close
Browsing: Papers of John Adams, Volume 12
{p. R1}
{p. R2}
{p. R3}
{p. R4}
{p. R5 | view }
{p. R6}
{p. R7}
{p. R8}
{p. R9}
{p. R10}
{p. R15}
{p. R30}
{p. R31}
{p. R32}
The Adams Papers
C. JAMES TAYLOR, EDITOR IN CHIEF
SERIES III
GENERAL CORRESPONDENCE AND OTHER PAPERS OF THE ADAMS STATESMEN
Papers of John Adams
Papers of John Adams
GREGG L. LINT, RICHARD ALAN RYERSON, ANNE DECKER CECERE, C. JAMES TAYLOR, JENNIFER SHEA, CELESTE WALKER, MARGARET A. HOGAN
EDITORS
Volume 12 • October 1781 – April 1782
THE BELKNAP PRESS OF HARVARD UNIVERSITY PRESS
CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS AND LONDON, ENGLAND
2004
CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS AND LONDON, ENGLAND
2004
Copyright © 2004 by the Massachusetts Historical Society • All rights reserved
Printed in the United States of America
Funds for editing The Adams Papers were originally furnished by Time, Inc., on behalf of Life, to the Massachusetts Historical Society, under whose supervision the editorial work is being done. Further funds were provided by a grant from the Ford Foundation to the National Archives Trust Fund Board in support of this and four other major documentary publications. In common with these and many other enterprises like them, The Adams Papers has continued to benefit from the guidance and cooperation of the National Historical Publications and Records Commission, chaired by the Archivist of the United States, which from 1975 to the present has provided this enterprise with major financial support. Important additional funds were supplied from 1980 to 1993 by The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, The J. Howard Pew Freedom Trust, and The Charles E. Culpeper Foundation through the Founding Fathers Papers, Inc. Since 1993, The Adams Papers has received major support from the National Endowment for the Humanities, and matching support from The Packard Humanities Institute, through the Founding Fathers Papers, Inc., and from The Charles Francis Adams Charitable Trust, The Florence J. Gould Foundation, The Lyn and Norman Lear Fund, and an anon•ymous donor. Any views, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this publication do not necessarily reflect those of the National Endowment for the Humanities.
∞ This volume meets all ANSI/NISO Z39.48-1992 standards for permanence.
Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data (Revised for vols. 9–12)
Adams, John, 1735–1826.
Papers of John Adams.
(The Adams papers: Series III, General correspondence and other papers of the Adams statesmen)
Vols. 1–6 edited by R. J. Taylor, G. L. Lint, and C. Walker.
Vols. 7–12 edited by G. L. Lint . . . [et al.]
Includes bibliographical references and index.
1. United States—Politics and government—Colonial period, ca. 1600–1775–Sources. 2. Massachusetts—Politics and government—Colonial period, ca. 1600–1775–Sources. 3. United States—Politics and government—Revolution, 1775–1783—Sources. 4. United States—Politics and government—1783–1809–Sources. 5. Presidents—United States— Correspondence. 6. Adams, John, 1735–1826. I. Taylor, Robert Joseph, 1917– II. Lint, Gregg L. III. Title. IV. Series: Adams papers: Series III, General correspondence and other papers of the Adams statesmen.
E302.A26 1977 973.4′4′08 77-4707
ISBN 0-674-65441-2 (v. 1–2)
ISBN 0-674-65442-0 (v. 3–4)
ISBN 0-674-65443-9 (v. 5–6)
ISBN 0-674-65444-7 (v. 7–8)
ISBN 0-674-65445-5 (v. 9–10)
ISBN 0-674-01136-8 (v. 11)
ISBN 0-674-01281-X (v. 12)
This edition of The Adams Papers
is sponsored by the massachusetts historical society
to which the adams manuscript trust
by a deed of gift dated 4 April 1956
gave ultimate custody of the personal and public papers
written, accumulated, and preserved over a span of three centuries
by the Adams family of Massachusetts
is sponsored by the massachusetts historical society
to which the adams manuscript trust
by a deed of gift dated 4 April 1956
gave ultimate custody of the personal and public papers
written, accumulated, and preserved over a span of three centuries
by the Adams family of Massachusetts
illustration
The Adams Papers
ADMINISTRATIVE COMMITTEE
- John Adams
- Margery Adams
- Levin H. Campbell
- Joseph J. Ellis
- Lilian Handlin
- Edward C. Johnson 3d
- Henry Lee
- Pauline Maier
- Zick Rubin
- Hiller B. Zobel
EDITORIAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE
- Joyce O. Appleby
- Bernard Bailyn
- Joan R. Challinor
- David Herbert Donald
- Linda K. Kerber
- Thomas K. McCraw
- Gordon S. Wood
The acorn and oakleaf device on the preceding page is redrawn from a seal cut for John Quincy Adams after 1830. The motto is from Caecilius Statius as quoted by Cicero in the First Tusculan Disputation: Serit arbores quae alteri seculo prosint (“He plants trees for the benefit of later generations”).
