51From James Madison to Charles Bagot, 26 September 1817 (Madison Papers)
I duly recd. from the hand of Mr. Harris your favor of the 20th. However much we regret the delays which have suspended your journey, we could not wish that the gratification it holds out to us should be at the cost of your official obligations. We flatter ourselves that no further impediments will deprive us of it, in the early part of the ensuing Month. For myself, I am compelled as a...
52From James Madison to Domenico A. Azuni, October 1817 (Madison Papers)
The 3 Copies of your work on Piracy were duly recd; and 2 of them disposed of, one for the library of Congress, the other for that of the Department of State. For the 3d. presented to myself, I pray you to accept my thanks. An historical, juridical, & remedial view of Piracy, was a subject, which merited the researches & disquisition you have bestowed on it; and I have perused this gift of...
53From James Madison to Charles Kelsall, October 1817 (Madison Papers)
I duly recd. the Copy of the “Phantasm of an University” which you were so obliging as to send me; and I owe you many thanks for so learned and interesting a work. The recommendation of a National University in the U. S. has not yet been successful. But a Central Institution is just now on foot in the State of Virga., which in its development will embrace an extensive circle of Sciences; and...
54Minutes of the Board of Visitors of the Central College, 7 October 1817 (Madison Papers)
At a meeting of the Visitors &c. held at Charlottesville 7. Oct: 1817. On information of the amount of the subscriptions to the Central College, known to be made, and others understood to be so, the board resolves, that the Pavilion now erecting be completed as heretofore directed, with the 20. dormitories attached to it, and that two other pavilions be contracted for and executed the next...
55Minutes of the Board of Visitors of the Central College, 8 October 1817 (Madison Papers)
At a meeting of the Visitors &c. 8. Oct: 1817. Certain letters from Doctor Thos. Cooper to Th: Jefferson, dated Sep. 17. & 19. received since the meeting of yesterday being communicated to the board of Visitors, and taken into consideration with his former letter of Sep. 16. they are of opinion that it will be for the interest of the College to modify the terms of agreement which might be...
56From James Madison to Richard Cutts, 12 October 1817 (Madison Papers)
Your favor of the 8th. has been duly recd. as was that from Mrs. C. to her sister. I thank you for your attention to the Gardiner. Bizet has indicated a disposition to remain with us; and it is probable will suit the place better than a stranger, till we shall be able to avoid the expence altogether. The entire ignorance of our language and of the habits of the blacks wd be serious...
57From James Madison to James Monroe, 21 October 1817 (Madison Papers)
Your favor of the 18th. was handed to me by your servant, at a moment & place which did not permit me to acknowlege it by him. We regretted very much the circumstances which deprived us of the expected pleasure of seeing you all on your way to Washington. I inclose the copy of your letter to Gen: Jackson. Your reasonings on the singular step taken by him can scarcely fail to convince him of...
58From James Madison to William Harris Crawford, 24 October 1817 (Madison Papers)
… I feel more satisfaction than surprise at the excess of the Revenue beyond the estimated amount. It is principally drawn from imposts, and these will generally tally with the value of exports, which has, of late, been enhanced by good crops, or good prices overbalancing deficient crops. The difficulty of finding objects for our ways and means will startle foreign Governments, who husband...
59From James Madison to Thomas Mann Randolph, 24 October 1817 (Madison Papers)
I recd. on the 22d. inst: your letter of the 14th. making known to me, “that the Agricultural Society of Albemarle &c” had been pleased to make choice of me, for its “Honorary Head.” The high degree in which I value the objects of the Institution, and the particular respect I entertain for its members, do not permit me to decline so flattering a distinction. I shd. accept it nevertheless with...
60From James Madison to Edward Caffarena, 1 November 1817 (Madison Papers)
I have just received your letter of July 12: and owe more apology than I well know how to make for not acknowleging your former one accompanying the little equestrian statue of Napoleon in Alabaster, which came safely to hand. In this as in other cases the best resort is the simple truth, which is that I was unwilling to accept such an article without some equivalent; and I was not able to...
