UNA CARTA QUE VALE US$ 30.000
JEFFERSON, THOMAS
Category: American History Price: $30000
“A man of literature and a genuine republican”
JEFFERSON, THOMAS. (1743-1826). Third president of the United States. ALS. (“Th: Jefferson”). As secretary of state. 1p. 4to. Philadelphia, June 1, 1793. To GEORGE CLINTON (1739-1812), governor of New York and Jefferson’s future vice president.
The bearer hereof, Monsr. de Hauterive, appointed Consul at New York in the place of M. de Crevecoeur, having brought me some very particular recommendations from friends at Paris, who would not give them lightly, I comply with their desire in presenting him to your notice. In a short conversation which I had with him I found him a man of literature, and a genuine republican, under which character I am sure he will be acceptable to your Excellency. The Minister here also seems to interest himself particularly for him. I therefore take the liberty of asking your countenance of him, both in the social & official line, and verily believe he will do justice to your attentions: which will also be considered as a favor conferred on your Excellency...
Jefferson, who succeeded Benjamin Franklin as minister to France where he served as a “diligent and skillful diplomat” from 1785-1789, “was convinced that the United States should be friendly to France, both because of gratitude and because of her value as a counterpoise against the British, whom he regarded as hostile in sentiment and entirely selfish in policy,” (DAB). After his return to the U.S. Jefferson became the country’s first secretary of state. In addition to his political responsibilities, Jefferson maintained several farms in Virginia and held an intellectual interest in agriculture, both as a science and a philosophy. It was his outspoken belief that land ownership was fundamental to freedom and all other rights that led to his friendship with French-born, naturalized American surveyor and writer, Michel-Guillaume Jean de Crèvecoeur [J. Hector St. John] (1735-1813). Crèvecoeur had come to America as a young man, explored the new territory widely, and finally settled on a farm in New York, from whence he penned his famous work, Letters from an American Farmer. During the years 1783-1790 he was the French consul in New York, a position that forced him to forfeit his cherished American citizenship. By 1790, however, the Revolution had engulfed France where Crèvecoeur’s sons resided. Fearing for their safety, he requested a temporary leave of absence from his diplomatic post, and the Marquis de Lafayette helped Crèvecoeur obtain additional extensions. Politics forced Lafayette to flee France and in 1792 Crèvcoeur was recalled to his post. At that point he tried, without success, to obtain a pension upon which to retire. With his requests remaining unanswered, he was without any money on which to live. “Those were trying times. All his friends and protectors had either disappeared or were in hiding… He nevertheless decided to stay [in Paris], because, as he wrote to Jefferson, ‘I do not indeed feel offended by what is done by the people, because they cannot be supposed to understand the law of nations, and because they are in a state of fury which is inconceivable[…] and renders them capable of all excesses.’ It was even rumored for a time in London that he had been guillotined. He was very closely watched and his mail regularly opened by the police,” (DAB). Meanwhile, as our letter indicates, his office in New York had been filled by Alexandre Maurice Blanc de Lanautte, the Comte d’Hauterive (1754–1830), previously the French ambassador to Constantinople. Accusations of embezzlement – later proved false – led to his dismissal as consul, but Hauterive remained in America as a farmer until 1798 when he accepted a position with the French foreign office. In this capacity he forged a close relationship with Napoléon, becoming one of the future Emperor’s most trusted advisors. His falling out of favor after a disagreement with Talleyrand, the French foreign minister, led to his appointment as the keeper of the archives, a post he held even after the Restoration. He died on July 28, 1830, two days after the start of the July Revolution. Our letter is written to Jefferson’s future vice president, George Clinton who, from its inception, strongly supported the colonial cause against Great Britain. A delegate from New York to the Second Continental Congress and a brigadier general in the Continental Army, Clinton served as New York’s first governor from 1777-1795 and again from 1801-1804, making him the state’s longest-serving chief executive. In 1804 he was elected vice president of the United States under President Jefferson, a position he held until his death, eight years later. George Clinton’s daughter married French Ambassador Edmond-Charles Genêt, who had been dispatched by the Girondist government in 1793 to persuade the U.S. to support France’s wars with Spain and England. Genêt raised a fleet of privateers, which defied America’s Neutrality Proclamation. Genêt was granted asylum when his arrest was called for after the fall of the Girondists. He moved to Long Island with Clinton’s daughter in 1794 to enjoy the life of a gentleman farmer. Folded with a light vertical fold through one letter of Jefferson’s last name. Several short edge separations have been expertly reinforced, otherwise a bright and attractive piece.
