1790 Turn: The Second Year

[Unconditional Surrender Truman]

CALENDAR OF MR. SAMUEL ADAMS
FOR THE YEAR 1790 A.D.

Winter
Returning to Philadelphia from Boston, where he spent the last weeks of the old year, Adams turns away to the north, stopping for a few days in Bennington, and then for half a week in Manchester, the capital of the Vermont Republic, where he meets representatives of the Vermont government. Expressing his hope that the border dispute with New York may be swiftly resolved, clearing the way for Vermont to apply for admission to the Union, Adams offers to personally sponsor Vermont's cause in the National Assembly. His visit also serves to encourage the growth of Whig party organizations in Vermont and to win the support of her leading citizens.

Riding south from Manchester, Adams stops for a few days in Albany, and in the constituencies of New York City & Westchester, and Suffolk & Queens, where he dines with leading citizens and encourages the growth of Whig organizations, before continuing on to Philadelphia. His first weeks in the capitol are devoted to the business of the Foreign Affairs ministry.

Spring
When he is not in the National Assembly, Adams maintains a prolific presence in the press, contributing not only to the Independent Courier, but to other publications in New York and Philadelphia as well, and a regular correspondence with allies throughout New England. While much of his correspondence is to old friends and allies in Massachusetts, he also lends support where he can to organize the Whigs in Connecticut, Rhode Island, and Vermont—as well as outside New England, in Delaware, New Jersey, and New York. As Secretary of Foreign Affairs, he instructs the American ambassadors to Denmark and Portugal to seek commercial agreements with those countries.

Summer
Returning to Boston and Middlesex for a time, Adams sees to his personal affairs and also takes the opportunity to play a more direct role in organizing Whig activities there. In course of this, he meets not only with his fellow Whigs, but also some Radical and Republican leaders, to encourage good will for his faction beyond his most fervent supporters. On his return to Philadelphia, he makes several stops in western Massachusetts, Connecticut, and New York, where he dines with prominent citizens and leaders of the local Whig factions.

Autumn
With news of the burning of Pittsburg and the mutiny of the Pennsylvania militia, Adams' time is almost wholly devoted to the resolution of that crisis. In the Assembly and behind closed doors, he presses for the federal government to act swiftly to suppress the mutiny and restore peace to the Western Counties. As the army is being raised, he inspects the assembling troops on behalf of the government, and calls on General Hamilton, offering him his services.