Contents
Descriptive List of Illustrations
“My Feet Had Well Nigh Stumbled on the Dark Mountains.” 22
John Adams returned to Amsterdam from Paris in early August 1781 and soon thereafter was struck down by “a nervous Fever, of a very malignant kind” (to the president of Congress, 15 Oct., 1st letter, below). During the six weeks between 25 August and 4 October, Adams did no business and wrote no letters. The seriousness of the illness and the fears that both Adams and those around him had for his life are perhaps best expressed in this passage from Adams’ note to C. W. F. Dumas, 18 October, below, as he slowly recovered his strength. For an account of the illness, and possible diagnoses, see Adams to Benjamin Franklin, 25 August, note 1 (vol. 11:469–470).
From the original in the Adams Papers.
Robert R. Livingston, Secretary for Foreign Affairs, by Charles Willson Peale, ca. 1782 41
Robert R. Livingston (1746–1813), a member of the numerous and influential Livingston family of New York, served in the Continental Congress for the periods 1775–1776, 1779–1781, and 1784–1785. In 1776 he was a member, with Adams, of the committee to draft the Declaration of Independence, but in the debates over its adoption he counseled delay and neither voted for nor signed the Declaration. During his second period of service in Congress Livingston’s influence grew until, on 10 August 1781, he was elected secretary for foreign affairs with the approval, if not the active support, of the French minister, the Chevalier de La Luzerne (
DAB
).
As secretary, Livingston was active in formulating foreign policy and supervising U.S. diplomats in Europe. Beginning with his first letter to Adams (23 Oct. 1781, below), Livingston routinely acknowledged Adams’ letters, which reassured the latter that he did not work in a vacuum. But, because Adams’ letters did not always reach Philadelphia in a timely fashion, Livingston reprimanded Adams for the scarcity of letters he sent to Congress. Livingston and Adams did not share a common view of proper diplomacy, and the secretary also sharply rebuked Adams for his activities in the Netherlands. Adams responded with a spirited defense of his efforts, particularly his memorial to the States General of 19 April 1781 (vol. 11:272–282), and countered that Livingston was ill informed about the political situation in Europe and the unique challenges he faced in the Netherlands (to Livingston, 14 and 19 Feb, both below).
Courtesy of Independence National Historical Park.
Guillaume Thomas François, Abbé Raynal 200
The Abbé Raynal (1713–1796), historian and philosophe, is best known as the author of Histoire philosophique et politique des établissemens et du commerce des Européens dans les deux Indes , first published anonymously in 4 vols., Amsterdam, 1770. This work, to which Denis Diderot and other philosophes contributed, was revised and expanded several times and went through numerous editions. Its attacks on religion and the legitimacy of European governments led to its prohibition in France in 1779. Identified in 1780 as the Histoire author, Raynal avoided arrest and went into exile. In January 1782, when he briefly corresponded with John Adams, Raynal was in Brussels (Hoefer, Nouv. biog. générale
).
Adams deeply appreciated Raynal’s support for the American cause, but he was disturbed by erroneous and misleading statements about the origins and progress of the American Revolution that appeared in a new section on the Revolution included in a revised edition of the Histoire (5 vols., Geneva, 1780). He was all the more concerned because Raynal’s commentary on the Revolution was widely republished, appearing as a pamphlet in England, the Netherlands, and even the United States. To correct Raynal’s errors and, perhaps, to counter his influence among Europeans, Adams drafted four letters for publication in Le politique hollandais, a Dutch paper edited by his friend Antoine Marie Cerisier. For the planned rebuttal of Raynal, which Adams reconsidered and then abandoned, see On the Abbé Raynal’s Révolution de l’Amérique, 22 January 1782, below.
The engraved portrait reproduced here is the frontispiece to volume 1 of Raynal’s Histoire, 10 vols., Geneva, 1781.
Courtesy of the Massachusetts Historical Society.
Edmund Jenings, by an Unknown Artist 202
John Adams and Edmund Jenings (1731–1819) probably met in Paris in early March 1779. During the next five years the two men exchanged over 200 letters, showing Jenings to be Adams’ friend and confidant. Adams shared with Jenings his views on American diplomacy, his efforts in the Netherlands, the prospects for Anglo-American peace negotiations, and information on Adams’ relations with colleagues and others. Indeed, Adams was so candid in some of his letters that, after due consideration, he chose not to send them. In turn, Jenings supplied Adams with intelligence from London and elsewhere, sympathized with Adams’ difficulties, and facilitated the publication of propaganda from Adams’ hand.
