Thomas Jefferson Papers
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Notes on a Cabinet Meeting, 18 February 1804

Notes on a Cabinet Meeting

1804. Feb. 18. Present the 4. Secs. & Atty Genl.
it is agreed we shall consider the settlements on the Misipi1 from Iberville up to our line, as our territory, as to importations and exportations thro’ the Misipi,2 making Baton rouge a port of delivery. so also as to what shall come thro’ Ponchartrain
that the militia of Colour shall be confirmed in their posts, and treated favorably, till a better settled state of things shall permit us to let them neglect themselves.
that an intimation shall be given by Claiborne to Morales that his continuance in that territory is not approved by the Government.
that the remaining Span. troops shall be desired to withdraw.
that Fort Stoddert shall be a port of entry.
that Monroe shall be instructed to negociate as to our lines with Spain, & the extention of territory Eastwd. viz. 1. to the Perdido. 2. to Apalachicola. 3. all E. Florida. that according to the greater or less extent he may give of the following equivalents. 1. relinquish our right from the Rio Bravo, Eastwardly towards the Mexican river. 2. stipulate that a band of country of given breadth shall be established between our white settlements, to be unsettled by either party for a term of years.3 3. 1,000,000. Dollars
as to Stevens’s accounts, opinions seem not to be satisfactorily formed except by mr Gallatin that there is no fund applicable, & mr Madison that the foreign intercourse fund is applicable. with this last I concur.

MS (DLC: TJ Papers, 131:22677); entirely in TJ’s hand; follows, on same sheet, Notes on a Cabinet Meeting of 4 Oct. 1803.

militia of colour: in a 17 Jan. letter to Madison, William C. C. Claiborne enclosed an address he received from “the free people of colour,” dated New Orleans, January 1804, and bearing 55 signatures. Identifying themselves as “free Citizens of Louisiana” and natives of the province, the memorialists expressed their “lively Joy” at becoming part of the United States. “We are duly sensible that our personal and political freedom is thereby assured to us for ever,” and they expressed their confidence “in the Justice and Liberality of the Government towards every Class of Citizens which they have here taken under their Protection.” The memorialists had been employed in military service under the previous government and respectfully offered their services to the new government “as a Corps of Volunteers agreeable to any arrangement which may be thought expedient” (Madison, Papers description begins William T. Hutchinson, Robert A. Rutland, J. C. A. Stagg, and others, eds., The Papers of James Madison, Chicago and Charlottesville, 1962- , 37 vols.: Sec. of State Ser., 1986- , 10 vols.; Pres. Ser., 1984- , 8 vols.; Ret. Ser., 2009- , 2 vols. description ends , Sec. of State Ser., 6:351; Terr. Papers description begins Clarence E. Carter and John Porter Bloom, eds., The Territorial Papers of the United States, Washington, D.C., 1934-75, 28 vols. description ends , 9:174-5). Writing on 20 Feb., Dearborn informed Claiborne that, after careful consideration of the delicate subject, it had been decided to allow him to continue or renew the “Corps of the Free men of color” as he saw fit. Dearborn added, however, that it would not be prudent to increase the corps, but rather to diminish it “if it can be done without giving offence.” The officers should be chosen with due regard for their respectability, integrity, and popularity. The corps might also be presented with a standard or flag “as a token of the confidence placed in them by the Government” (FC in Lb in DNA: RG 107, LSMA).

In a private and confidential letter to Claiborne dated 20 Feb., Madison informed him that the removal of Juan Ventura morales, the former Spanish intendant at New Orleans, to some other part of the country “would be agreeable to the President.” Citing “his temper and his treasures, his connections and his views,” the administration deemed Morales to be a potentially “mischievous member of the society.” The means for encouraging Morales’s departure from Louisiana, however, were left for Claiborne to determine (Madison, Papers description begins William T. Hutchinson, Robert A. Rutland, J. C. A. Stagg, and others, eds., The Papers of James Madison, Chicago and Charlottesville, 1962- , 37 vols.: Sec. of State Ser., 1986- , 10 vols.; Pres. Ser., 1984- , 8 vols.; Ret. Ser., 2009- , 2 vols. description ends , Sec. of State Ser., 6:496-7).

span. troops: in his 20 Feb. letter to Claiborne, Dearborn stated that it was presumed that Spanish troops and their officers, both civil and military, had already left New Orleans and its vicinity. If this was not the case, Claiborne was to use “prudent and reasonable measures” to effect the complete Spanish evacuation of Louisiana as soon as possible (FC in Lb in DNA: RG 107, LSMA).

e. florida: an undated, unsigned manuscript in TJ’s papers, entitled “Notes sur la floride,” extolled the economic, strategic, and political value of acquiring both Floridas, especially East Florida. Writing in French, the unidentified author asserted that the peninsula contained interior lands well suited to the cultivation of a variety of crops, as well as valuable forests and coastal fisheries. Its proximity to key navigation routes gave East Florida strategic importance, while possession of both Floridas would end disputes over the southern boundary of the United States and provide greater security against foreign invasion or hostile Indians. The author further suggested that existing slaveholders could establish themselves in the Floridas, and that free blacks and mulattoes could be banished there as well. The friends of slavery (“Les Amis de l’Esclavage”), the author continued, had little fondness for the present government, so concentrating them in the south would lessen their influence on the other states. The author urged the acquisition of the Floridas, given their potential importance to the United States, even if it meant exchanging them for the part of Louisiana west of the Mississippi River (MS in DLC: TJ Papers, 235:42230-1).

1Preceding three words interlined.

2Preceding three words interlined.

3Preceding five words interlined.

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