RC (MHi); endorsed by TJ as received 6 May 1818 and so recorded in SJL. Enclosure: Rhea to his constituents, Washington, 3 Apr. 1818, highlighting the uniqueness of the American republic, the symbiotic relationship between the state and national governments, and the status of the federal constitution as the “great charter”; summarizing United States Treasury receipts and expenditures and the rise of public debt between 1812 and 1818; inferring from a survey of domestic manufactures and imports and exports that the “quantity of domestic produce and manufacture exported from the United States, has (except in the time of the late war) been annually increasing”; commenting that the passage of an act authorizing the building of additional naval ships and steam batteries will lead to a “strong marine defence in case of future war”; noting that recent Indian removal treaties will result in “Connected settlements … from Mobile to Lake Erie, and from Lake Erie north of the river Ohio to Missouri”; reporting passage of an act that helps clear title to former Indian land in Tennessee; observing that the population of the country has increased fivefold since American independence; asserting that the military continues to strengthen and expand; providing a positive view of agriculture, manufacture, commerce, and civil liberties within the nation; and concluding that, as a result of the “protecting providence of the Almighty ruler of the universe,” the United States has “become a great nation,” which he prays will continue (printed circular in MHi: Adams Papers; filed with covering letter noted below).