Volume 18

4 November 1790 to 24 January 1791

Volume Details

Description

Volume 18, covering part of the final session of the First Congress, shows Jefferson as Secretary of State continuing his effective collaboration with James Madison in seeking commercial reciprocity with Great Britain by threatening—and almost achieving—a retaliatory navigation bill. During these few weeks Jefferson produced a remarkable series of official reports on Gouverneur Morris’ abortive mission to England, on the first case of British impressment of American seamen to be noticed officially, on the interrelated problems of Mediterranean trade and the American captives in Algiers, and on the French protest against the tonnage acts. All of these state papers reflected the consistency of Jefferson’s aim to bolster the independence of the United States, to promote national unity, and even, as his report on the Algerine captives indicates, to lay the foundations for American maritime power.

This volume reveals Jefferson’s continuing interest in a unified system of weights and measures, his effort to create a mint, and his concern over executive proceedings in the Northwest Territory. It contains also his suggestions for the President’s annual message and his first encounter, at the hands of Noah Webster, with Federalist ridicule of his interest in science.

Despite his heavy official duties and the confusion into which his household was thrown when 78 crates of books, wines, and furniture arrived from France, Jefferson never failed to write his promised weekly letter to his daughters and son-in-law under the alternating plan which obligated each of them to write only once every three weeks. The record of this time of extraordinary pressure shows that Jefferson retained his usual equanimity except when, after a full two months, he failed to receive any scrap of writing from the little family at Monticello.

