183181To Alexander Hamilton from ———, 2 September 1794 (Hamilton Papers)
York County, Virginia, September 2, 1794. “As diffidence, distant modesty, and great Secrecy, hinders me from avowing myself, and not having the Honour of Knowing you, with a wish of gratitude to serve your cabinet, and if necessary to aid your field, in a Country, which I have had both experience in and friendship from, occasions now, that doubtfulness, which a surety of my intentions being...
183182The Capital Moves to Albany: Editorial Note (Jay Papers)
When state lawmakers adjourned mid-session in November 1796, they left New York’s City’s Federal Hall with an agreement to reconvene a few months later in Albany. Since the formation of New York’s government in 1777, the state legislature had shifted its meeting sites between Kingston, Poughkeepsie, Albany, and New York City, and had thereby relocated the state capital sixteen times within a...
183183Editorial Note: First Inaugural Address (Jefferson Papers)
At noon on 4 Mch. 1801 in the Senate chamber of the Capitol, fifty-seven-year-old Thomas Jefferson took the oath of office as the nation’s third president. The occasion was, in Margaret Bayard Smith’s often quoted words, “one of the most interesting scenes, a free people can ever witness.” According to Aaron Burr, the “Day was serene & temperate—The Concourse of people immense—all passed off...
183184Pennsylvania Assembly Committee of Correspondence to Richard Jackson and Benjamin Franklin, 6 June 1766 (Franklin Papers)
LS : Library of Congress Our Assembly now sitting, having purposely adjourned, in May last, to this Time, have their Expectations joyfully gratified by receiving an authentic Account, in Secretary Conway’s Letter to the Governor, of the Repeal of the Stamp Act, which has been the Occasion of great Distress and Anxiety to the Colonies for Several Months past; We are ordered by the House to...
183185Resolutions in the Maryland House of Delegates, 25 January 1816 (Madison Papers)
Mr. Lloyd, in the house of delegates, on the 25th of January, moved the following resolutions, which were of course negatived, as a majority of that body were federalists. All the republican members voted for them. “ Resolved, by the General Assembly of Maryland, That the firmness, energy and wisdom, which characterized the political conduct of James Madison , President of the United States,...
183186The Issue of United States Citizenship Editorial Note (Jay Papers)
Notwithstanding an occasional challenge from the states, Congress asserted authority over the allegiance of the inhabitants of the thirteen states in a variety of ways. It exacted loyalty oaths, defined and punished treason, required nationalization or naturalization, and admitted or excluded aliens. In all these areas the states exercised a coordinate authority. Although Congress sought to...
183187[An Act Laying Duties Upon Carriages for the Conveyance of Persons], [5 June 1794] (Hamilton Papers)
JCHW John C. Hamilton, ed., The Works of Alexander Hamilton (New York, 1851–1856). , V, 99–103. Although John Church Hamilton attributes this document to H, no evidence has been found that it was written by H. This act became law on June 5, 1794 ( 1 Stat. The Public Statutes at Large of the United States of America (Boston, 1845). 373–75).
183188Unidentified Correspondent to James Monroe, [20 March] 1813 (Madison Papers)
There never was a Government upon earth, so much imposed upon as ours is at present, by some of its own officers—almost every one of them here seem to vie with each other who shall defraud and injure her the most in the public opinion. In the Navy agents department—In the Collectors Department—In the District Attorneys Department—And in the Federal Marshals department—it is notorious, that the...
183189Editorial Note (Adams Papers)
This was an action brought by John Gray for injuries inflicted upon him by Lendall (or Lindall) Pitts in a scuffle outside Dehon’s barber shop in Boston. Adams’ minutes indicate that the underlying cause was an earlier incident in which Pitts had “gallanted” what he assumed to be an attractive young lady, only to learn that feminine clothes covered a masculine form—either Gray himself or...
183190To James Madison from an Unidentified Correspondent (letter not found), 1824 (Madison Papers)
¶ From an Unidentified Correspondent. Letter not found. 1824. Offered for sale in the American Art Association Catalogue (9 Jan. 1924), item 855. Presumably this letter covered the gift of a copy of Strictures Addressed to James Madison on the Celebrated Report of William H. Crawford, Recommending the Intermarriage of Americans with the Indian Tribes. Ascribed to Judge Cooper, and Originally...
