Volume 19

24 January to 31 March 1791

Volume Details

Description

Volume 19, covering the final critical weeks of the First Congress, reveals Washington and Jefferson in the closest and most confidential relationship that existed at any time during their official careers. It opens with the proclamation announcing the exact location of the Federal District, an unexplained choice made in the utmost secrecy by the President in consultation with the Secretary of State some weeks before Washington toured the upper Potomac in an ostensible journey to inspect rival sites and to encourage competition for the location of the national capital. It includes the politically related questions of the chartering of the Bank of the United States, on which Jefferson delivered his famous opinion challenging its constitutionality.

But the conflict with Hamilton over the Bank, important as it was, did not bring the two men on the public stage as contestants. Instead, the first focusing of public attention on the breach in the administration occurred with the publication of Jefferson’s report on the whale and cod fisheries. This widely disseminated report is here presented in a context showing that, after Hamilton declined to cooperate in reciprocating the favors France had granted to American trade, Jefferson deliberately and publicly challenged the Hamiltonian opposition. In unusually blunt language, his report called for commercial retaliation against Great Britain, thus causing a sensation both in the American public and in the British ministry.

This volume shows Jefferson’s concern over the growing discontent in the South and West over fiscal and other policies of the national government, his resistance to interested promotion of consular appointments in business circles, his grappling with the political and constitutional questions concerning the admission of Kentucky and Vermont, his involvement in the political consequences of the death of Franklin that affected even the proceedings of the American Philosophical Society, his cautious relationship with Tench Coxe as a source of statistical information which the Secretary of the Treasury failed to supply, and his report to Washington on a judicial appointment that brought on both embarrassment and constitutional questions.

Once Congress had dispersed, Jefferson was able to turn his attention to long-neglected private concerns and to the correspondence that gave him most satisfaction, that with the family at Monticello.