Table of Contents

To James Brown, 4 November 1790	3
From Thomas Auldjo, 4 November 1790	3
From David Humphreys, 4 November 1790	6
To Daniel L. Hylton, 4 November 1790	7
From George Read, Jr., 4 November 1790	7
From Benjamin Vaughan, 4 November 1790	10
John E. Howard to George Washington, 5 November 1790	10
From Joshua Johnson, 5 November 1790	10
From Joseph Fenwick, 6 November 1790	11
Jefferson's Deed of Gift of Certain Slaves, [6 November 1790]	12
From Moustier, 6 November 1790	12
From William Short, 6 November 1790	13
From Thomas Auldjo, 7 November 1790	25
To Martha Jefferson Carr, 7 November 1790	26
To Andrew Donald, 7 November 1790	27
From George Gilmer, 7 November 1790	27
To George Gilmer, 7 November 1790	28
To Richard Hanson, 7 November 1790	28
Memorandum for Nicholas Lewis, [ca. 7 November 1790]	29
To James Monroe, 7 November 1790	29
From William Short, 7 November 1790	30
Subscription for Extending the Navigation of the Rivanna, [before 8 November 1790]	39
From Thomas MacDonogh, 8 November 1790	41
To Nicholas Lewis, 9 November 1790	41
From George C. Fox & Sons, 10 November 1790	42
From Thomas Mann Randolph, Jr., 11 November 1790	42
From John Garland Jefferson, 12 November 1790	43
To Thomas Mann Randolph, Jr., 12 November 1790	44
From J. P. P. Derieux, 15 November 1790	45
From Joshua Johnson, 15 November 1790	48
From David Humphreys, 19 November 1790	48
From La Motte, 9 [November] 1790	51
From James Maury, 20 November 1790	52
From John Rutledge, Jr., 20 November 1790	52
From Schweighauser & Dobrée, 20 November 1790	54
From La Motte, 21 November 1790	55
From William Nelson, Jr., 22 November 1790	56
From William Nelson, Jr., 22 November 1790	58
From Thomas Auldjo, 23 November 1790	61
From John Churchman, 23 November 1790	61
From Tench Coxe, [23 November 1790]	62
From C. W. F. Dumas, 23 November 1790	63
To Thomas Mann Randolph, Jr., 23 November 1790	64
Henry Remsen, Jr. to Benjamin Russell and Others, 23 November 1790	65
From William Channing, 24 November 1790	67
To John Churchman, [24 November 1790]	68
To Alexander Hamilton, 24 November 1790	68
To Henry Knox, 24 November 1790	69
From James Brown, 25 November 1790	69
From Henrietta Maria Colden, 25 November 1790	70
To Alexander Donald, 25 November 1790	71
From William Lewis, 25 November 1790	72
To Paul R. Randall, 25 November 1790	73
Remsen's Account of Moving Expenses, [25 November 1790]	73
To William Short, 25 November 1790	74
From William Short, 25 November 1790	75
To Mercy Warren, 25 November 1790	77
To John Adams, 26 November 1790	78
From Andrew Brown, 26 November 1790	78
To Nathaniel Cutting, 26 November 1790	79
To Francis Kinloch, 26 November 1790	80
From William Knox, 26 November 1790	81
From James Monroe, 26 November 1790	81
To Gouverneur Morris, 26 November 1790	82
From John Marsden Pintard, 26 November 1790	83
From William Short, 26 November 1790	84
To William Temple Franklin, 27 November 1790	86
To Samuel Vaughan, Jr., 27 November 1790	97
Jefferson's Memoranda for Washington, [29 November 1790]	98
Jefferson's Draft of Items for the President's Message to Congress, [29 November 1790 – document redated 3 December 1790]	99
From Sylvanus Bourne, 30 November 1790	101
To Tench Coxe, 30 November 1790	102
From David Humphreys, 30 November 1790	102
From Joshua Johnson, 30 November 1790	106
From Louis Pinto de Souza, 30 November 1790	108
Estimate by Nicholas Lewis of Yield of Jefferson's Estate, 1790, [November 1790]	109
To Thomas MacDonogh, 1 December 1790	110
To Martha Jefferson Randolph, 1 December 1790	110
To John Woodard, 1 December 1790	111
To James Anderson, 2 December 1790	111
From Augustine Davis, 2 December 1790	112
From William Hay, 2 December 1790	113
From William Short, 2 December 1790	114
From Benjamin Vaughan, 2 December 1790	115
Enclosure: English Objections to a Universal Standard derived from Nature, [2 December 1790]	116
To Madame de Bréhan, 3 December 1790	117
To Moustier, 3 December 1790	118
Jefferson's Draft of Items for the President's Message to Congress, [3 December 1790 – redated from 29 November 1790]	99
Jefferson's Opinion on Proposal for Manufacture of Woolen Textiles in Virginia, [3 December 1790]	120
From Richard Harison, 4 December 1790	125
From Meriwether Smith, 4 December 1790	130
To Noah Webster, Jr., 4 December 1790	131
From Benjamin Russell, 5 December 1790	135
From C. W. F. Dumas, 6 December 1790	135
From John Sitgreaves, 6 December 1790	137
From David Hartley, 7 December 1790	139
To Mary Jefferson, 7 December 1790	141
From Joseph Fenwick, 8 December 1790	142
From Thomas Thompson, 8 December 1790	143
From George Washington, [before 8 December 1790]	144
From Tobias Lear, 10 December 1790	146
From Robert R. Livingston, 10 December 1790	146
To Joseph Nourse, 11 December 1790	150
From Richard Stockton, 11 December 1790	151
From Thomas Appleton, 12 December 1790	152
To Richard Stockton, 12 December 1790	152
From Noah Webster, Jr., 12 December 1790	153
From John Telles, 13 December 1790	155
From James McHenry, 14 December 1790	155
From John Swanwick, [14] December 1790	156
