Monsters to Destroy
July 2023 Imperfect Union
Hi friends. The essay this month is going to be a little shorter than usual. My book is due to my editor in two weeks and all my words are going there. Thanks for your understanding and I’ll be back next month in full form.
Every July 4, I like to read speeches and addresses delivered in years past for the holiday. It’s so interesting to see what was on their minds, how they interpreted the Declaration of Independence, what they took from the legacy of the Revolution, and what language they used.
Washington, D.C. in 1815
This year, I was particularly struck by a passage Secretary of State John Quincy Adams delivered to the House of Representatives in his July 4, 1821 address.
“Wherever the standard of freedom and independence has been or shall be unfurled, there will her heart, her benedictions, and her prayers be. But she goes not abroad in search of monsters to destroy.”
JQA was referring to the recent rebellions in Latin America and the possibility of European involvement. He was both expressing support for the revolutions and independence, as well as declaring a reluctance to formally interfere in both affairs southward and eastward in Europe.
Secretary of State John Quincy Adams, 1818
Around this same time, John Adams and Thomas Jefferson were exchanging letters as part of their renewed friendship. They chatted about the revolutions and the possibility that Latin American revolutionaries would win independence. Jefferson wrote:
“They will succeed against Spain. but the dangerous enemy is within their own breasts.”
Two years later, President James Monroe delivered his annual address to Congress and articulated the Monroe Doctrine, which declared the western hemisphere closed to European interference (and promised Europe that the United States would stay out of their affairs). Though, to be clear, the Monroe Doctrine was really a combination of the address and JQA’s correspondence with Britain, and was the brain child of the brilliant secretary of state.
JQA’s speech two years earlier was remarkable for many reasons. First, the phrase “monsters to destroy,” has become a famous one. Second, JQA was articulating these ideas long before they were declared by the president.
Third, and perhaps most importantly, I found Jefferson’s letter and JQA’s words a powerful combination for our current moment. It’s not that we can’t or won’t go in search of monsters to destroy, but rather there are no monsters abroad that are truly a danger to our nation. Instead, the biggest monsters are within our own breasts.
Anyway, this theme has been on my mind as I wrap up drafting this book, and I’m certain I will return to it in more depth in the coming months. I hope you all had a wonderful July 4 and a lovely summer.
Books:
Currently Reading: First Family by Cassandra Good I’ll be moderating a conversation with Cassie for the National Archives in July so I’ll be reading this before then!
Up Next: Differ We Must: How Lincoln Succeeded in a Divided America by Steve Inskeep, out October 3, 2023.
Coming Soon (ish): Mason-Dixon: Crucible of the Nation by Edward Gray (October 2023)
On the Horizon: Democracy in Darkness by Katlyn Marie Carie (October 31, 2023)