Table of Contents

Locating the Federal District, Editorial Note, [25 January 1791]	3
I. James Madison's Advice on Executing the Residence Act, [before 29 August 1790]	58
II. The President to the Secretary of State, 2 January 1791	61
III. The President to the Secretary of State, [4 January 1791]	62
IV. Daniel Carroll to the Secretary of State, 22 January 1791	62
V. The Secretary of State to Daniel Carroll, 24 January 1791	63
VI. The President to the Senate and the House of Representatives, [24 January 1791]	64
VII. The Proclamation by the President, 24 January 1791	65
VIII. Daniel Carroll to the Secretary of State, 27 January 1791	67
IX. The Secretary of State to the Commissioners of the Federal District, 29 January 1791	67
X. The President to the Secretary of State, [1 February 1791]	68
XI. The Secretary of State to Andrew Ellicott, 2 February 1791	68
XII. Andrew Ellicott to the Secretary of State, [14 February 1791]	70
XIII. The Proclamation by the President, 30 March 1791	72
To Stephen Cathalan, Jr., 25 January 1791	74
From John Harvie, Jr., 25 January 1791	74
To Adrien Petit, 25 January 1791	76
Death of Franklin: The Politics of Mourning in France and the United States, Editorial Note, [26 January 1791]	78
I. The Secretary of State to the President, 9 December 1790	106
Enclosure: President of the Commune of Paris to the President and Members of Congress, 29 July 1790	107
II. Tobias Lear to the Secretary of State, 26 January 1791	108
Enclosure I: Louis XVI to George Washington, 11 September 1790	108
Enclosure II: The President of the National Assembly of France to “The President of Congress”, [20 June 1790]	109
Enclosure III: The President to the President of the National Assembly of France, 27 January 1791	110
III. Thomas Jefferson to the Rev. William Smith, 19 February 1791	112
IV. Thomas Jefferson to John Vaughan, 22 February 1791	114
V. The Secretary of State to the President of the National Assembly, 8 March 1791	114
From Childs & Swaine, 27 January 1791	115
From Tench Coxe, 27 January 1791	116
From William Short, 28 January 1791	117
From Tench Coxe, [30 January? 1791]	118
From Madame de Rausan, 30 [January] 1791	119
From Noah Webster, Jr., 31 January 1791	120
Memoranda and Statistics on American Commerce, Editorial Note, [January 1791]	121
I. Jefferson's Notes on Sheffield's Observations on the Commerce of the American States, [1783–1784?]	127
II. Jefferson's Notes on Coxe's Commercial System for the United States, [ca. 1787]	132
III. Extracts from Speech of William Pitt, April 1790	133
IV. Notes on American Trade with Ireland, [1790?]	134
V. Estimate of American Imports, [1785–1786?]	135
VI. Estimate of American Exports, [1785–1786?]	136
VII. Exports from Eight Northern States before 1776, [ca. 1784]	139
Report on the Fisheries, Editorial Note, [1 February 1791]	140
I. The Governor of Massachusetts to the Secretary of State, 25 October 1790	172
Enclosure: Peleg Coffin, Jr. and Others to John Hancock, 13 October 1790	173
II. Tench Coxe's Notes on the Dutch and Prussian Fisheries, [ca. 23 November 1790]	175
III. Tench Coxe's Notes on the American Fisheries, [ca. 23 November 1790]	182
IV. Tench Coxe to the Secretary of State, 29 November 1790	195
Enclosure I: Joseph Anthony to Tench Coxe, 27 November 1790	196
Enclosure II: Answers to Queries on the Fisheries by Joseph Anthony, [ca. 27 November 1790]	197
Enclosure III: Joseph Anthony's Table of Prices	198
V. Memoranda by James Madison, [January 1791]	199
VI. Christopher Gore to Tobias Lear, 10 December 1790	200
VII. Jefferson's Notes and Outline for the Report, [January 1791]	204
VIII. The Secretary of State to the Speaker of the House of Representatives, [1 February 1791]	206
IX. Report on the American Fisheries by the Secretary of State, 1 February 1791	206
No. 1: An Historical View of the Cod-fisheries of France, England, and the United States	221
No. 2: State of Code fishery of Massachusetts from 1765 to 1775. From 1786 to 1790, Inclusive	223
No. 3: Abstract of the Produce of the Fisheries exported from the United States, from about August 20th. 1789, to September 30th. 1790	224
