But never until now was he known to have berated a subordinate, and his regret over the outburst was considerable. Still, nothing he had said was untrue, nor was his anger without justification. In firing McHenry he had done what he should have done well before this. After a pause of a few days—possibly to cool down—he fired Pickering. This time there was no unpleasant confrontation. On May 10, in customary fashion, Adams asked for Pickering’s resignation by letter. Almost inconceivably, Pickering refused to comply. In a written response of May 12, he said he did not feel it his duty to
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Fired McHenry and Pickering in run up to election of 1800 for loyalty to Hamilton
