1822 April 1.

Rid Yourselves Lett. Relinquishment mode

II Sale to Foreigners

Trust to U.S.

Everything in the way of advice

Nothing in the way of force

No, not even in the way of treaty: for treaty has force at the back

of it.

My friends, the more you know of the people of these United States -

I mean more particularly of the conduct of the rulers on all public occasions - the

more close /less reserved/ is the confidence you will repose in them. Look to their

conduct as to all other nations. Look at their conduct as towards one another. You

will find /may see/ it recorded in the book of their laws: in particular on the

occasion of the cessions of territory from State to State. Look at their conduct as

towards yourselves as towards your own rulers: your rulers under the old government:

that government, which in its conduct towards other nations was of course not less

flagitious than in its conduct as towards its own subjects. Look to the course of

injury which for little less than twenty years the United States people and rulers

continued for its extraordinarily protracted length of time in power to be enduring

at their hands: think of the patience and forbearance /the long suffering/ manifested

towards you all that time, think of your weakness, and examine /think/ whether any

advantage was taken of that weakness.

My friends you have a plain letter, a plain rule to go by. Those

rulers who deal well by their own countrymen deal in the same manner with other men:

those who deal ill by their own countrymen do so in like manner by other men.

You know that the government is in check the men who rule all others are the best

ones that can be found. You know that other /another/ Government in which the men who

rule all others were the worst ones that could have been found: and where if they did

rule [...?] so bad about their situation could have suffered to render so.