61From James Madison to Morris Birkbeck, [ca. 9 November] 1817 (Madison Papers)
I have recd. your letter of Sepr 18 though at a much later day than that at which it was due. The letter inclosed in it from Mr. Coles wd. have been recd. with additional pleasure from your own hand if you had found it convenient to take Montpellier in your Westward route. He was a few days ago with me, and confirmed verbally His esteem & the friendly interest he takes in your behalf. I can...
62From James Madison to Tench Coxe, 14 November 1817 (Madison Papers)
Letter not found. 14 November 1817. T. Madigan Autograph Album (December 1922), item 591.
63From James Madison to Richard Cutts, [ante–26 November] 1817 (Madison Papers)
I have recd. yours enclosing the Bills of Exchange &c &c. The letter for Mr. Rush contains one of them for the amount in the hands of Barring & brothers & co. If there be time to forward it to Annapolis before the Franklin sails, be so good as to give it that destination; if not, it may be sent from the Dept. of State with the first despatches to him. We have had a spell of weather remarkable...
64From James Madison to Richard Cutts, 26 November 1817 (Madison Papers)
Before I left Washington, I authorizd the Editor of the W. City Gazette then a Weekly paper to continue to send it to me, and I believe he was paid the arrears due, & the requisite advance. The paper has lately been converted into a daily & triweekly one, and the former is now sent me. I must ask the favor of you to have it discontinued, and the triweekly paper sent in its place which will...
65From James Madison to Thomas Jefferson, 29 November 1817 (Madison Papers)
I recd. some days ago yours of the 15th. and shall send my Palladio by the Stage of tuesday. It will probably arrive by the time you get back from Bedford. I send you the inclosed from Mr. Cooper, that in case of the supposed miscarriage of his letter to you, it may enable you to give him the answer for which he is so anxious. I shall inform him that I have done so, without undertaking to...
66From James Madison to James Monroe, 29 November 1817 (Madison Papers)
Your favor of the 24th has just been recd. I am fully aware of the load of business on your hands, preparatory to the meeting of Congress. The course you mean to take in relation to roads & Canals, appears to be best adapted to the posture in which you find the case. A reluctance has generally been felt, to include amendments to the Constitution among Executive recommendations to Congress, but...
67From James Madison to Richard Cutts, 6 December 1817 (Madison Papers)
I must ask the favor of you to have the inclosed letters forwarded from the Dept. of State. I know not whether Mr. Brent or Mr. Purviance be the most proper hand to commit it to. Mrs. M. intended to accompany this with a letter to her Sister; but puts of[f] writing till the next mail, having nothing more to say now than this will say, that we are well and that you all enjoy affectionate...
68From James Madison to James Monroe, 9 December 1817 (Madison Papers)
The mail of saturday brought me the Copy of your message. It is a fine landscape of our situation, and can not fail to give pleasure at home, and command respect abroad. The recommendation of the repeal of taxes is happily shaped; so also the introduction of the subject of amending the Constitution. The only questions which occur, relate to the proposed suppression of the establishment at...
69From James Madison to George Tebbs, 9 December 1817 (Madison Papers)
I have reced. your letter of the 7th. inst. The female assistant you have in view is doubtless an improvement in your proposed undertakeing. Of the success of your plan, or indeed of any other that could be substituted, for raising an auxiliary fund, I am probably a less competent judge than yourself. The interest which will be taken in a female seminary by Parents who are anxious to procure...
70From James Madison to Robert Walsh Jr., 13 December 1817 (Madison Papers)
J. M. has recd. the 2d. Vol. of the Amn. Register wth. which Mr. Walsh has favored him. Regarding the work as a very valuable contribution to the stock of Amn. literature, it has always been his intention to possess it; has taken steps wch. will save the politeness of Mr. W. from being again taxed for the purpose. He is at the same time not the less sensible of the kindness to which he is...