No. 4: Abstract of articles imported into the United States from British colonies for one year, commencing the 15th. August 1789 and ending on the 14th. of August 1790, 23 November 1790	225
No. 5: 1 February 1790	225
No. 6: An estimate of the Duties paid by the Proprietors and Navigators of a fishing Vessel of 65 tons and 11 hands	226
No. 7: 1 February 1791	228
No. 8: 22 October 1786	229
No. 9: 29 December 1787	229
No. 10: 28 September 1788	229
No. 11: 7 December 1788	229
No. 12: State of the Whale Fishery in Massachusetts from 1771 to 1775	230
No. 13: 10 January–31 December 1775	232
No. 14: Abstract of Live stock exported from the United States from about August 20th. 1789 to September 30th. 1790	232
No. 15: Grain and Flour imported from the United States of America into the Ports of France, in the Year 1789	232
No. 16: Statement of the Vessels entered in the Ports of France from the U. S. of America in the Year 1789	233
No. 17: Abstract of the Tonnage of foreign Vessels entered in the Ports of the United States from October 1st. 1789 to September 30th. 1790	233
No. 18: on “the encouragement of our carrying Business,” 1 February 1791	236
X. Thomas Jefferson to John Hancock, 20 February 1791	237
From Tench Coxe, 1 February 1791	237
From Diego de Gardoqui, 1 February 1791	238
To the President of the Senate, 2 February 1791	238
To Martha Jefferson Randolph, 2 February 1791	239
From Thomas Mann Randolph, Jr., 2 February 1791	239
To Robert R. Livingston, 4 February 1791	240
To George Mason, 4 February 1791	241
From William Nelson, Jr., 4 February 1791	243
To William Peachy, 4 February 1791	246
To Powell & Fierer, 4 February 1791	246
To William Vernon, 4 February 1791	247
From Thomas Barclay, 5 February 1791	247
From Henrietta Maria Colden, 5 February 1791	248
From J. P. P. Derieux, 5 February 1791	249
Report on Memorial of Andrew Brown, 5 February 1791	251
To John Garland Jefferson, 5 February 1791	252
To James McHenry, 5 February 1791	253
From David Humphreys, 6 February 1791	254
To William Hay, [7 February 1791]	256
From William Short, 7 February 1791	257
From Thomas Mann Randolph, Jr., 8 February 1791	259
To Nathaniel Colley, 9 February 1791	260
From Delamotte, 9 February 1791	260
To Daniel L. Hylton, 9 February 1791	262
To Nicholas Lewis, 9 February 1791	263
To Martha Jefferson Randolph, 9 February 1791	264
To William Tatham, 9 February 1791	265
From Fenwick, Mason & Co., 10 February 1791	266
From Lambert, 10 February 1791	267
From Fulwar Skipwith, 10 February 1791	268
From Florida Blanca, 12 February 1791	269
From David Humphreys, 12 February 1791	270
From Mary Jefferson, 13 February 1791	271
From John Barry, 14 February 1791	271
To Charles Hellstedt, 14 February 1791	272
Opinion of Attorney General on the Case of James O'Fallon, 14 February 1791	273
From C. W. F. Dumas, [15 February 1791]	274
Opinion on the Constitutionality of the Bill for Establishing a National Bank, 15 February 1791	275
To Mary Jefferson, 16 February 1791	282
From William Blount, [17 February 1791]	284
From Ebenezer Hazard, [17 February 1791]	284
From James Monroe, 17 February 1791	285
George Washington to William Deakins, Jr., and Benjamin Stoddert, 17 February 1791	285
From Benjamin Hawkins, 18 February 1791	286
From William Hay, 18 February 1791	286
To Ebenezer Hazard, 18 February 1791	287
From William Short, 18 February 1791	289
From William Short, 18 February 1791	291
The President to the Senate, 18 February 1791	292
From Daniel L. Hylton, 20 February 1791	294
From Robert R. Livingston, 20 February 1791	295
To John Rutledge, Jr., 20 February 1791	297
From Fulwar Skipwith, 20 February 1791	297
To John Trumbull, 20 February 1791	298
Consular Problems, Editorial Note, [21 February 1791]	301
I. Jefferson's Draft Memorandum on Consular Vacancies, 21 February 1791	313
II. Report of Secretary of State on the Case of Thomas Auldjo, 22 February 1791	316
III. Report of Secretary of State on Consular Vacancies, 23 February 1791	316
IV. Secretary of State to Thomas Auldjo, 24 February 1791	319
V. Secretary of State to James Yard, 24 February 1791	319
To Luis Pinto de Souza, 21 February 1791	320
