maze of these Spanish negotiations. That they existed and that they were renewed in 1797 cannot be denied, although the exact part played by the different actors is as yet uncertain. Whatever may have been the wishes of a few a period was put to any general inclination to such a course by the treaty with Spain in the autumn of 1795, which opened the Mississippi and gave a place of deposit at New Orleans. So great was the reaction caused by the excesses of Genet that the Federalists were able to elect Humphrey Marshall to the Senate, and this treaty carried it still further. The great mass of the people had always felt themselves a part of the United States and hesitated to think of any proposition looking towards separation. They received this as earnest of a desire to legislate for their good, equally with that of the older States, and, though the devotion to the administration was short-lived, and though they seriously opposed the excise, still cherished an attachment to France, and blazed out against the Alien and Sedition laws, the seeds of entire loyalty had been so well sown, that when the election of Jefferson proclaimed the triumph of the extreme Democratic school, they gave an adherence to the Union that has been sincere and enthusiastic to this day.
More space has perhaps been given to this account of the growth of public opinion in Kentucky than was necessary. And yet it is very important that it should be kept well in mind, in order to clearly understand the nature of the movement resulting