Item #15666
“A man of literature and a genuine republican”
JEFFERSON, THOMAS. (1743-1826). Third president of the United States. ALS. (“Th: Jefferson”). As secretary of state. 1p. 4to. Philadelphia, June 1, 1793. To GEORGE CLINTON (1739-1812), governor of New York and Jefferson’s future vice president.
The bearer hereof, Monsr. de Hauterive, appointed Consul at New York in the place of M. de Crevecoeur, having brought me some very particular recommendations from friends at Paris, who would not give them lightly, I comply with their desire in presenting him to your notice. In a short conversation which I had with him I found him a man of literature, and a genuine republican, under which character I am sure he will be acceptable to your Excellency. The Minister here also seems to interest himself particularly for him. I therefore take the liberty of asking your countenance of him, both in the social & official line, and verily believe he will do justice to your attentions: which will also be considered as a favor conferred on your Excellency...
Jefferson, who succeeded Benjamin Franklin as minister to France where he served as a “diligent and skillful diplomat” from 1785-1789, “was convinced that the United States should be friendly to France, both because of gratitude and because of her value as a counterpoise against the British, whom he regarded as hostile in sentiment and entirely selfish in policy,” (DAB). After his return to the U.S. Jefferson became the country’s first secretary of state. In addition to his political responsibilities, Jefferson maintained several farms in Virginia and held an intellectual interest in agriculture, both as a science and a philosophy. It was his outspoken belief that land ownership was fundamental to freedom and all other rights that led to his friendship with French-born, naturalized American surveyor and writer, Michel-Guillaume Jean de Crèvecoeur [J. Hector St. John] (1735-1813). Crèvecoeur had come to America as a young man, explored the new territory widely, and finally settled on a farm in New York, from whence he penned his famous work, Letters from an American Farmer. During the years 1783-1790 he was the French consul in New York, a position that forced him to forfeit his cherished American citizenship. By 1790, however, the Revolution had engulfed France where Crèvecoeur’s sons resided. Fearing for their safety, he requested a temporary leave of absence from his diplomatic post, and the Marquis de Lafayette helped Crèvecoeur obtain additional extensions. Politics forced Lafayette to flee France and in 1792 Crèvcoeur was recalled to his post. At that point he tried, without success, to obtain a pension upon which to retire. With his requests remaining unanswered, he was without any money on which to live. “Those were trying times. All his friends and protectors had either disappeared or were in hiding… He nevertheless decided to stay [in Paris], because, as he wrote to Jefferson, ‘I do not indeed feel offended by what is done by the people, because they cannot be supposed to understand the law of nations, and because they are in a state of fury which is inconceivable[…] and renders them capable of all excesses.’ It was even rumored for a time in London that he had been guillotined. He was very closely watched and his mail regularly opened by the police,” (DAB). Meanwhile, as our letter indicates, his office in New York had been filled by Alexandre Maurice Blanc de Lanautte, the Comte d’Hauterive (1754–1830), previously the French ambassador to Constantinople. Accusations of embezzlement – later proved false – led to his dismissal as consul, but Hauterive remained in America as a farmer until 1798 when he accepted a position with the French foreign office. In this capacity he forged a close relationship with Napoléon, becoming one of the future Emperor’s most trusted advisors. His falling out of favor after a disagreement with Talleyrand, the French foreign minister, led to his appointment as the keeper of the archives, a post he held even after the Restoration. He died on July 28, 1830, two days after the start of the July Revolution. Our letter is written to Jefferson’s future vice president, George Clinton who, from its inception, strongly supported the colonial cause against Great Britain. A delegate from New York to the Second Continental Congress and a brigadier general in the Continental Army, Clinton served as New York’s first governor from 1777-1795 and again from 1801-1804, making him the state’s longest-serving chief executive. In 1804 he was elected vice president of the United States under President Jefferson, a position he held until his death, eight years later. George Clinton’s daughter married French Ambassador Edmond-Charles Genêt, who had been dispatched by the Girondist government in 1793 to persuade the U.S. to support France’s wars with Spain and England. Genêt raised a fleet of privateers, which defied America’s Neutrality Proclamation. Genêt was granted asylum when his arrest was called for after the fall of the Girondists. He moved to Long Island with Clinton’s daughter in 1794 to enjoy the life of a gentleman farmer. Folded with a light vertical fold through one letter of Jefferson’s last name. Several short edge separations have been expertly reinforced, otherwise a bright and attractive piece.
Item #15666
posted by EDITOR | 3:03 PM
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