From Maxcey Ewell, 21 February 1791	321
From Thomas Mann Randolph, Jr., 21 February 1791	323
To David Rittenhouse, 22 February 1791	323
From William Short, 22 February 1791	323
From John Jay, 24 February 1791	325
Jefferson's Report on the Petition of a Hessian Deserter, 24 February 1791	326
To Thomas Mann Randolph, Jr., 24 February 1791	328
From Alexander Watt, 24 February 1791	331
From Joshua Johnson, 25 February 1791	332
From Madame de Lur-Saluces, 25 February 1791	334
From William Short, 25 February 1791	335
From John Garland Jefferson, 26 February 1791	336
From Joshua Johnson, 26 February 179[1]	338
To Thomas Leiper, 26 February 1791	342
From Gouverneur Morris, 26 February 1791	343
Enclosure: Some observations of American Citizens on the late Decrees respecting Tobacco, 26 February 1791	347
To Tench Coxe, [ca. 28 February 1791]	350
To Philip Freneau, 28 February 1791	351
From Aaron Vail, 28 [February] 1791	351
To Daniel L. Hylton, 1 March 1791	353
From Lucy Ludwell Paradise, 1 March 1791	354
From Daniel Smith, 1 March 1791	354
From John Vining, 1 March 1791	354
To Pierre Charles L'Enfant, [2] March 1791	355
From James Maury, 2 March 1791	356
To Moustier, 2 March 1791	357
To Martha Jefferson Randolph, 2 March 1791	358
George Washington to William Deakins, Jr., and Benjamin Stoddert, 2 March 1791	358
From John Joseph de Barth, 3 [March] 1791	359
From Tench Coxe, 4 March 1791	360
Jefferson's Affidavit Concerning Timothy Pickering, Samuel Hodgdon, and Levi Hollingsworth, 4 March 1791	361
From William Short, 4 March 1791	361
To the Supervisors of the Excise, 4 March 1791	363
The Admission of Kentucky and Vermont to the Union, Editorial Note, [4 March 1791]	364
I. Report on the Power of the President in Nominating Officers for Vermont, 19 February 1791	376
II. Jeremiah Wadsworth to the Secretary of State, 22 February 1791	377
III. Report on Candidates for Office in Vermont, [23 February 1791]	378
IV. Secretary of State to the Governor of Vermont, 28 February 1791	379
V. Secretary of State to the President of the Kentucky Convention (George Muter), 28 February 1791	380
VI. Draft of a Message from the President to the Senate, [4 March 1791]	380
The Judicial Appointment of Joseph Anderson, Editorial Note, [4 March 1791]	381
I. Joseph Anderson to the President, 23 February 1791	402
II. Tobias Lear to the Secretary of State, 27 February 1791	403
III. John Vining to Joseph Anderson, 1 March 1791	404
IV. Joseph Anderson to the President, 1 March 1791	405
V. Joseph Anderson to the President, 2 March 1791	406
VI. Opinion of the Secretary of State, 4 March 1791	408
VII. Tobias Lear to the Secretary of State, 4 March 1791	408
From Robert Coram, 5 March 1791	409
From Tench Coxe, 5 March 1791	410
Enclosure: Thoughts on the Navigation of the United States, and concerning further means of encouraging it, 5 March 1791	411
From Philip Freneau, 5 March 1791	416
From Lewis Littlepage, 5 March 1791	417
From Thomas Mann Randolph, Jr., 5 March 1791	420
From David Humphreys, 6 March 1791	421
From Mary Jefferson, 6 March 1791	423
From George Washington, 6 March 1791	423
To Edmund Randolph, [6? March 1791]	424
To William Short, 8 March 1791	424
From Nathaniel Colley, 9 March 1791	426
To Mary Jefferson, 9 March 1791	427
From Richard Potts, 9 March 1791	427
Threat of Disunion in the West: Confrontation with Spain on the Mississippi Question, Editorial Note, [10 March 1791]	429
I. Secretary of State to Juan Nepomuceno de Quesada, 10 March 1791	518
II. Secretary of State to Edward Telfair, 26 March 1791	519
III. The President to James Seagrove, 20 May 1791	520
IV. Thomas Jefferson to Harry Innes, 7 March 1791	521
V. The President to the Secretary of State, [10 March 1791]	522
VI. Secretary of State to William Carmichael, 12 March 1791	522
Enclosure: Memorial of Joseph St. Marie, 22 July 1790	524
VII. Secretary of State to William Short, 12 March 1791	527
VIII. Secretary of State to the President, 18 March 1791	529
IX. The President to the Secretary of State, 19 March 1791	529
X. Secretary of State to William Short, 19 March 1791	529
From C. W. F. Dumas, 11 March 1791	531
From William Short, 11 March 1791	532