Jenings’ access to the British press was probably his most valuable asset to Adams. Soon after he arrived at Paris in 1780, Adams sent Jenings an announcement of his arrival in Europe to negotiate an Anglo-American peace (vol. 9:104–105). Jenings obtained its publication in the London newspapers and did the same for other pieces, all part of Adams’ effort to convince the British government and people that the nation’s economic and political interests demanded an immediate peace. Adams’ “Letters from a Distinguished
{p. R11}
American” (vol. 9:531–588) was the most provocative of these items. Curiously, in view of Jenings’ usual ability to obtain prompt publication, the “Letters” did not appear until the fall of 1782, just as peace negotiations were about to begin. Jenings also played a significant role in the publication of JA’s Translation of the Memorial to the Sovereigns of Europe . . . into Common Sense and Intelligible English, London, 1781 (vol. 9:157–221;
10:viii–ix, title page reproduced on p. 341).
Little is actually known about Jenings’ life. Born in Annapolis, Maryland, and related to the Lees of Virginia, Jenings went to England at an early age for his education and never returned to America. Still, Jenings wrote several pro-American pamphlets and moved to Brussels for the duration of the war, determined to be seen as a loyal American. This sentiment is reflected in his correspondence. Some have speculated that this stance was merely a ruse to ingratiate himself with Adams and that Jenings, in fact, was a British agent. His friendship with questionable figures such as the British spy Edward Bancroft lends support to such a conclusion, as too do the instances in which he seemed bent on sowing dissension between Americans in Europe, the most notorious being the 1782 anonymous letters controversy that led to a pamphlet war between Jenings and Henry Laurens. John Adams, however, never doubted Jenings’ loyalty, nominating him to settle Maryland claims in England and to serve as secretary of the peace commission. He also rejected Henry Laurens’ charge that Jenings was the author of the anonymous letters.
Despite the speculation, there is no hard evidence that Edmund Jenings was anything but what he claimed to be: a loyal American. Certainly he was something of a busybody who traded in gossip and innuendo, a minor historical figure who wanted to be a major figure in the events of his day. He was likely motivated partly to safeguard his finances, which depended on Maryland and Virginia lands, but also because he believed in the Revolution. For additional information about Jenings and his relationship with Adams, see vol. 8:10; JA, Diary and Autobiography
, 2:355–356; James H. Hutson, comp. and ed., Letters from a Distinguished American, Washington, D.C., 1978, p. ix–xx.
Courtesy of the Virginia Historical Society.
Resolution by the States of Friesland to Recognize the United States and Admit John Adams as Minister Plenipotentiary, 26 February 1782 276
Friesland was the first of the seven Dutch provinces to resolve that the States General should recognize the United States and admit John Adams as minister plenipotentiary. Adams wrote that Friesland “is said to be a sure Index of the national Sense,” its people “ever famous for the Spirit of Liberty” (to Robert R. Livingston, 11 March 1782, below). As early as December 1781 the States of Friesland considered a resolution to recognize the United States and conclude a Dutch-American commercial treaty. That proposal was rejected, not because the idea was strongly opposed, but be•
{p. R12}
cause at that moment it posed too many difficulties (to the president of Congress, 14 Dec. 1781, below). Adams was promised early in February that Friesland would act within three weeks (to Livingston, 19 Feb. 1782, below). Friesland’s resolution of 26 February marked a turning point in John Adams’ efforts to achieve Dutch recognition of the United States. With Friesland’s example before them, the six remaining provinces soon followed suit and less than two months later, on 19 April, the States General resolved to recognize the United States. For English translations of the resolution, see John Adams to Livingston, 11 March and 19 April, both below. This is the first of two pages containing the text of the 26 February resolution as extracted from the resolutions of the States of Friesland.
From the original in the Adams Papers.
Resolution by the States of Holland and West Friesland to recognize the United States and admit John Adams as minister plenipotentiary, 28 March 1782 356
C. W. F. Dumas wrote to John Adams on 28 March, below, that “la grande oeuvre est accomplie,” the States of Holland and West Friesland had instructed their representatives in the States General to resolve to recognize the United States and admit Adams as minister plenipotentiary. Two days later Pieter van Bleiswyck, grand pensionary of Holland and West Friesland, wrote to Adams and enclosed the copy of the resolution reproduced here. The resolution by the States of Holland and West Friesland, the most populous and influential province, insured that Adams’ quest would end in victory. For an English translation of the resolution, see Adams to Robert R. Livingston, 19 April, below.
