John Pickering to Thomas Jefferson, 28 January 1822
From John Pickering
Salem, Massachusetts1 Jany 28. 1822.
Sir,
Having lately had the pleasure to see the Memorial presented to Congress by you on the subject of repealing the duties upon imported Books, I take the liberty to forward to you a copy of one upon the same subject, which was offered two years ago by several gentlemen in this town. It gives great satisfaction here to observe, that the scholars in your part of the country entertain the same opinions with themselves upon this important subject; and they hope, that your efforts in the cause will produce the desired effect.
Permit me, Sir, to avail myself of this occasion to offer you a little publication of mine upon the subject of an Orthography for our Indian Languages, in which you have taken a lively interest, & which promise valuable additions to our stock of philological science. You will know how to make all just allowances for the imperfections of the Essay. I take the liberty also to send you at the same time a copy of a Review which is just published in the North-American for the present month.
Jno Pickering
RC (ViW: TC-JP); dateline adjacent to signature; endorsed by TJ as received 7 Feb. 1822 and so recorded in SJL; with Dft of TJ to Pickering, 13 Feb. 1822, at foot of text. RC (MHi); address cover only; with Dft of TJ to Jerman Baker, 22 June 1824, on verso; addressed: “To Thomas Jefferson Esquire late President of the U. States &c &c &c Monticello Virginia”; franked; postmarked. FC (John Pickering, Salem, Mass., 1951); between dateline and text: “(Copy) To Presidt Jefferson.” Enclosures: (1) Pickering, An Essay on a Uniform Orthography for the Indian Languages of North America, as published in the Memoirs of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences (Cambridge, Mass., 1820). (2) [Pickering], review of Friedrich Adelung’s Uebersicht aller bekannten Sprachen und ihrer Dialekte (Saint Petersburg, Russia, 1820), in North American Review 14 (new ser., 5) (1822): 128–44, which translates the title as “A Survey of all the known Languages and their Dialects”; extols the present age “as the epoch of a new science … the comparative science of languages” (p. 129); explains that Adelung’s German-language publication is “a mere index or prospectus” of a larger intended work (p. 130); and includes a translated abridgment of Adelung’s outline of the world’s languages, organized geographically, with a full version of the sections on North American territories east and west of the Mississippi River.
The memorial written by TJ was the Petition of University of Virginia Board of Visitors to United States Congress, 30 Nov. 1821. Pickering had composed a petition upon the same subject, which was signed by Edward A. Holyoke and others, presented to the House of Representatives on 9 Feb. 1820, but ruled inexpedient on 24 Nov. of that year (Mary Orne Pickering, Life of John Pickering [1887], 273, 485; , 13:205, 14:32). On 18 Jan. 1822 the Salem Gazette printed a copy of this appeal, possibly the one enclosed here.
1. Preceding two words and salutation not in FC.
2. FC ends here with (brackets in original) “&c [J.P.].”
Index Entries
- Adelung, Friedrich; Uebersicht aller bekannten Sprachen und ihrer Dialekte search
- An Essay on a Uniform Orthography for the Indian Languages of North America (J. Pickering) search
- books; on orthography search
- books; tariffs on search
- Congress, U.S.; and tariffs search
- Holyoke, Edward A.; and tariffs on books search
- Indians, American; languages search
- Jefferson, Thomas; Books & Library; works sent to search
- Jefferson, Thomas; Writings; Petition of University of Virginia Board of Visitors to United States Congress search
- language; Indian (American) search
- newspapers; Salem Gazette (Mass.) search
- Pickering, John (1777–1846); and tariffs on books search
- Pickering, John (1777–1846); An Essay on a Uniform Orthography for the Indian Languages of North America search
- Pickering, John (1777–1846); letters from search
- Pickering, John (1777–1846); reviewsUebersicht aller bekannten Sprachen und ihrer Dialekte (F. Adelung) search
- taxes; on books search
- Uebersicht aller bekannten Sprachen und ihrer Dialekte (F. Adelung) search
- Virginia, University of; Board of Visitors; petition of, to U.S. Congress search