The Northwest Territory, Editorial Note, 14 December 1790	159
I. Tobias Lear to the Secretary of State, 8 December 1790	178
Enclosure: Acting Governor of the Northwest Territory to the President, 31 July 1790	179
II. Report of Secretary of State on Lands at Vincennes, 14 December 1790	186
III. Report of Secretary of State on Executive Proceedings in Northwest Territory, 14 December 1790	188
Enclosure: Executive Proceedings of the Northwest Territory, 25 April–29 June 1790	188
IV. Secretary of State to the President, 14 December 1790	190
V. Tobias Lear to the Secretary of State, 16 December 1790	191
VI. The President to the Senate and the House of Representatives, 23 December 1790	192
VII. Governor of the Northwest Territory to the Secretary of State, 2 February 1791	192
VIII. Governor of the Northwest Territory to the Secretary of State, 11 February 1791	193
Enclosure: Report of Governor of the Northwest Territory, 25 April–29 June 1790	194
IX. Report of Secretary of State on Lands at Kaskaskia, &c., 17 February 1791	207
Enclosure I: Extracts from the Report of the Governor of the Territory of the United States North-West of the Ohio, 17 February 1791	208
Enclosure II: Memorial of James Piggot and others to Arthur St. Clair, 23 May 1790	209
Enclosure III: Memorial of G. Aubuniere and others to Arthur St. Clair, 28 April 1790	210
Enclosure IV: Memorial of Pierre Gibault to Arthur St. Clair, 1 May 1790	211
Enclosure V: Arthur St. Clair to the Inhabitants of Prairie du Rocher, 5 June 1790	212
Enclosure VI: Arthur St. Clair to John Francis Hamtramck, [23 January 1790]	213
Enclosure VII: Memorial of Pierre Gibault and others to Arthur St. Clair, 9 June 1790	213
Enclosure VIII: Map of the Reserved Tract including Fort Chartres	215
X. Secretary of State to the President, 17 February 1791	216
XI. The President to the Senate and the House of Representatives, 18 February 1791	216
XII. Governor of the Northwest Territory to the Secretary of State, 11 March 1791	216
XIII. Population of the Northwest Territory, 31 January 1791	217
To James Madison, 15 December 1790	218
From James Monroe, 15 December 1790	219
Commercial and Diplomatic Relations with Great Britain, Editorial Note, 15 December 1790	220
I. The President to the Secretary of State, 11 December 1790	283
Enclosure I: Gouverneur Morris to George Washington, 7 April 1790	285
Enclosure II: Gouverneur Morris to George Washington, 29 May 1790	287
Enclosure III: Gouverneur Morris to George Washington, 3 July 1790	293
Enclosure IV: Gouverneur Morris to George Washington, 16 August 1790	294
Enclosure V: Gouverneur Morris to George Washington, 18 September 1790	296
II. Report of the Secretary of State, 15 December 1790	301
III. The Secretary of State to Gouverneur Morris, 17 December 1790	303
IV. The President to the Secretary of State, 9 February 1791	304
V. The President to the Senate and the House of Representatives, 14 February 1791	304
VI. The President to the Senate, [14 February 1791]	305
To James Brown, 16 December 1790	306
From Childs & Swaine, 16 December 1790	307
To James Maxwell, 16 December 1790	307
To Thomas Mann Randolph, Jr., 16 December 1790	308
From Robert Crew, 17 December 1790	309
The Impressment of Hugh Purdie and Others, Editorial Note, 17 December 1790	310
I. John Browne Cutting to the Secretary of State, [17? July 1790]	324
II. Secretary of State to John Browne Cutting, 17 December 1790	330
III. Secretary of State to Joshua Johnson, 17 December 1790	331
Enclosure I: John Browne Cutting to the Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty, 10 August 1790	333
Enclosure II: William Short to John Browne Cutting, 11 August 1790	333
Enclosure III: John Browne Cutting to J. Hunt, [18 August 1790]	334
Enclosure IV: Philip Stephens to John Browne Cutting, [19 August 1790]	334
Enclosure V: Hugh Purdie to John Browne Cutting, 15 September 1790	334
Enclosure VI: Hugh Purdie to John Browne Cutting, 15 September 1790	335
Enclosure VII: Hugh Purdie to John Browne Cutting, [16 September 1790]	335
Enclosure VIII: John Browne Cutting to Hugh Purdie, [17 September 1790]	336
Enclosure IX: John Browne Cutting to Philip Stephens, [22 September 1790]	336
Enclosure X: William Young to Philip Stephens, [19 September 1790]	337
Enclosure XI: Affidavit of Hugh Purdie, [1 October 1790]	337
IV. Secretary of State to the President, 23 December 1790	341
V. Secretary of State to Joshua Johnson, 23 December 1790	341
VI. Secretary of State to James Maury, 23 December 1790	342
From David Humphreys, 18 December 1790	342
From Robert Patterson, 18 December 1790	343
From John Parish, 21 December 1790	344
From Benjamin Hawkins, 22 December 1790	346
To George Washington, 22 December 1790	346
To Thomas McKean, 23 December 1790	347
From Robert Powell and Charles Fierer, 23 December 1790	348
To Martha Jefferson Randolph, 23 December 1790	350
From William Short, 23 December 1790	351
From William Short, 23 December 1790	355
From Hugh Williamson, 23 December 1790	359
Gaetano Drago to George Washington, 24 December 1790	359
