For Fear of an Elective King by Kathleen Bartoloni-Tuazon

Author:Kathleen Bartoloni-Tuazon [Bartoloni-Tuazon, Kathleen]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Biography & Autobiography, Presidents & Heads of State, History, United States, Revolutionary Period (1775-1800), World, Americas (North; Central; South; West Indies), Political Science, General, History & Theory, American Government, Executive Branch, Reference, Etiquette
ISBN: 9780801471919
Google: XY5HDwAAQBAJ
Publisher: Cornell University Press
Published: 2014-09-04T03:34:07+00:00

CHAPTER 6

A “Dangerous Vice”

Leaders under Scrutiny

The Constitution and the governance it envisioned remained unproven in the spring of 1789. This was especially true with regard to the protection of the people’s liberties. The public sought an ideal of executive authority that would remain anchored in popular sovereignty and yet steer the country to an eminence that matched its boundless potential. The examples of conduct set by federal leaders not surprisingly influenced the consideration of political leadership within the public debate over executive titles. George Washington and John Adams, in particular, provided the public with contrapuntal models that informed the discussion of desirable traits for a national leader.

The slings and arrows of critical opinion aimed with especially devastating precision at John Adams. The strictures against him ranged far beyond Ralph Izard’s now infamous “His Rotundity” insult, which may have been familiar only to congressional elites and their confidants.1 More damning, Adams became branded as the “dangerous Vice,” a biting epithet derived from a long poem of the same name that offered a punning critique of both his monarchist vice of promoting a regal executive title and the vice presidential office he held. The poem, entitled “The Dangerous Vice---------,” provocatively linked the evils of monarchy with the titles champion a heartbeat away from the presidency.2

Although Adams dreaded the real possibility of an aristocratic Senate cabal that would manipulate and corrupt the president, his efforts to increase the energy of the executive through what critics viewed as “nauseous titles” appeared monarchical to the people.3 His reputation suffered immediate and long-term damage, and he became the butt of jokes among legislators. Influential Virginia judge and future William and Mary professor St. George Tucker found the title debate so ludicrous that he skewered Adams in an unpublished play. Newspaper opinion toward Adams varied. But he received such scathing press coverage that, at times, his defenders protested the brutal level of the attacks more than the criticism itself.4

Washington presented the public with a much different and more complex dynamic. Throughout the title controversy, he continued to embody one of the great dichotomies of the early Republic—although accolades and addresses with regal and divine undertones of Washington’s third body of sovereignty remained the norm, the public saw him as an iconic and powerful republican who disdained titles. Most Americans maintained confidence in both his “moderation” and his opposition to “insulting peagentry.” As a result, despite the court culture enveloping him (and the presidency), Washington buffered the early presidency from attack as a monarchical institution capable of corruption or the abuse of power.5

When the people considered Washington’s example within the debate over an executive title, a picture of an ideal president emerged—one that had Washington’s traits but that rejected the kingly enthusiasm associated with him. The modest title of “President” reflected both Washington’s widely admired appearance of modesty and the country’s preference for a lack of pageantry, a preference that he countenanced. Washington’s support of the people’s endorsement of a simple presidential title that would tamp down monarchical

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