Diplomatic Correspondence Of T

Correspondence from the records of the Department of State, from family archives and from published memoirs. Designed to correct, complete and enlarge the Diplomatic correspondence of the American Revolution, Boston, 1829-1830, published by Jared Sparks under the direction of Congress. Published as a supplement to Wharton's Digest of the international law of the United States, taken from documents issued by presidents and secretaries of state [etc.] Washington, 1886.

Correspondence from the records of the Department of State, from family archives and from published memoirs. Designed to correct, complete and enlarge the Diplomatic correspondence of the American Revolution, Boston, 1829-1830, published by Jared Sparks under the direction of Congress.

In 1789, George Washington took office as the first American president — just as the French Revolution was about to erupt. In 1794, he sent James Monroe to serve as the first international ambassador to Paris, which was still reeling from the Reign of Terror. Monroe was resourceful in getting his bearings in the shifting social and political sands. He had major accomplishments, including protecting U.S. trade from French attacks and achieving the release of patriot Thomas Paine and Adrienne de Lafayette, the wife of the Marquis de Lafayette, from French jails. But the French Revolution led to war between Britain and France in 1793, and after Monroe arrived in France the U.S. and Great Britain concluded the Jay Treaty. The treaty outraged the French because it appeared to favor Britain. Monroe had not been fully briefed on the treaty but he was tasked with repairing the rift it caused. Indeed, he achieved some success in what was probably an impossible task. Washington recalled Monroe from his post in November 1796 and he returned to the United States. Monroe’s letters provide our best window into his thinking and that of his correspondents, the prevailing atmosphere in that turbulent era, and the efforts he made to perform his duty in good faith.