freedom of the person under the
uninterrupted protection of the _habeas corpus_ and trial by jury
in civil, as well as in criminal cases, excited my jealousy; and
the re-eligibility of the President for life, I quite disapproved. I
expressed freely, in letters to my friends, and most particularly to Mr.
Madison and General Washington, my approbations and objections. How
the good should be secured, and the ill brought to rights, was the
difficulty. To refer it back to a new Convention, might endanger the
loss of the whole. My first idea was, that the nine states first acting,
should accept it unconditionally, and thus secure what in it was good,
and that the four last should accept on the previous condition, that
certain amendments should be agreed to; but a better course was devised,
of accepting the whole, and trusting that the good sense and honest
intentions of our citizens would make the alterations which should be
deemed necessary. Accordingly, all accepted, six without objection, and
seven with recommendations of specified amendments. Those respecting the
press, religion, and juries, with several others, of great value, were
accordingly made; but the _habeas corpus_ was left to the discretion of
Congress, and the amendment against the re-eligibility of the President
was not proposed. My fears of that feature were founded on the
importance of the office, on the fierce contentions it might
excite among ourselves, if continuable for life, and the dangers of
interference, either with money or arms, by foreign nations, to whom the
choice of an American President might become interesting. Examples
of this abounded in history; in the case of the Roman Emperors, for
instance; of the Popes, while of any significance; of the German
Emperors; the Kings of Poland, and the Deys of Barbary. I had observed,
too, in the feudal history, and in the recent instance, particularly,
of the Stadtholder of Holland, how easily offices, or tenures for life,
slide into inheritances. My wish, therefore, was that the President
should be elected for seven years, and be ineligible afterwards. This
term I thought sufficient to enable him, with the concurrence of the
Legislature, to carry though and establish any system of improvement he
should propose for the general good. But the practice adopted, I think,
is better, allowing his continuance for eight years, with a liability to
be dropped at half way of the term, making that a period of probatio