1To James Madison from William Duane, 3 May 1809 (Madison Papers)
Public motives, such as I conceive calculated to render service to the interests and honor of your administration, induce me to take the liberty of addressing you. The unhappy conflict which has arisen out of the case of Olmstead is now quieted so far as the law and the parties in that case are invol⟨ved⟩. The Militia men who under a blind opinion of obedience to their superiors have...
2To James Madison from William Duane, 1 November 1809 (Abstract) (Madison Papers)
1 November 1809, Philadelphia. Introduces Christopher Fitzsimmons of Charleston, South Carolina, and Hugh Colhoun of Philadelphia, both of them admirers of JM’s “principles and measures, and those of your predecessor.” RC ( DLC ). 2 pp. Docketed by JM.
3To James Madison from William Duane, 1 December 1809 (Madison Papers)
Every man owes to his country the best services of which he is capable; if in an upright zeal to fulfil this obligation, a man may overate the value of his conceptions, the intention to do good will at once excuse the attempt and apologize for whatever trouble he may give in communicating the result of his reflections. In the present situation of the national affairs, and considering that the...
4To James Madison from William Duane, 5 December 1809 (Madison Papers)
I have revolved for some time in my mind the ideas which in a crude form I have taken the liberty of addressing to you. I presume not to set any higher values on them than liberal intentions and an enthusiastic devotion to the principles and durability of Republican Government, may give them. I neither look for any answer nor do I wish for any thing more than, the gratification of endeavoring...
5To James Madison from William Duane, 8 December 1809 (Madison Papers)
I took the liberty of placing before you some few ideas on the subject of an application of the principle of a security in land for an investment of cash in Bank stock, at a reduced interest. It has since occurred to me, that as the impost may probably fall short of the sum requisite for exigency, that a resort to an investiture of land to cover a public loan, would not only enable the...
6To James Madison from William Duane, 16 April 1810 (Madison Papers)
My son Wm. J. Duane will have the honor to present you this note, going to Washington on a matter of business his own wishes and my desire would not suffer me to scruple taking this liberty of making him known to you. He goes to Washington with the View of prosecuting an undertaking which I formerly contemplated, the publication of an Edition of the laws of the U. S. upon a plan of which I had...
7William Duane to Thomas Jefferson, 16 July 1810 (Jefferson Papers)
A desire to be preserved in your remembrance has often led me to the verge of writing to you, but knowing with what anxiety you retired from political concerns and the disgust you must naturally have felt at the recollection of the baseness you have seen and the unworthiness which prevails too much in all kinds of affairs, I preferred rather to trust to the ordinary incidents of my situation...
8William Duane to Thomas Jefferson, 17 August 1810 (Jefferson Papers)
I have had the satisfaction to receive your very kind letter of the 12 instant . It is singular enough that I should have before me at the moment, a history of England in 4to, which I take to be the same which you mention. Several years ago you mentioned the same book to me, and through M r G. Erving then in London I obtained the book before me. Having just completed my Military Dictionary...
9Contemporary Translation of Destutt de Tracy’s Commentary on Book 2 of Montesquieu’s Esprit des Lois, [after 16 … (Jefferson Papers)
BOOK II. of laws originating directly from the nature of the government. There are only two kinds of government: those founded on the general rights of man, and those founded on particular rights. spirit of laws. book ii. T he ordinary division of governments into republican, monarchical, and despotic, appears to me essentially erroneous. The word republican is itself a very vague term,...
10Contemporary Translation of Extracts from Destutt de Tracy’s Reflections on Montesquieu’s First Twelve Books, [after 16 … (Jefferson Papers)
In the second book, we shall perceive, that all governments may be classed under two heads, namely . . . . those which are founded on the general rights of man . . . . and those which are supposed to be founded on particular rights. Montesquieu has not adopted this distribution; he classes governments according to the accidental circumstances of the number of men invested with authority; and...