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The Fall of the Opposition Faction •  • CHAPTER SIX Folly and Failure The Fall of the Opposition Faction T hroughout the spring and early summer of 1806, Aaron Burr made final preparations to move a military expedition down the Mississippi to capture New Orleans. Burr was certain that this object could be accomplished without spilling blood because Louisianans wanted to separate from the United States and would welcome him as a liberator. At least this is what Burr had told British minister Anthony Merry in his efforts to obtain British financial and naval support for his attack. While Burr did not specifically name those who had provided him with intelligence on the sentiments of Louisianans toward the United States, he did tell Merry that a British naval blockade of New Orleans should continue “until the commanding officer should receive information from him or Mr. Daniel Clark of the country having declared itself independent.” Following this revolution, Burr and Wilkinson would use money from New Orleans banks and Louisianan military support to conquer Mexico. 1 Contrary to Burr’s promises to Merry, few Louisianans, with the exception of Clark, Livingston, and other Burr associates, were aware of the planned invasion of Orleans Territory. Governor Claiborne, who was touring the counties of the territory during the summer of 1806, wrote nothing of a possible invasion. He was concerned, however, about the damage that Daniel Clark would do to his administration as Orleans Territory’s representative in the U.S. Senate. On July 9 Claiborne informed Jefferson that he hoped to visit Washington in October to counter the critique of Orleans territorial government that Clark was sure to make in Washington. “I have uniformly experienced in this quarter, the opposition of a violent & if you will pardon the expression, an unprincipled faction; of this faction Mr. D. Clarke is a conspicuous and zealous member; I am apprized of his intention to injure me (if in his power) at the Seat of Government.” Claiborne expected that Clark would find allies in his efforts to discredit the government of Orleans Territory. Specifically, The Fall of the Opposition Faction •  • the governor suggested that Clark counted on the support of John Randolph, “whose unprovoked and cruel attack” had renewed opposition to Claiborne’s administration within Orleans Territory. 2 Claiborne was correct that opposition to his administration appeared to have grown during the spring and summer of 1806. Randolph’s attack on Claiborne in the House of Representatives may have been one contributing factor , but the fact that Clark had won a victory over Claiborne with his election to Congress was probably more important. An additional essential feature of opposition to Claiborne’s administration during the summer of 1806 was that two key figures in New Orleans, Daniel Clark and Edward Livingston, were associates of Aaron Burr. During the planning stages of the “Burr Conspiracy,” Clark had proven himself valuable to both Burr and Wilkinson. He had met with Burr in 1805 and treated him well while he visited New Orleans. Under the guise of business engagements, Clark also visited Vera Cruz, Mexico, in September 1805 and in February 1806, and reported the strength of the army and navy in and around that city and in the towns between it and Mexico City. Apparently the governing officials knew of Clark or had been alerted about his activities, since he also recorded that he was surprised to return from the “Land of Promise” safely “after being represented to the Vice Roy as a person dangerous to the Spanish government.” Wilkinson and Burr had every reason to believe that Clark would act in accordance with their plans, but after his election to the Senate, Clark’s support for Burr and Wilkinson cooled as he focused on preparations for his future role as a delegate to the Senate. 3 In addition to Daniel Clark, Aaron Burr considered Edward Livingston, who was indebted to him, as one of his supporters. Livingston had come to know Burr when he studied law at Albany after his graduation from Princeton in 1781 and during the 1790s, when both were involved in New York politics. When Livingston experienced his financial embarrassment while serving as mayor of New York, Burr became one of his creditors. On July 26, 1806, as he prepared his expedition, Burr transferred Livingston’s debt to his emissary, Dr. Erich Bollman. Bollman traveled to New Orleans and met with Livingston , who was forced to make arrangements to pay it. 4 This would have encouraged Livingston...

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