James Monroe to Thomas Jefferson, 14 March 1822
From James Monroe
Washington March 14. 1822
Dear Sir
I have had the pleasure to receive your letter of the 6th, & to forward that to Dr Morse enclosed in it, in the manner directed. I have read with great interest & satisfaction, the very luminous view, which you have taken, of the many & very serious objections to the association of which he may be said to be the author. I concur with you thoroughly in every sentiment which you have expressd on the subject, & I hope you will excuse a liberty which I have taken, to retain a copy of it, & that you will also permit me to shew it, to the members of the administration & some other friends here. I have shewn it to mr Hay, who expresses a strong desire that it could be made publick, as he thinks that it would produce a very happy effect, in checking combinations of the kind. mr. Gouverneur who copied it, is the only other person who has seen it, or who will see it, without your permission.
you have I doubt not read the message respecting the independant governments to the south of the U States. There was danger in standing still or moving forward, of a nature, in both instances, which will readily occur to you. I thought that it was the wisest policy, to risk that, which was incident to the latter course, as it comported mor[e] with the liberal & magnanimous spirit of our own country than the other. I hope that you will concur in the opin[i]on that the time had arrivd, beyond, which it ought not to have been longer delayd—
James Monroe
RC (DLC); edge damaged; endorsed by TJ as received 17 Mar. 1822. RC (MHi); address cover only; with FC of TJ to John Browne Cutting, 18 July 1824, on verso; addressed: “Thomas Jefferson Monticello Virginia”; franked; postmarked Washington, 14 Mar.
George hay and Samuel L. gouverneur were Monroe’s sons-in-law, and Gouverneur served as his secretary. On 8 Mar. 1822 Monroe sent a message to the United States House of Representatives announcing that the executive branch would recognize those Spanish American “provinces which have declared their independence, and are in the enjoyment of it,” but remain neutral in any wars between Spain and these newly independent nations ( , 15:328–31, quote on p. 330; Washington Daily National Intelligencer, 9 Mar. 1822).
1. Manuscript: “sevant.”
Index Entries
- American Society for promoting the civilization and general improvement of the Indian Tribes within the United States; criticism of search
- Gouverneur, Samuel Lawrence; and J. Monroe search
- Hay, George; and American Society for promoting the civilization and general improvement of the Indian Tribes within the United States search
- Hay, George; and J. Monroe search
- Jefferson, Thomas; Correspondence; publication of papers search
- Monroe, James (1758–1831); and American Society for promoting the civilization and general improvement of the Indian Tribes within the United States search
- Monroe, James (1758–1831); and Latin American affairs search
- Monroe, James (1758–1831); letters from search
- Monroe, James (1758–1831); presidency of search
- Monroe, James (1758–1831); TJ forwards letters through search
- Morse, Jedidiah; and American Society for promoting the civilization and general improvement of the Indian Tribes within the United States search
- Spain; colonies of search
- United Provinces of South America; independence of search
- United States; and South American republics search