Thomas Jefferson to Henry Wheaton, 15 February 1821
To Henry Wheaton
Monticello Feb. 15. 21.
I thank you, Sir, for the very able Discourse you have been so kind as to send me on international law. I concur much in it’s doctrines, and very particularly in it’s estimate of the Lacedaemonian character. how such a tribe of savages ever acquired the admiration of the world has always been beyond my comprehension. I can view them but on a level with our American Indians, and I see in Logan, Tecumseh & the little Turtle fair parallels for their Brasidas, Agesilaus Etc. the difficulty is to concieve that such a horde of Barbarians could so long remain unimproved, in the neighborhood of a people so polished as the Athenians; to whom they owe altogether1 that their name is now known to the world. all the good that can be said of them is that they were as brave as bull-dogs. I salute you with very great respect.
Th: Jefferson
RC (Doyle Auction House, Sale 18BP01, Lot 10, New York City, 25 Apr. 2018); at foot of text: “Henry Wheaton esq.” PoC (DLC); endorsed by TJ. Not recorded in SJL.
discourse: Wheaton, An Anniversary Discourse, delivered before The New-York Historical Society, on Thursday, December 28, 1820 (New York, 1821; TJ’s copy in PPL, inscribed by Wheaton on title page [trimmed]: “To the hon. Thomas Jeffe[rson] with the author’s respe[cts]”). Around this time Wheaton sent the same pamphlet to John Adams and James Madison (Adams to Wheaton, 7 Feb. 1821 [NNPM]; Madison, Papers, Retirement Ser., 2:238).
1. Word canceled in PoC, with “all their fame &” interlined in its place.
Index Entries
- Adams, John; works sent to search
- Agesilaus II, king of Sparta search
- An Anniversary Discourse, delivered before The New-York Historical Society, on Thursday, December 28, 1820 (H. Wheaton) search
- Athens; TJ on search
- Brasidas (Spartan general) search
- dogs; mentioned search
- Indians, American; TJ on search
- Jefferson, Thomas; Books & Library; receives works search
- Jefferson, Thomas; Opinions on; Indians search
- Jefferson, Thomas; Opinions on; Spartans search
- law; books on search
- Little Turtle (Miami Indian) search
- Logan, James (ca.1725–80) (Mingo Indian); mentioned search
- Madison, James (1751–1836); works sent to search
- Sparta; TJ on search
- Tecumseh (Shawnee chief); leadership of search
- Wheaton, Henry; An Anniversary Discourse, delivered before The New-York Historical Society, on Thursday, December 28, 1820 search
- Wheaton, Henry; letters to search