A SETTLEMENT WITH ENGLAND According to Jefferson, the President originally took the same view of the French treaty that he did.

Jefferson relates that on April 18, 1793, Washington spoke of having "never had a doubt of the validity of the French treaty," and he notes that in the cabinet disputes Washington was inclined to his views.

As the embarrassments of the Administration thickened, the President, it is true, leaned more and more toward Hamilton, but this inclination was due more to necessity than to personal partiality.

The explanation stands out in Jefferson's own account of events.

Hamilton was clear, positive, and decided as to what to do and how to do it.