71From James Madison to Benjamin Bell, 22 December 1817 (Madison Papers)
I have but just recd. your letter of the 1st. inst. My niece is disposed to part with the land in question; and I shall acquiesce in the sale on the terms to which you refer. It remains with you therefore to come down & close the bargain. Accept my respects Draft (owned by Mike Minor, Kaufman, Tex., 1981). Letter not found. Benjamin Bell and William Tapscott of Jefferson County, Virginia (now...
72From James Madison to John Quincy Adams, 23 December 1817 (Madison Papers)
I received two days ago your favor of the 15th. with the written and printed accompaniments. I am glad to find that your personal interviews with Mr. Bentham, afforded an entertainment which may have been some recompence for the trouble which I contributed to give you in relation to him. The celebrity which this philosophic Polititian has acquired abroad as well as at home do not permit one to...
73From James Madison to Henry St. George Tucker, 23 December 1817 (Madison Papers)
I have recd. your favor of the 18th. enclosing the Report on the question of roads and Canals. I respect too much the right and the duty of the Representatives of the people to examine for themselves the merits of all questions before them, and am too conscious of my own fallibility, to view the most rigid and critical examination of the particular question referred to your Committee, with any...
74From James Madison to James Monroe, 27 December 1817 (Madison Papers)
Your favor of the 22d. has been duly recd. I am so much aware that you have not a moment to spare from your public duties, that I insist on your never answering my letters out of mere civility. This rule I hope will be applied to the present as well as future letters. My quere as to the expedition agst. Amelia Island turned solely on the applicability of the Executive Power to such a case....
75From James Madison to Thomas Jefferson, 1 January 1818 (Madison Papers)
Yours by the bearer of this was safely delivered last evening. I return the letter to the Govr. which is well adapted to its object. The pencelled marks will merely suggest for your consideration, whether the term Monastic , tho’ the most significant that could be chosen, may not give umbrage to the Institutions to which it is applicable; and whether the idea of seeking professors abroad , may...
76From James Madison to David Watson, 3 January 1818 (Madison Papers)
I have just recd. from Mr. Jefferson the inclosed letters to the Visitors, and to the Govr. the latter for their signatures. According to his request, I forward it to you for that purpose, by his Messenger, who will carry it to General Cocke. Mr. Jefferson will afterwards, with the signature of the President send it to Mr. Cabell. Be pleased to accept assurances of my friendly esteem RC ( ViU...
77From James Madison to Ebenezer Huntington, 4 January 1818 (Madison Papers)
I have duly reced. your letter of the 30th. Ult; in which you ask “whether the proposition to commute the half pay was suggested by Congress to the army, or by the army to Congress.” Not being able at this moment to consult the Journals of Congress, or the co[n]temporary documents, I cannot answer the enqui[r]y with the certainty & precision I would wish. I beleive that the measure was brought...
78From James Madison to Charles J. Ingersoll, 4 January 1818 (Madison Papers)
I have recd. your letter of the 25th. Ult. Believing that the late war merits a historical review, penetrating below the surface of events, and beyond the horizon of unexpanded minds, I am glad to learn that the task is contemplated by one whose talents, and, what is not less essential, whose fairness of dispositions, are entitled to so much confidence. Whatever be the light in which any...
79From James Madison to Richard Cutts, 6 January 1818 (Madison Papers)
I have not yet found it convenient to ascertain the deficiency in the numbers of Niles’ Register. I can only at present say that I have not recd. a single no. since I left Washington, whence I conclude that those addressed to me have taken some other permanent direction, which will on explanation not deprive me of the claim to have them replaced. I wish however to apply at once for both the...
80From James Madison to John L. E. W. Shecut, 6 January 1818 (Madison Papers)
I duly recd. your favor of Dcr. 11. with a Copy of your “Essay on the yellow fever of Charleston.” I have perused it with pleasure; as valuable in my view for its facts, and interesting for its theoretic observations. I offer this tribute with a consciousness that that of better judges of Medical subjects will be more worthy of your acceptance. Permit me, to add to it my thanks for your polite...
