10-14T11:15:48","date_gmt":"2018-10-14T15:15:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/statutesandstories.com\/blog_html\/?p=4093"},"modified":"2020-03-29T16:07:40","modified_gmt":"2020-03-29T20:07:40","slug":"jays-treaty-part-iii-hamiltons-camillus-essays-defending-the-treaty","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.statutesandstories.com\/blog_html\/jays-treaty-part-iii-hamiltons-camillus-essays-defending-the-treaty\/","title":{"rendered":"Jay’s Treaty – Part III (Hamilton’s Camillus essays defending the treaty)"},"content":{"rendered":"

Hamilton’s defense of Jay’s Treaty (the Camillus essays)<\/em>:<\/p>\n

This post continues the discussion of Jay’s Treaty by focusing on Hamilton’s Camillus<\/em> essays which were published between July of 1795 and January of 1796.\u00a0The negotiation and substance of the treaty is discussed in the blog entry\u00a0Jay’s Treaty – Part I<\/a><\/strong><\/span>. The bitter ratification dispute in the Senate and the highly politicized funding dispute in the House of Representatives is described in\u00a0Jay’s Treaty – Part II<\/a><\/span><\/strong>. As set forth below, the\u00a0Camillus<\/em>\u00a0essays are easily overlooked but are in many ways comparable in scope to Hamilton’s monumental scholarship in the much better known\u00a0Federalist Papers<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Overview<\/em>: Twenty-eight essays were published anonymously as newspaper columns by Hamilton using the pseudonym Camillus. <\/em>Hamilton edited another\u00a0ten\u00a0Camillus<\/em> essays which were written by Federalist Senator Rufus King. Four more related\u00a0essays were written by Hamilton under the moniker\u00a0Philo Camillus<\/em>, bringing the total to forty-two essays.\u00a0Noah Webster authored a dozen articles defending Jay’s Treaty under the pseudonym Curtius. <\/em>Another eloquent and thoughtful defense was offered under the pseudonym Macellus<\/em>, who was likely John Quincy Adams.<\/span><\/p>\n

In the face of furious opposition to Jay’s Treaty, Hamilton wrote the\u00a0Camillus<\/em> essays in an effort to sway public opinion, save the treaty, and avoid war with England. The essays were written at the frenetic pace that Hamilton was known for, averaging a new essay every four and a half days over a five month period. Altogether, Hamilton churned out almost 100,000 words while maintaining a full time law practice.<\/p>\n

Hamilton biographer Ron Chernow describes the Camillus<\/em> essays as another magnum opus in Hamilton’s canon. For Chernow, the essays support the claim that Hamilton was the “foremost political pamphleteer in American history.” As described by historian John Chester Miller, Camillus<\/em> achieves for international relations what Pubilus <\/em>and the Federalist Papers<\/em>\u00a0accomplished for domestic affairs.<\/p>\n

According to historian Broadus Mitchell, Hamilton \u201cplaced every feature of the treaty in a just light as it bore upon the interests of this country.” Mitchell asserts that “Jay\u2019s Treaty would probably not have been approved without the education of the public in Camillus\u2019 persuasive expositions.\u201d Alexander Hamilton, A Concise Biography<\/em> (1976).<\/strong><\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

Jefferson and Madison easily recognized the authorship of their rival, leading Jefferson to remark that Hamilton was writing an “Encyclopedie” on international affairs, “according to his custom.”\u00a0Despite describing the Camillus<\/em> essays in a letter to Tench Cox on September 10, 1795<\/a><\/strong><\/span> as\u00a0“too obstinate to be twisted by all his sophisms into a tolerable shape,” Jefferson nevertheless implored Madison “[f]or god\u2019s sake take up your pen, and give a fundamental reply to Curtius & Camillus.”\u00a0Click here for a link to Jefferson’s September 21, 1795 letter to Madison.<\/a><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n