From Mathew McAllister, 24 December 1790	360
From Gouverneur Morris, 24 December 1790	361
From Gouverneur Morris, 24 December 1790	363
Henry Remsen, Jr. to Tobias Lear, 24 December 1790	365
From Sir John Sinclair, 25 December 1790	366
From José Ignacio de Viar, 25 December 1790	367
From Gouverneur Morris, 28 December 1790	367
Reports on Mediterranean Trade and Algerine Captives, Editorial Note, 28 December 1790	369
I. A Proposal to Use Force against the Barbary States, 12 July 1790	416
II. Secretary of State to the President, 28 December 1790	423
III. Report on American Trade in the Mediterranean, 28 December 1790	423
IV. Report on American Captives in Algiers, 28 December 1790	430
V. Secretary of State to the Speaker of the House of Representatives, 29 December 1790	436
VI. Secretary of State to the President of the Senate, 20 January 1791	437
Enclosure I: Richard O'Bryen to William Carmichael, [11 or 15] May 1790	437
Enclosure II: Richard O'Bryen to William Carmichael, 17 May 1790	442
VII. Senate Resolutions on the Algerine Captives, 1 February 1791	444
VIII. The President to the Senate, [22 February 1791]	444
From William Short, 29 December 1790	445
From William Short, 30 December 1790	451
From C. W. F. Dumas, 31 December 1790	453
Coinage and the Unit of Money, Editorial Note, [1790]	454
I. Notes on Billon as reported to the National Assembly, [1790]	458
II. Thomas Jefferson to Alexander Hamilton, [29 December 1790]	459
III. Thomas Jefferson to Alexander Hamilton, [24 January 1791]	460
From Tench Coxe, [1790]	461
From William Lewis, 1 January 1791	461
From George Buchanan, 3 January 1791	472
From David Humphreys, 3 January 1791	472
From Tobias Lear, 3 January 1791	476
From David Rittenhouse, 4 January 1791	476
To Mary Jefferson, 5 January 179[1]	476
From Alexander Donald, 6 January 1791	477
From Benjamin Vaughan, 6 January 1791	479
To William Lindsay, 10 January 1791	479
To James Madison, 10 January 1791	480
Enclosure: The Prompter, No. III: A Pendulum without a Bob, 3 January 1791	481
From George Mason, 10 January 1791	482
Henry Remsen, Jr., to the Printers of the Laws, 10 January 1791	486
From George Wythe, 10 January 1791	486
To William Brown, 11 January 1791	487
To James Currie, 11 January 1791	488
To Thomas Mann Randolph, Jr., 11 January 179[1]	488
To David Ross, 11 January 1791	489
From John Bradford, 12 January 1791	490
To James Madison, 12 January 1791	490
From Edward Telfair, 12 January 1791	491
From John Churchman, 13 January 1791	492
To James Bringhurst, 15 January 1791	493
To Sharp Delany, 15 January 1791	493
From James Fanning, 15 January 1791	494
From Joseph Fenwick, 15 January 1791	497
From David Humphreys, 15 January 1791	497
From Henry Knox, 16 January 1791	499
From Martha Jefferson Randolph, 16 January 1791	499
From William Short, 16 January 1791	500
From Jean Baptiste Guide, 17 January 1791	507
From James Monroe, 17 January 1791	509
From John Sevier, 17 January 1791	509
From William Short, 17 January 1791	510
From Giuseppe Chiappe to the President, 18 January 1791	512
From Miroménil, 18 January 1791	513
To James Monroe, 18 January 1791	514
From Timothy Pickering, 18 January 1791	514
Representation by France against the Tonnage Acts, Editorial Note, [18 January 1791]	516
I. Louis Guillaume Otto to the Secretary of State, 13 December 1790	558
Enclosure: Louis Guillaume Otto to Thomas Jefferson, 13 December 1790	558
II. Secretary of State to Louis Guillaume Otto, 29 December 1790	559
III. Thomas Jefferson to James Madison, [1 January 1791]	560
IV. Louis Guillaume Otto to the Secretary of State, [6 January 1791]	560
V. Louis Guillaume Otto to the Secretary of State, 8 January 1791	561
VI. Alexander Hamilton to Thomas Jefferson, 11 January 1791	562
VII. Thomas Jefferson to Alexander Hamilton, 13 January 1791	563
VIII. Alexander Hamilton to Thomas Jefferson, 13 January 1791	564
IX. Report of the Secretary of State to the President, 18 January 1791	565
X. The President to the Senate, [17 January 1791]	571
XI. Secretary of State to Louis Guillaume Otto, 19 January 1791	571
XII. Louis Guillaume Otto to the Secretary of State, [21 January 1791]	572
XIII. Secretary of State to Louis Guillaume Otto, 29 March 1791	573
To Jacob Hiltzheimer, 19 January 1791	577
To Henrietta Maria Colden, 20 January 1791	578
To Francis Eppes, 20 January 1791	578
To Martha Jefferson Randolph, 20 January 1791	579
From William Green, 21 January 1791	580
From Stephen Cathalan, Jr., 22 January 1791	583
From Stephen Cathalan, Jr., 22 January 1791	585
Enclosure: Refflexions on a Treaty of Peace between United States of America and Algiers, 20 January 1791	587
From Nathaniel Colley, 22 January 1791	591
From C. W. F. Dumas, 23 January 1791	592
From Mary Walker Lewis, 23 January 1791	594
To William Short, 23 January 1791	595
From William Carmichael, 24 January 1791	597
To William Short, 24 January 1791	600
From William Short, 24 January 1791	603
Appendix: The First Conflict in the Cabinet	611

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