March 18

[This is my letter to Thomas Paine, dated March 18, 1801, where I gave him safe passage to America right after I became President. He was not well-liked by the Federalists, and regarding his religious views and his criticism of the revered George Washington, not well-liked by many Americans as well. I received much criticism from supporters for accommodating Mr. Paine, but I largely shared his views and he was unparalleled with the pen. He died on June 8, 1809.]

Your letters of Oct. 1st, 4th, 6th, 16th, came duly to hand, and the papers which they covered were according to your permission, published in the newspapers and in a pamphlet, and under your own name. These papers contain precisely our principles, and I hope they will be generally recognized here. Determined as we are to avoid, if possible, wasting the energies of our people in war and destruction, we shall avoid implicating ourselves with the powers of Europe, even in support of principles which we mean to pursue. They have so many other interests different from ours that we must avoid being entangled in them.—We believe that we can enforce those principles as to ourselves by peaceful means, now that we are likely to have our public councils detached from foreign views. The return of our citizens from the phrenzy into which they have been wrought, partly by ill conduct in France, partly by artifices practised upon them, is almost extinct, and will, I believe become quite so.

But these details, too minute and long for a letter, will be better developed by Mr. Dawson the bearer of this a member of the late congress, to whom I refer you for them. He goes in the Maryland sloop of war, which will wait a few days at Harve to receive his letters to be written on his arrival at Paris. You expressed a wish to get a passage to this country in a public vessel. Mr. Dawson is charged with orders to the captain of the Maryland to receive and accommodate you back if you can be ready to depart at such short warning. Rob. R. Livingston is appointed minister plenipotentiary to the republic of France, but will not leave this, till we receive the ratification of the convention by Mr. Dawson. I am in hopes you will find us returned generally to sentiments worthy of former times. In these it will be your glory to have steadily laboured and with as much effect as any man living. That you may long live to continue your useful labours and to reap the reward in the thankfulness of nations is my sincere prayer. Accept assurance of my high esteem and affectionate attachment.

[This is my letter to Col. David Humphreys on March 18, 1789, regarding the power of women.]

The assembly of the States General [in France] begins the 27th of April. The representation of the people will be perfect. But they will be alloyed by an equal number of nobility and clergy. The first great question they will have to decide will be, whether they shall vote by orders or persons. And I have hopes that the majority of the Nobles are already disposed to join the Tiers Etat, in deciding that the vote shall be by persons. This is the opinion a la mode at present, and mode has acted a wonderful part in the present instance. All the handsome young women, for example, are for the Tiers Etat, and this is an army more powerful in France, than the two hundred thousand men of the King.