James Monroe to Thomas Jefferson, 23 November 1818
From James Monroe
washington novr 23. 1818
Dear Sir
I send you a copy of the documents relating to negotiations with Spain, from a very distant day, to the end of the last Session, which will be interesting to you, tho’ not new, having had the direction of them, in the stage, which formd the outline of what has since followd.
Our attitude with the allied powers, in regard to So Am:, is as favorable, as it well can be, mr Rush & mr Gallatin having had conferences, the former with Ld C., & the latter with the Duke of R., & the Russian minister at Paris, in which they were inform’d by those ministers, that their govts could not well move in that affr without the U States, by which, it was meant, as is inferr’d, against the U States. Had we made a bolder, or more precipitate movment, it might have produc’d a corresponding one on their part, very different from that, which it is expected, they will adopt & pursue. At present, our weight, is thrown into the scale of the Colonies, in a way, most likely, to produce the desird effect with the allies in favor of the colonies, without1 hasard of loss to ourselves.
I heard, with great pleasure, by mr Burwell, that your health had improv’d, since I left you. that it may continue to improve, is the sincere wish, of your friend & servant
James Monroe
RC (DLC); endorsed by TJ as received 27 Nov. 1818 and so recorded in SJL. RC (MHi); address cover only; with PoC of TJ to Smith & Riddle, 6 May 1819, on verso; addressed: “Thomas Jefferson Monticello Virga”; franked; postmarked Washington, 23 Nov. Enclosure: Message from the President of the United States, transmitting the Correspondence between the Department of State, and the Spanish Minister, residing here, Showing the Present State of the Relations between the Two Governments (Washington, 1818; possibly , 11 [no. 662]).
ld c. and the duke of r. were Robert Stewart, Viscount Castlereagh, the British foreign minister, and Armand Emmanuel du Plessis, duc de Richelieu, the French prime minister. The russian minister at paris was Carlo Andrea Pozzo di Borgo.
On this date Monroe sent the enclosure and a similar letter to James Madison (Madison, Papers, Retirement Ser., 1:382–3).
1. Reworked from “with.”
Index Entries
- Burwell, William Armistead; visits Monticello search
- Castlereagh, Robert Stewart, Viscount; as foreign secretary search
- France; and U.S. search
- Gallatin, Albert; as minister plenipotentiary to France search
- Great Britain; and U.S. search
- Jefferson, Thomas; Health; staphylococcus infection search
- Madison, James (1751–1836); works sent to search
- Message from the President of the United States, transmitting the Correspondence between the Department of State, and the Spanish Minister, residing here, Showing the Present State of the Relations between the Two Governments (1818; J. Monroe) search
- Monroe, James; and South American affairs search
- Monroe, James; letters from search
- Monroe, James; presidential messages of search
- Monticello (TJ’s Albemarle Co. estate); Visitors to; Burwell, William A. search
- Pozzo di Borgo, Carlo Andrea; Russian minister at Paris search
- Richelieu, Armand Emmanuel du Plessis, duc de; as French prime minister search
- Rush, Richard; as minister plenipotentiary to Great Britain search
- South America; and European powers search
- South America; republics in search
- Spain; and U.S. search
- staphylococcus; TJ infected with search
- United States; and France search
- United States; and Great Britain search
- United States; and Spain search