Day-by-Day / June 2, 1803

June 2, 1803

Ratify quickly!

In a letter written in Paris, U.S. Minister to France, Robert Livingston advises President Thomas Jefferson to ratify the Louisiana Treaty and its Conventions quickly—without making any changes lest Napoleon has an excuse to revoke it. In Philadelphia, Lewis continues preparing for the Western Expedition despite the Louisiana Territory still being in Spanish control,

Robert R. Livingston

Attributed to Gilbert Stuart (1755–1828)

Gentlemanly portrait of Robert R. Livingston

This image is in the public domain.

Paris 2d June 1803 midnight

Dear Sir

. . . . .

You know that the ratifications have been delivered & that we were to send them directly to you, we have accordingly applied for a passport for Mr Jay the bearer.—

. . . . .

[Talleyrand and Marbois] have been these two days past in Council and principally basting Mr. Marbois on the subject of the Treaty for it seems that the Consul is less pleased with it since the ratification than before . . . .

You see the object of this is to guard you against any delays but above all against any change in the form of the ratification for be assured that the slightest pretence will be seized to undo the work . . . .

I am Dear Sir, with much respect and esteem Your most obt hum: Servt

Robt R Livingston[1]Robert R. Livingston to Thomas Jefferson, Founders Online, National Archives, founders.archives.gov/documents/Jefferson/01-40-02-0352 accessed 19 May 2022. [Original source: The Papers of Thomas … Continue reading

Peter Augustus Jay, the assigned carrier of the Louisiana Treaty and Conventions ratifications, left for New York on 23 June 1803. His ship was boarded three times, twice by British privateers and once by Britain’s Royal Navy. Nevertheless, Jay and the conventions arrived safely in mid-August.[2]Ibid., note.

 

Notes

Notes
↑1 Robert R. Livingston to Thomas Jefferson, Founders Online, National Archives, founders.archives.gov/documents/Jefferson/01-40-02-0352 accessed 19 May 2022. [Original source: The Papers of Thomas Jefferson, vol. 40, 4 March–10 July 1803, ed. Barbara B. Oberg. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2013, pp. 470–474.]
↑2 Ibid., note.

Discover More

  • The Lewis and Clark Expedition: Day by Day by Gary E. Moulton (University of Nebraska Press, 2018). The story in prose, 14 May 1804–23 September 1806.
  • The Lewis and Clark Journals: An American Epic of Discovery (abridged) by Gary E. Moulton (University of Nebraska Press, 2003). Selected journal excerpts, 14 May 1804–23 September 1806.
  • The Lewis and Clark Journals. by Gary E. Moulton (University of Nebraska Press, 1983–2001). The complete story in 13 volumes.

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Unless otherwise noted, journal excerpts are from The Journals of the Lewis and Clark Expedition, edited by Gary E. Moulton, 13 vols. (Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 1983-2001).