The five months covered by this volume encompass the end of
Jefferson's first administration and point toward his second. At
home, the government was still digesting the Louisiana Purchase,
establishing territorial governments for the Orleans and Louisiana
Territories, and trying to ascertain the boundaries of the
acquisition. Abroad, the shifting alliances resulting from the
ongoing war in Europe affected American relations with European
nations and obstructed Madison's and Jefferson's goals in
international affairs.
Changes in the diplomatic corps led to confusion, as Robert R.
Livingston was replaced as minister to France by his
brother-in-law, John Armstrong Jr., and as Charles Pinckney,
America's minister to Spain, given permission to return, opted
instead to remain in Madrid and assist James Monroe in negotiations
there. Monroe, who had been unable to accomplish his mission of
negotiating a convention with Great Britain that would prevent
impressment, went to Madrid hoping to persuade Spain to ratify the
Convention of 1802, accept the American interpretation of the
Louisiana boundaries, and sell East Florida to the United States.
Monroe's task was made more difficult by the refusal of France to
support the U.S. position, something he learned at Paris while en
route to Madrid. James Bowdoin, named to succeed Pinckney, was
prevented by ill health from departing until spring. In the United
States, British minister Anthony Merry's health kept him at
Philadelphia for months and Spanish minister Carlos Yrujo's
outrageous behavior and arrogant letters finally forced Madison to
seek his recall.
In North Africa the crewmen of the U.S. frigate Philadelphia
continued to languish in Tripolitan prisons. Morocco and Algiers,
though restive at being prevented by U.S. blockades from trading
with Tripoli, exercised caution in view of the increased American
naval force in the region. A forceful Edward Preble was replaced as
naval commander in the Mediterranean by Samuel Barron, whose
long-term illness, reported in consular dispatches, hampered his
effectiveness in the war against Tripoli.
Madison's correspondence also shows the growing impact of the
European war on American commerce and shipping as ship captains,
merchants, and family members wrote to complain of vessels seized
under the increasing restrictions placed by Britain and France on
neutral trade, and of sailors impressed by both major belligerents.
British and French privateers also played havoc with American
shipping and seamen, and their victims wrote Madison to complain.
Requests for appointments, problems with Monroe's financial
affairs, wine purchases, and family land issues also occupied
Madison's time over this winter.
Included in the supplement are documents that have been
acquired since the publication of the last series supplement in
volume 17 of the Papers of James Madison, Congressional Series, in
1991. Access to people, places, and events discussed in this volume
is facilitated by detailed annotation and a comprehensive
index.
General
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