183191Note on “The Intended Speech for the Opening of … Parliament,” [29 November 1774] (Franklin Papers)
Among Franklin’s papers in the American Philosophical Society is a brief satire entitled “Anecdote. The intended speech for the opening of the first Session of the present Parliament viz. Novr. 29 1774.” The King informs the members that all the American measures passed by the previous Parliament have gone wrong, that conquering the colonies will cost millions and bring no profit, and that the...
183192Notes on William Eaton’s Accounts: Editorial Note (Jefferson Papers)
In the spring of 1802, confronting an expenditure by William Eaton of $16,000 primarily for the charter of a vessel to carry dispatches to the United States, James Madison wrote to remind the consul that he must submit a full statement of his accounts. Eaton complied reluctantly, agreeing in November 1802 to send the information but contending that he could not always obtain receipts, even...
183193Editorial Note: Report on Weights and Measures (Jefferson Papers)
Jefferson’s report on weights and measures is an almost perfect embodiment of his dual allegiance to Newtonian physics and to Lockean concepts of government. The idea of using the pendulum as an invariable and universal standard came straight from Newton’s Principia , and the aim of constructing a system of weights and measures “bringing the principal affairs of life within the arithmetic of...
183194GW’s Farewell Address: Editorial Note (Washington Papers)
In the preparation of his farewell address to the American people, GW, as he often did for important documents, sought the assistance of others he thought were superior in literary ability. When he had considered resignation in 1792, he turned to James Madison. In 1796 his primary collaborator was Alexander Hamilton. The starting point for the 1796 address was Madison’s earlier draft. By...
183195Debates and Resolutions Related to the Regulation of Commerce by Congress, Including a Call for a Convention at … (Madison Papers)
History is replete with ironies and surely one occurring fairly early in JM’s development as a public man concerns the Annapolis convention of 1786. Often cited as a seedling for the full-grown Federal Convention of 1787 where JM was thrust into the national prominence he maintained for the next three decades, the documents and letters emanating from the October 1785 session of the Virginia...
183196New York Assembly. Report on the Petition of Theodosius Fowler, 20 February 1787 (Hamilton Papers)
New York, February 20, 1787. On this date Hamilton, as chairman of a committee, reported on a petition of Theodosius Fowler and others “praying that the estate of Jonathan Fowler, forfeited to the people of this State (the sale whereof has been stayed for the accomodation of the petitioners) may by law be appropriated to the payment of the debts of the said Jonathan.” Hamilton recommended that...
183197To Benjamin Franklin from Sarah Franklin, 23 March 1766 (Franklin Papers)
ALS : American Philosophical Society Our dear Friend Mrs. Smyth after an illness of 5 months and 6 days Expired Yesterday morning. In the whole time she had not been out of bed a quarter of an hour at a time, so thankfull she was for any thing her friends did for her and patient to a Miracle. Poor Mrs. Dufield and poor Mama are in great distress, it must be hard to lose a Friend of 50 Years...
183198Enclosure: Wilkinson’s Queries on Texas and Mexico, 11 June 1804 (Jefferson Papers)
The population of the Province of Texhas The same of La Calonia or St. Andere The distance from the City of St. Antonio, to the Town of Laredo on the Rio del Norte— From Laredo to the Town of Vallesillo on the Main road to the City of Mexico.— From Vallesillo to the City of Mont †the population of this City. El Rey—From thence to the city of *at this City the Roads from St. Afee, & the Capital...
183199Minutes of the Board of Visitors of the University of Virginia, 3 October 1820 (Madison Papers)
At an adjourned meeting of the Visitors of the University of Virginia, held on 3d. October 1820, present Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, Robert B. Taylor, John H. Cocke and Joseph C. Cabell; The Board approved the arrangement made by the Committee of Superintendence relative to the annulment of the contract with Doctor Thomas Cooper. Resolved, that From & after the first day of October 1820,...
183200Editorial Introduction (Washington Papers)
In making GW colonel of the regiment that was constituted, or reconstituted, in Virginia as a consequence of Braddock’s defeat, Robert Dinwiddie issued to GW three documents: a Commission, his Instructions, and a Memorandum. The only copy of the Commission found is in Dinwiddie’s letter book, in the hand of his clerk William Withers. It is dated 14 August. There are also letter-book copies of...
