1To Thomas Jefferson from Samuel Mackay, 17 April 1792 (Jefferson Papers)
Bennington, Vt., 17 Apr. 1792. A victim of misfortune, he turns to TJ for succor, relying on TJ’s reputation as a philanthropist, a republican, a patron of the arts, and a friend of the French nation. He seeks a form of employment more suited to his talents and wishes to promote better relations between the U.S. and France by serving as a French instructor in Philadelphia. He hopes that the...