81From James Madison to Richard Bache, [post–8] January 1818 (Madison Papers)
I have recd. your favor of the 7th inclosing the prospectus of a Gazette which is to be devoted to the cause of public liberty & free from the personal abuse which infects so many presses. I sincerely wish the example may have as much effect in exciting a laudable emulation, as examples of an opposite character have in provoking slanderous competitions. It is not within the rule I have laid...
82From James Madison to John Trumbull, 10 January 1818 (Madison Papers)
I have recd. your letter of the 28th. Ult: and learn with pleasure the success of your preliminary steps for the interesting work committed to you by the act of Congress. Retaining all the confidence in its satisfactory execution, which led me to participate in the provisions for it, I have only to express my wishes that you may find every further facility for doing justice to your talents,...
83From James Madison to Jacob Gideon Jr., 28 January 1818 (Madison Papers)
I have recd. your letter of the 19th. and in consequence of the request it makes, I send you a copy of the 1st. Edition of the “Federalist,” with the names of the writers prefixed to their respective numbers. Not being on the spot, when it was in the press, the errors noted in mine were not then corrected. You will be so good as to return the 2 vols. when convenient to you. The 2d. Edition of...
84From James Madison to Gales & Seaton, 2 February 1818 (Madison Papers)
I have received your letter of Jany. 26. The work to which you have turned your thoughts is of a character which justly claims for it my favorable wishes. A Legislative History of our Country is of too much interest not to be, at some day, undertaken; and the longer it be postponed, the more difficult & deficient must the execution become. In the event of your engaging in it, I shall...
85From James Madison to Robert Mallory, 11 February 1818 (Madison Papers)
I have just recd. yours of the 7th. inst: mentioning my appointment to a place in the Board of public works. Notwithstanding my respect for such a mark of confidence from the General Assembly, and the wishes I feel for the progress of the Internal Improvements committed to that Institution, I am constrained to decline the trust allotted to me. And I comply with your request that this should be...
86From James Madison to an Unidentified Correspondent, 11 February 1818 (Madison Papers)
Letter not found. 11 February 1818. Offered for sale in the Heartman Catalogue No. 206 (12 Oct. 1929), item 180, where it is listed as a draft letter in the third person in JM’s hand. Attached is a short letter, also in the third person, in Dolley Payne Madison’s hand.
87From James Madison to Thomas Jefferson, 12 February 1818 (Madison Papers)
I have recd. yours of the 6th. inclosing the letters to & from Dr. Cooper, and forward the former by this days mail, the first that has offered. The relinquishment of our claim on him was unavoidable, and but reasonable, and it could not have been made known to him in more suitable terms. RC ( DLC ). Fragment. Remainder of text, closing, and signature clipped. Docketed by Jefferson, “recd....
88From James Madison to James Monroe, 18 February 1818 (Madison Papers)
I have recd. your favor of the 13th. I beg that you will not think of the pecuniary subject till it be in every respect, perfectly convenient to you. The real sense of the nation with regard to the Revolutionary struggle in S. America can not, I should suppose, be mistaken. Good wishes for its success, and every lawful manifestation of them, will be approved by all, whatever may be the...
89From James Madison to Jacob Gideon Jr., 20 February 1818 (Madison Papers)
I have recd. your letter of the 12th. You are welcome to the Copy of the Federalist sent you. If you refer to it in your proposed Edition it will be more proper to note the fact that the numbers with my name prefixed were published from a Copy containing corrections in my hand, than to use the phrase “revised & corrected by J.M” which would imply a more careful & professed revisal, than is...
90From James Madison to Samuel Dana, 21 February 1818 (Madison Papers)
I have recd your favor of the 6th. I do not possess the publications of the Agricultural Society of Massts. and have no doubt of the valuable instruction comprized in them. I feel however some reluctance in accepting your offer to forward me a copy, whilst I have no returns to make for it. I am very glad to learn that the situation of Mrs. Dana which caused your hasty departure from Washington...
