Jackson, Andrew. Autograph letter signed, 10 January 1820....

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Jackson, Andrew. Autograph letter signed, 10 January 1820. Autograph letter signed ("Andrew Jackson"), 2 pages (7.25 x 12 in.; 197 x 305 mm.), Hermitage, Tennessee, 10 January 1820, written to Col. George Gibson. At the height of the U. S. diplomatic crisis with Spain over Florida, Old Hickory makes plans to return to combat in Florida, while venting his rage against Treasury Secretary William H. Crawford. "I informed Mr. Calhoun & Mr. Monroe, that Wm. H. Crawford is a base man ... I have to answer a communication from the Sec. of War recd. yesterday on the plan of the contemplated campaign against Florida" Jackson writes in full: Dear Col. Your letter without date reached me yesterday. I have perused it with much interest. I trust our chief will come forth like himself, & repell the attack. The moment I saw Mr Forsyths correspondence at Madrid, and the report of the Sec. of the Treasury [Crawford], I thought I saw, a meditated blow, at the President & Sec. of War [Calhoun]. There appears in the two things, a systematic understanding, & combination. I do know, and so I informed Mr Calhoun & Mr Monroe, that Wm. H. Crawford is a base man, they too well know him. But he finds he is gone & he wishes to tumble them with him. I trust his shaft will fall harmless at their feet. Please accept a tender of my thanks for your attention to the pamphlet. I shall write you when at leisure. I have to answer a communication from the Sec. of War recd. yesterday on the plan of the contemplated campaign against Florida, to forward by tomorrow's mail. Having given to my friend Gadsden when he left me my plans, notes, charts of those places expecting to resign, I am taken by surprise, but if I recollect the mouth of the Grand Lagoon afords sufficient depth of water to admit transports. If so our heavy ordinance can be landed there & a few teams of oxen can be landed there & a few teams of oxen & horses will take them to position. For information on this head I have referred the Sec. of War [2] to you. Please present me respectfully to him & Mr Monroe, to Capt. Easter & Brunaugh & should a campaign be ordered I shall expect you with me. Mrs. J. joins me in good wishes for your health & happiness, & believe me to be Your friend sincerely Andrew Jackson Though Jackson's taking of Florida made him a hero to the American people, his actions prompted international condemnation and brought the U.S. to the brink of war with Spain. Monroe and many in his cabinet questioned the constitutionality of Jackson's conduct. (Congressman John Rhea said that he carried the secret approval from Monroe to Jackson, but the president claimed that he was ill at the time the letter was sent and had no recollection of having read it.) Calhoun secretly recommended censuring Jackson, but Secretary of State John Quincy Adams supported the general, recognizing that Jackson's campaign would force Spain to get rid of her troublesome colony. By the time the Senate committee investigating the affair was ready to report, in early 1819, Spain had renounced its claims to West Florida and ceded East Florida to the U.S. in the Adams-Onís Treaty. But as shown by this letter, the intrigue continued after Spain failed to ratify the treaty. Treasury Secretary Crawford recommended the recall of John Forsyth, the American ambassador to Madrid, but Jackson saw that proposal as a ploy to sabotage and embarrass the administration. Such a weak response to Spain would outrage public opinion--and enhance Crawford's prospects to succeed Monroe. The President instead decided upon an ultimatum to Spain: unless they ratified the Treaty, American troops would occupy Florida. Further bloodshed was averted by the replacement of the Spanish monarchy by a republican government that, aware of invasion plans, quickly ratified the Adams-Onis Treaty in the fall of 1820. Thus the need for the military campaign Jackson was preparing in this letter was averted. Jackson was right about Monroe's distrust of Crawford. According to John Quincy Adams's Memoirs, Monroe and his Treasury secretary very nearly came to blows during an argument over patronage. Crawford raised his cane and called Monroe a "damned infernal old scoundrel," prompting the president to grab the fireplace tongs to defend himself. (Crawford had once killed a man in a duel, as had Jackson.) Fortunately Crawford and Monroe both cooled their fury. Calhoun later became Jackson's Vice President, but was often at odds with the president over the threat of southern secession.