Synopses & Reviews
The Papers of James Madison project, housed at the University of Virginia, was established in 1956 to publish annotated volumes of the correspondence and writings of James Madison, the Virginia statesman most often remembered for his public service as Father of the Constitution and as fourth president of the United States.
The published volumes provide accurate texts of Madison's incoming and outgoing correspondence, informative notes on textual and subject matters, and comprehensive indexes. They are incomparably rich sources for students of Madison's life and valuable research tools for those interested in the general history of the period in which Madison lived (1751-1836).
The project has collected more than 27,000 copies of documents related to Madison's life, including letters, essays, notes, diaries, account books, ledgers, wills, legal papers, and inventories. The project serves the public by translating into print these decaying and often nearly illegible manuscripts, thereby preserving them for future generations and making them easier to use. The published volumes also make the contents of Madison-related documents--the originals of which are housed in some 250 archives worldwide--easily accessible to libraries and interested individuals anywhere books travel.
The Secretary of State Series documents Madison's diplomatic and political career in the two administrations of Thomas Jefferson, 1801-9, during which he oversaw the negotiations for the Louisiana Purchase and the integration of those territories into the United States and attempted to maintain a viable neutrality for the United States vis-a-vis warring France and Great Britain. As secretary of state, Madison presided over one of the busiest offices in Washington. He was responsible for the Patent Office, issued all federal commissions, saw that the public laws were put into print, and served as the official liaison between the president and the governors of states and territories. Most important for these volumes, Madison was the addressee of diplomatic pouches and letters from five ministers and over fifty consuls worldwide, as well as about a dozen commissioners.
Synopsis
The fourth volume of the Secretary of State Series begins with Madison's return to Washington from Montpelier and ends with the acquisition of Louisiana by the United States. The Spanish withdrawal in October 1802 of the American right to deposit goods at New Orleans, cutting off the trade of western farmers with the eastern states and Europe, stirred a hornet's nest of protest as Federalists and westerners demanded government action. The letters in this volume show Madison's response as he instructed Robert R. Livingston and Charles Pinckney, ministers to France and Spain, respectively, and James Monroe, special envoy to France, to demand the return of the deposit, press for the sale of New Orleans and West: Florida, and initiate steps for cooperation with Great Britain should France prove recalcitrant. In April 1803 the ban was lifted, and in May Livingston and Monroe signed the Louisiana Purchase Treaty in Paris.
As the Louisiana crisis moved toward resolution, France and Great Britain moved toward war. From London, the letters of Minister Rufus King, many of which are printed here for the first time, reported in detail on the British response to Napoleon's actions. King also continued to negotiate moderate improvements in Anglo-American relations before ending his six-year mission to return to New York.
Commercial relations with other European nations, however, deteriorated as both Spain and Portugal took steps to restrict access of American merchant vessels to their territories. Dispatches from indignant consuls in the Mediterranean criticized the navy's conduct of the war with Tripoli, reported the ending of a short-lived disagreement with Morocco, and warned that the summaryexpulsion of Consul William Eaton by the bey of Tunis endangered relations with that regency. As the volume ends, Madison remains in Washington, awaiting news from Europe and unaware of the great coup achieved by Livingston and Monroe. Access to people, places, and events discussed is facilitated by thorough annotation and a detailed index.
Table of Contents
v. 1. 4 March-31 July 1801 -- v. 2. 1 August 1801-28 February 1802 -- v. 3. 1 March-6 October 1802 -- v. 4. 8 October 1802-15 May 1803