Muhlenberg University's Name Sake

A One-Vote Oddity

One Vote Leads to a Stabbing!

 

The John Jay Treaty of 1795 negotiated with Britain (see p. 58, and 86) was passed, but there was still one more hurdle to overcome. To put the Treaty into effect, $90,000 was needed.

The Constitution is clear that all money bills must originate in the House of Representatives. Those opposed to the Treaty were determined to not release the money, thereby undermining the Treaty through neglect.

The debate in the house was heated. Federalists favored it. Democratic-Republican’s in the main were against it. But the Republican’s had the upper hand. On April 28, 1796, and ailing Congressman (Fisher Ames) gave an impassioned plea for ratification. He warned the Congress that the Treaty was all that was keeping war from breaking out. If war did come, the Unionwas almost certainly doomed to collapse. Ames drew special attention to the American settlers in the Northwest (Ohioregion). He drew the picture of frontier settlers …

“… in the daytime your path through the woods will be ambushed; the darkness of midnight will glitter with the blaze of your dwellings. You are a father—the blood of your son shall fatten your cornfield. You are a mother—the war whoop shall waken the sleep of the cradle. … By rejecting the posts we light the savage fires, we bind the victims.”⁴⁵

 

Vice President Adams, sitting in the gallery, later said that there was hardly a dry eye in the House. Still the vote was close. When the count was taken, the formal vote was 49-49 with one vote to be cast, that of Republican Frederick Muhlenberg, distinguished congressman from Pennsylvania. Going against his party, he cast his vote for the Treaty.

When Muhlenberg returned to his district, his own brother-in-law, a rabid Republican, stabbed him! He recovered from his wounds but his political career was over. He lost his next election. The Treaty passed. War was averted. Today, Muhlenberg has a college named after him. Belated thanks from Pennsylvania and the nation for a courageous vote that changed history. We need more of such men and women in our elected officials.

How will we get them if we do not vote for them?

Footnotes

45. Cf. Walvoord, J. F., Zuck, R. B., & Dallas Theological Seminary. (1983-c1985). The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures.Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.