used by Jefferson was the language of centralization, and would have been rejected by him and his party in 1798 or in 1820.
On the day of writing to Breckenridge the President wrote in a like sense to Paine; but in the course of a week despatches arrived from Paris which alarmed him. Livingston had reason to fear a sudden change of mind in the First Consul, and was willing to hasten the movements of President and Congress. Jefferson took the alarm, and wrote instantly to warn Breckenridge and Paine that no whisper of constitutional difficulties must be heard:[1]—
- "I wrote you on the 12th instant on the subject of Louisiana and the constitutional provision which might be necessary for it. A letter received yesterday show that nothing must be said on that subject which may give a pretext for retracting, but that we should do sub silentio what shall be found necessary. Be so good, therefore, as to consider that part of my letter as confidential.
He gave the same warning to his Cabinet:[2] "I infer that the less we say about constitutional difficulties the better; and that what is necessary for surmounting them must be done sub silentio".
He then drew up a new amendment, which he sent to the members of his Cabinet.[3] The July draft was
