The Papers of Thomas Jefferson, Volume 27: 1 September to 31 December 1793

(Hardback)

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This volume of Jefferson's papers brings to a close his increasingly stormy tenure as Secretary of State, documenting, amongst other things, his epochal duel with Treasury Secretary Alexander Hamilton over the conduct of American foreign policy. Against the background of deadly yellow fever in Philadelphia, he copes with obstreperous French consuls and informs Edmond Charles Genet that the American government has requested his recall. After resuming his work on the definition of US maritime limits, Jefferson prevails upon President Washington to inform congress not only of Genet's recall but also of the British refusal to carry out the disputed provisions of the Treaty of Paris. In a final effort to implement his policy of commercial retaliation against Britain, Jefferson submits to Congress in December his long-awaited "Report on Commerce", vivdly detailing the various forms of discrimination imposed on American trade by the British. The volume presents the early and final versions of the paper in all their textual complexity. Disappointed by Washington's tepid response to his criticisms of Hamilton's fiscal policies, frustrated by the Treasury Secretary's rising influence over American foreign policy, and eager to enjoy uninterruptedly the pleasures of domestic life, Jefferson retired from office on 31 December 1793, determined never again to suffer the torments of public life. This volume contains a supplement that covers some 270 documents for the period 1764-93 that have been found or reclassified since the publication of the last supplement in Volume 15.

Author Bio

John Catanzariti is Senior Research Historian in the Department of History at Princeton University.