Thomas Jefferson to James Pleasants, [21] December 1822
To James Pleasants
Monto Dec. 20. [21.] 22.
Dear Sir
The sollicitn of a friend which wi[ll] be presently explained, is yielded to th[e] more readily as it gives me an occasio[n] of greeting you on your accession to th[e] chair of our govmt1 & of congratulating you particularly on the honorable majority by which it was conferred. besides the interest I feel in it as a citizen & relation I have another peculiarly interwoven with my most anxious affections.2 it is that of the success of our Univy on which I rest the future prospects of my native state. the progress of this depends much on the dispositions3 of our first magistrate whether frdly or adverse, and I thus early4 recommend it to your patronage with a hope & confidence that it will merit & meet on all occasions the advantge5 of your good offices. and may I not flatter myself it may be an addnal inducement for your visiting at convenience6 those here who would be so much gratified by a visit from you.
Now to the particular occn of my addressing you.7 a friend in Philada write[s] to me in the following terms.
‘The place of civil engineer to the board of public works of Virga is vacant, & Majr S. H. Long, resident in this city and belonging to the US. corps of topographical engineers is a candidate for that place. I know that Maj[r] Long is held to be eminently qualified for it by the gentlemen of this city whose studies & professions render them competent judges of the matter. I have had myself good oppties of becoming acqd with his general informn & capacity, his habits of applicn & exertion, and his moral principles & social manners. in all these respects he appears to me entitled to the highest esteem & confidce.’
having myself not the least knolege of the8 character or qualifns of Maj[r] Long, I can only say that my opn of the competence of my friend to judge of these would have great weight with me in a case wherein I had to act myself
I suppose it to be the same person who conducted the exploring expedn to the Rocky mountains two years ago under appmt from the Secy at war, an acct of which has been publd in 2. v. I have not seen it; if it should have fallen under your notice it may furnish you other materials for comparing his qualifns with those of his competitors. my 1st wish is that that may be done which is best for our country: my 2d that that which is best may happen to be that also which is the wish of my friend.9 I salute you with affectionate frdshp & respect.
Dft (ViW: TC-JP); on portion of a reused address cover from Daniel Brent to TJ; misdated; edge trimmed; endorsed by TJ as a letter of 21 Dec. 1822 to “Pleasants James” and so recorded in SJL. Tr (Vi: RG 57, Applications for Position of Principal Engineer); extract only; at head of text: “Extract of a letter from Thomas Jefferson esqr to James Pleasants, dated Monticello Decr 21. 1822.”
Pleasants was elected governor by the Virginia General Assembly on 10 Dec. 1822. On the first ballot he received the majority, 151 out of 213 votes, and he accepted the position shortly thereafter ( [1822–23 sess.], 26, 40; Richmond Enquirer, 12 Dec. 1822). Robert Walsh, TJ’s friend in philada, had written to him on 10 Dec. 1822.
Stephen H. Long’s notes from the exploring expedn to the rocky mountains were compiled by another member of the expedition, Edwin James, and published as Account of an Expedition from Pittsburgh to the Rocky Mountains, performed in the years 1819 and ’20, by order of The Hon. J. C. Calhoun, Sec’y of War: under the command of Major Stephen H. Long: from the notes of Major Long, Mr. T. Say, and other gentlemen of the exploring party, 2 vols. (Philadelphia, 1823 [1822]) (Neal Woodman, “History and dating of the publication of the Philadelphia [1822] and London [1823] editions of Edwin James’s Account of an expedition from Pittsburgh to the Rocky Mountains,” Archives of Natural History 37 [2010]: 23–38).
1. Word interlined in place of “state.”
2. Word interlined in place of “wishes.”
3. Word interlined in place of “functions.”
4. Preceding two words interlined.
5. Word interlined in place of “benefit.”
6. Preceding two words interlined.
7. Tr begins here.
8. TJ here canceled “person.”
9. Tr ends here.
Index Entries
- Account of an Expedition from Pittsburgh to the Rocky Mountains, performed in the years 1819 and ’20, by order of The Hon. J. C. Calhoun, Sec’y of War: under the command of Major Stephen H. Long: from the notes of Major Long, Mr. T. Say, and other gentlemen of the exploring party (E. James) search
- Calhoun, John Caldwell; as secretary of war search
- James, Edwin; Account of an Expedition from Pittsburgh to the Rocky Mountains, performed in the years 1819 and ’20, by order of The Hon. J. C. Calhoun, Sec’y of War: under the command of Major Stephen H. Long: from the notes of Major Long, Mr. T. Say, and other gentlemen of the exploring party search
- Jefferson, Thomas; Correspondence; letters of application and recommendation from search
- Long, Stephen Harriman; Account of an Expedition from Pittsburgh to the Rocky Mountains, performed in the years 1819 and ’20, by order of The Hon. J. C. Calhoun, Sec’y of War: under the command of Major Stephen H. Long: from the notes of Major Long, Mr. T. Say, and other gentlemen of the exploring party (E. James) search
- Long, Stephen Harriman; and Board of Public Works search
- Long, Stephen Harriman; recommended by R. Walsh search
- patronage; letters of application and recommendation from TJ search
- Pleasants, James; and appointments search
- Pleasants, James; and University of Virginia search
- Pleasants, James; as governor of Va. search
- Pleasants, James; letters to search
- Rocky Mountains search
- Virginia, University of; Construction and Grounds; progress of search
- Virginia, University of; Establishment; TJ’s vision for search
- Virginia; Board of Public Works search
- Virginia; General Assembly search
- Virginia; governor search
- Walsh, Robert; recommends S. H. Long search