91From James Madison to Joseph C. Cabell, 23 February 1818 (Madison Papers)
I have but just recd. your favor of the 16th. for which and the interesting document accompanying it, be pleased to accept my thanks. I had previously recd. a letter from Mr. Mallory, one of the Delegates from this County, saying that I had been appointed a member of the Board of Pub: Works; and that it was wished I should let it be immediately known whether it was my purpose to accept or to...
92From James Madison to Richard Cutts, 24 February 1818 (Madison Papers)
I recd. yesterday your favor of the 20th. Eddins has not yet recd. the pattern of a Rifle Stock. The information is very acceptable that the option is afforded him; and not less so that if his fund of Walnut should not hold out, it will be no disappointment to the ordnance Dept. He will soon be able to judge of this point; and to send down to Fredg. his first delivery. If I am not mistaken,...
93From James Madison to William Lee, 5 March 1818 (Madison Papers)
I have recd. yours of the inclosing a statement of the balance due to you. I shall remit it without delay; regretting that you did not give me an earlier opportunity of discharging the debt. Having counted on the pleasure of a visit from yourself & your amiable family, we are much gratified to find that we shall not be disappointed. I am very sensible of your goodness in the interest you take...
94From James Madison to James Monroe, 8 March 1818 (Madison Papers)
I find that Mr. H. Carroll, son of Charles Carroll, who brought over the Treaty of Ghent, is very desirous, as is his father, that he should be appointed to a land office on the Missouri. You are so well acquainted with the worth of the latter both as a man and a patriot, and probably also with the character of the son, that I ought perhaps on that account alone to forbear saying a word on the...
95From James Madison to Henry Carroll, 11 March 1818 (Madison Papers)
I recd. in due time yours of the 5th. and took occasion in a letter to the President, tho’ in deviation from my general wish, to express my favorable sentiments towards you, and my respect for the worth & wishes of your father. I am persuaded however that the personal dispositions of the President, are a better resource, than any thing I could say; if he shd. find himself at liberty to indulge...
96From James Madison to Richard Cutts, 14 March 1818 (Madison Papers)
As it appears from your letter of the 5th. that Mr. Gideon adheres to his plan of publishing the 2 pamphlets in the same volumes with the Federalist, and desires a corrected copy of the one written by me, I have thought it best to send one. Be so good as to let it be put into his hands. I have limited the corrections to errors of the press and of the transcriber; and to a few cases in which...
97From James Madison to Benjamin Silliman, 28 March 1818 (Madison Papers)
I have received your letter of the instant, annexed to your prospectus of the Scientific Journal. The Work, according to the scope allotted to it, can not fail to be interesting, both as a mode of preserving and distributing the fruits of American Science, and of animating the cultivation of it. With this view of the subject, I sincerely wish success to your undertaking; and though I generally...
98From James Madison to St. George Tucker, 28 March 1818 (Madison Papers)
I duly recd. your favor accompanying the MSS. pamphlet for Mr. Delaplaine. He had signified his wish for my aid in such conveyances; and inattention on my part without blame on his, left him under the impression which produced his request to you. I thank you for the opportunity of perusing the biographical sketch. It was merited by the excellent patriot who is the subject of it; and you have...
99From James Madison to an Unidentified Correspondent, 28 March 1818 (Madison Papers)
Letter not found. 28 March 1818. Described as an autograph letter, signed, in Stan. V. Henkels Catalogue No. 975 (8–9 April 1908), item 583.
100From James Madison to Thomas Jefferson, 29 March 1818 (Madison Papers)
The day on which the first instalment for the Central College becomes due, being near at hand, I think it not amiss, as no conveyance of mine offers, to intimate, that it shall be paid on draft, or if requisite sent by a special hand. Yrs. affectionately RC ( MoHi ). Docketed by Jefferson, “recd Apr. 2.” JM subscribed $1,000 to the Central College fund (Cabell, Early History of the University...