From Thomas Barclay, 12 March 1791	535
To William Blount, 12 March 1791	535
To Alexander Hamilton, 12 March 1791	536
From Daniel L. Hylton, 12 March 1791	537
From William Short, 12 March 1791	537
To James Brown, 13 March 1791	541
To Andrew Donald, 13 March 1791	541
To James Innes, 13 March 1791	542
The Great Collaborators, Editorial Note , [13 March 1791]	544
I. Thomas Jefferson to James Madison, 13 March 1791	551
II. James Madison to Thomas Jefferson, [13 March 1791]	552
From Robert Montgomery, 13 March 1791	552
From Tench Coxe, [14 March 1791]	553
From James Currie, 14 March 1791	553
To Francis Eppes, 14 March 1791	554
From Thomas Mann Randolph, Jr., 14 March 1791	555
To George Wythe, 14 March 1791	556
Search for a European Concert on Navigation Law: The Appeal to France, Spain, and Portugal, Editorial Note, [15 March 1791]	558
I. The Secretary of State to William Short, 15 March 1791	570
II. The Secretary of State to David Humphreys, 15 March 1791	572
III. The Secretary of State to William Carmichael, 17 March 1791	574
From James Swan, 16 March 1791	575
From Gouverneur Morris, 16 March 1791	575
Enclosure: Notes respecting Tobacco, 16 March 1791	576
To William Short, 16 March 1791	578
To William Brown, 17 March 1791	579
To John Lamb, 17 March 1791	581
To Adam Lindsay, 17 March 1791	581
To Thomas Mann Randolph, Jr., 17 March 1791	582
Estimate of Expenses on the Foreign Fund, 1790–1791, 18 March 1791	583
From John Harvie, Jr., 19 March 1791	584
To David Rittenhouse, 19 March 1791	584
From Arthur St. Clair, 19 March 1791	585
To Willink, Van Staphorst & Hubbard, 19 March 1791	586
From Tench Coxe, 20 March 1791	587
From John Paul Jones, 20 March 1791	588
To James Maxwell, 20 March 1791	592
From William Playfair, 20 March 1791	592
From William Playfair, 20 March 1791	592
To David Rittenhouse, [21 March 1791]	596
From Thomas Delaire, 22 March 1791	596
From Joseph Fenwick, 22 March 1791	597
To William Murray, 22 March 1791	598
From Martha Jefferson Randolph, 22 March 1791	598
From Lewis Littlepage, 23 March 1791	599
To James Currie, 24 March 1791	600
To J. P. P. Derieux, 24 March 1791	601
To Joseph Fenwick, 24 March 1791	602
To Martha Jefferson Randolph, 24 March 1791	604
From Delamotte, 25 March 1791	605
To William Blount, 26 March 1791	605
To Mathew Carey, 26 March 1791	606
From Mary Jefferson, 26 March 1791	607
From Joshua Johnson, 26 March 1791	607
Experiments in Desalination of Sea Water to Test the Claims of Jacob Isaacks, Editorial Note, [26 March 1791]	608
I. Secretary of State to James Hutchinson, 12 March 1791	614
II. Caspar Wistar, Jr. to the Secretary of State, [19 March 1791]	614
III. Secretary of State to Caspar Wistar, Jr., 20 March 1791	615
IV. Caspar Wistar, Jr. to the Secretary of State, [20 March 1791]	616
V. Secretary of State to James Hutchinson, 25 March 1791	616
VI. Affidavit of the Secretary of State on the Result of the Experiments, 26 March 1791	617
VII. Secretary of State to Isaac Senter, 26 March 1791	618
VIII. Isaac Senter to the Secretary of State, 13 April 1791	619
IX. Secretary of State to Isaac Senter, 10 May 1791	621
X. Jacob Isaacks to the Secretary of State, 1 November 1791	622
XI. Secretary of State to Jacob Isaacks, 23 November 1791	623
XII. Jacob Isaacks to the Secretary of State, 19 March 1792	623
From Joshua Johnson, 27 March 1791	624
To George Washington, 27 March 1791	625
From John Cooke to George Washington, 28 March 1791	626
From Anthony Gerna, 28 March 1791	627
To James McHenry, 28 March 1791	628
To William Channing, 29 March 1791	628
To Christopher Gore, 29 March 1791	629
From Fenwick, Mason & Company, [29 March 1791]	630
From William Jackson, 29 March 1791	630
From James Monroe, 29 March 1791	631
To William Nelson, Jr., 29 March 1791	631
To John Samuel Sherburne, 29 March 1791	632
From William Short, 30 March 1791	633
From William Short, 30 March 1791	638
To Pierpont Edwards, 31 March 1791	642
To Alexander Hamilton, 31 March 1791	642
From David Humphreys, 31 March 1791	643
To Mary Jefferson, 31 March 1791	644
To William Lewis, 31 March 1791	645

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