Washington, DC President Jefferson‘s proposal to negotiate a solution to Spain’s cession of Louisiana to France and the closure of New Orleans commercial traffic is read to the U.S. Senate in an executive session.
François Barbé-Marbois (1745-1837)
by Jean François Boisselat (1835)
WikiCommons accessed on 30 May 2018.
François Barbé-Marbois was an early revolutionary and a friend of Thomas Jefferson and other important Americans. He belonged to Napoleon’s inner circle, and as minister of the public treasury, he negotiated directly with Livingston and Monroe on price, conditions, and the description of Louisiana Territory. He survived Waterloo and served under two succeeding French monarchs. His account of the Purchase was published in 1821.
Jefferson’s Secret Proposal
Tuesday, January 11
Gentleman of the Senate
The cession of the Spanish province of Louisiana to France, and perhaps of the Floridas, and the late suspension of our right of deposit at New Orleans, are events of primary interest to the United States.
. . . . .
I therefore nominate Robert R. Livingston to be Minister Plenipotentiary, and James Monroe to be Minister Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, with full powers both, jointly, or to either, on the death of the other, to enter into a treaty or convention with the First Consul of France, for the purpose of enlarging, and more effectually securing, our rights and interests in the river Mississippi, and in the territories eastward thereof.
TH. JEFFERSON[1]Annals of Congress of the United States, 7th Congress, 2nd Session (Washington: Gales and Seaton, 1851) 12:22–23 retrieved from … Continue reading
Notes
| ↑1 | Annals of Congress of the United States, 7th Congress, 2nd Session (Washington: Gales and Seaton, 1851) 12:22–23 retrieved from https://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/ampage?collId=llac&fileName=012/llac012.db&recNum=8. |
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