183201Hamilton Takes Command: Editorial Note (Jay Papers)
As calls for military action against France grew louder during the summer of 1798, Jay tapped Alexander Hamilton to take charge of the various efforts then underway to put the City of New York on a wartime footing. Although Hamilton’s formal duties were those of chief superintendent of fortifications, he in fact served in a much broader capacity than this title suggests. Throughout the...
183202John Jay’s Moderate Response to the Whiskey Rebellion: Editorial Note (Jay Papers)
The enforcement of Secretary of the Treasury Hamilton’s 1792 excise tax on distilled spirits met with widespread protest along the Appalachian backcountry. Western Pennsylvania constituted a flashpoint as harassment, ostracism, and violence greeted officials sent to implement the measure and residents who publicly supported it. Protesters in the region also sought to coordinate their efforts...
183203Editorial Note (Adams Papers)
“To morrow morning we set out upon our tour into Silesia, where you shall accompany us if you please,” John Quincy Adams wrote to his brother Thomas Boylston Adams on 16 July (above). So began a fourteen-week journey by John Quincy and Louisa Catherine Adams through what is now southern Poland and southern Germany. John Quincy promised to chronicle the trip in a series of letters, adding that...
183204Drafting Instructions for Meriwether Lewis: Editorial Note (Jefferson Papers)
A brief, undated set of four comments jotted in pencil by James Madison is the earliest evidence of Jefferson’s drafting of official instructions to Meriwether Lewis for the expedition to the Pacific ( Document I ). Due to an alteration that Jefferson made in his endorsement on that document, the date of its receipt is not clear but could be as early as 12 or 13 Apr. Jefferson’s practice,...
183205Tensions between Allies over the Peace Negotiations Editorial Note (Jay Papers)
Congress received long-awaited dispatches from its commissioners in Europe in December 1782. On 16 December Robert R. Livingston submitted to Congress Jay’s brief note of 28 September, which clarified a reference to Oswald’s second commission in Franklin’s dispatch of two days earlier. Livingston included in his letter of transmittal a quotation from Jay’s private correspondence of 4 September...
183206Constitutional Amendment on Louisiana: Editorial Note (Jefferson Papers)
“I think it will be safer not to permit the enlargement of the Union but by amendment of the constitution,” Jefferson wrote to his secretary of the Treasury in January 1803. The president was responding to Gallatin’s rebuttal of arguments from the attorney general about the desired purchase of New Orleans and the Floridas. Jefferson, Levi Lincoln knew, thought that an amendment to the...
183207Anonymous Essay on Madison’s Character, December 1814 (Madison Papers)
Destined for the Bar, the youth of Madison was consecrated to the laborious studies of that vocation. At the age of twenty two years he commenced his carreer of public life, always occupying with superior talents, and fidelity, the most conspicuous places in the gift of his fellow citizens. When a member of Congress, the vigor of his mind, the wisdom of his views, and the force and facility of...
183208Introductory Note: From Oliver Wolcott, Junior, [3 July 1797] (Hamilton Papers)
The events described in this letter precipitated the final phase of what has come to be known as the “Reynolds Affair.” In pamphlets appearing in June and July, 1797, James Thomson Callender stated that Hamilton, while Secretary of the Treasury, had joined with James Reynolds in a series of speculative ventures that were at best improper and at worst illegal. Two months later Hamilton...
183209The American Commissioners to John Lamb, [7 July 1786] (Adams Papers)
The Importance of Peace with the Algerines, and the other Inhabitants of the Coast of Barbary, to the United States, renders it necessary that every information which can be obtained, should be laid before Congress: And as the demands for the Redemption of Captives as well as the amount of Customary Presents, are so much more considerable than seem to have been expected in America, it appears...
183210From Benjamin Franklin to Mary Franklin, 26 August 1766 (Franklin Papers)
ALS : American Philosophical Society It has pleased God at length to take from us my only remaining Brother, and your affectionate Husband, with whom you have lived in uninterrupted Harmony and Love near half a Century. Considering the many Dangers and Hardships his Way of Life led him into, and the Weakness of his Constitution, it is wonderful that he lasted so long. It was God’s Goodness...