1791: The Third Year

[Unconditional Surrender Truman]

March 1791

Adams and Nicholas Gilman agree to join their political fortunes, following several meetings between the two men in 1790 and early 1791. Adams remarks it with satisfaction a fitting partnership of two "good Whigs," both stout friends of the Constitution and fierce advocates for the rights of New England, and welcomes Gilman's allies into the Whig fold with open arms; away from the capitol, his surrogates work to integrate pro-Gilman Independents and former Radicals into local Whig organizations.

[Unconditional Surrender Truman]

CALENDAR OF SAMUEL ADAMS
FOR THE YEAR 1781 A.D.

Winter
Having passed the last weeks of December in Boston and Middlesex, worshiping, attending to his personal affairs, and meeting with his most important allies and constituents, Adams sets out for Philadelphia the second week of January. Traveling through western Massachusetts, he turns northward to Vermont, passing a few days at Westminster and Manchester, and a week at Castleton, where he dines with leading citizens and representatives of the Vermont government. His visit serves to encourage stronger ties between Massachusetts and Vermont, and between Vermont's leading lights and Adams' political network; and Adams takes the opportunity to emphasize the benefits of Whig Administration in Vermont, and to encourage the burgeoning Whig organizations and presses there. To members of the Vermont legislature, Adams offers to personally sponsor Vermont's petition for admission to the Union, before resuming his journey to the capital.

Passing south, Adams stops briefly in Bennington, Albany, and New York City—in each town dining with prominent citizens and tradesmen and leaders of the local Whig organization. Arriving in Philadelphia toward the end of February, his first weeks in the capital are spent arranging his affairs, attending to his correspondence, and looking after his responsibilities as Foreign Secretary. In March, Adams and his faction join forces with Nicholas Gilman's New Hampshire Radicals ahead of the spring gubernatorial elections.

Spring
When not in the National Assembly, Adams attends to his extensive correspondence with allies in New England, his frequent contributions to the press, and his growing commitments as Foreign Secretary and leader of the Whigs in the National Assembly. No small effort is put toward building up  local Whig organizations in New England, and the Middle States secondarily. In April and May, Adams departs the city for a brief sojourn through New England in support of Whig candidates for governor in Connecticut, Rhode Island, and Massachusetts.

Summer
Returning to Philadelphia in early June, Adams attends to his official duties and to his responsibilities as faction leader. Through his contributions in the press and correspondence with his allies in all corners of the country, Adams encourages the growth of Whig organizations and the Whig press. In New England, his surrogates work to establish their faction as the main opposition to the Tories and Hamiltonians, using the former as pitch to blacken the latter.

Fall
With by-elections for the National Assembly on the horizon, Adams travels to Vermont, where he stumps on behalf of the Whig candidates. He then continues on to Boston, where he meets with the Governor and Executive Council to discuss the Maine separatists, before returning to the capital for the close of the 1791 session.