This is the first of two pages containing the text of the 28 March resolution as extracted from the resolutions of the States of Holland and West Friesland.
From the original in the Adams Papers.
Isaac Collins, by John Brewster Jr. 375
This oil on canvas portrait by the itinerant deaf-mute artist John Brewster Jr. shows Isaac Collins (1756–1834) of Gloucester, Massachusetts, as a substantial merchant captain in the 1790s. As a privateersman during the American Revolution, however, he had the misfortune to be twice captured and imprisoned in England. In June 1781, as a mate on the Massachusetts privateer Ulysses, Collins was taken and committed to Forton Prison in Portsmouth, England. By August he and four others were in France, having escaped and crossed the English Channel in a small open boat. Assisted by Michel Guillaume St. John de Crèvecoeur, who would soon publish Letters from an American Farmer, Collins joined his brother Charles on the privateer Black Princess. His new vessel was soon captured and in October he found himself an inmate of Mill
{p. R13}
Prison (William Young, ed., A Dictionary of American Artists, Sculptors, and Engravers, Cambridge, 1968; Franklin, Papers
, 35:410–411, 415–417; Marion and Jack Kaminkow, Mariners of the American Revolution, Baltimore, 1967, p. 42, 235). See Collins’ letter to John Adams, written from Mill Prison, March 1782, below.
Courtesy of the Massachusetts Historical Society.
Resolution by the States General of the United Provinces of the Low Countries to Recognize the United States and Admit John Adams as Minister Plenipotentiary, 19 April 1782 421
The States General recognized the United States on 19 April 1782, exactly seven years after the Revolutionary War began. At 11 o’clock the next morning John Adams presented his letter of credence as minister plenipotentiary to Willem Boreel, the president of the States General (Wharton, ed., Dipl. Corr. Amer. Rev., 5:408–410; London Morning Herald and Daily Advertiser, 29 April). For an English translation of the resolution, see Adams’ letter to Robert R. Livingston, 19 April, below.
Adams believed that Dutch recognition of the United States was his greatest diplomatic achievement. Against all odds he had aroused the Batavian spirit and produced “the most Signal Epocha, in the History of a Century” (to Benjamin Rush, 22 April 1782, below). It was “a Tryumph” for the new nation “more signal, than it ever obtained before in Europe” (
Adams Family Correspondence
, 4:325). Adams was soon deeply involved in the negotiation of a Dutch-American commercial treaty and, because recognition finally opened the doors of the Amsterdam financial houses, he was well on his way to obtaining the loan so sorely needed by the United States.
From the original in the Adams Papers.
William V and Wilhelmina, the Prince and Princess of Orange, by J. F. A. Tischbein, 1789 442, 444
William V (1748–1806) became the last stadholder of the Dutch Republic in 1751 and assumed the powers of his office in 1766. The following year he married Wilhelmina (1751–1820), princess of Prussia. His personal position and his office were undermined by the increasingly bitter conflict between the Orangist and Patriot parties. The States General’s recognition of the United States on 19 April 1782, an action vehemently opposed by William V, the nephew of George III, was largely the result of that conflict and the rise of the Patriot party.
Because Dutch sovereignty resided in the States General, William V and Wilhelmina had no choice but to accept the decision of Their High Mightinesses. On 22 April John Adams had an audience with William V to present his letter of credence as minister from the United States. According to Adams, the prince received him politely, allowed him to deliver his address in English, and “then
{p. R14}
fell into familiar Conversation with me and asked me many Questions about indifferent things, as is the Custom of Princes and Princesses on such Occasions” (to Robert R. Livingston, 22 April, below). Two days later Adams met with Wilhelmina, who “promised to do what depended upon her to render my Residence at the Hague agreable to me, and then asked me several Questions similar to those of his most Serene Highness” (to Livingston, 24 April, below). Adams had no illusions as to the court’s attitude toward him. On 4 September, Adams provided the secretary for foreign affairs with a lengthy description of his relations with other members of the diplomatic corps, noting that “the ministers from Russia, Sweden, Denmark, Portugal, Sardinia, and Liege I see every week at court, where I sup regularly when the others do, though it is very visible that I am not the guest the most favored by the prince” (Wharton, ed., Dipl. Corr. Amer. Rev.
, 5:691).
Courtesy of the House of Orange-Nassau Historic Collections Trust, The Hague.
Introduction
Docno: PJA12d001
Minister to the Netherlands
On 19 April 1782, the seventh anniversary of “the shot heard round the world,” the States General of the Netherlands recognized the United States and admitted John Adams as minister from the United States. Adams, for whom it was a great personal triumph, wrote that it was “the most Signal Epocha, in the History of a Century.” 1 His diplomacy in the Netherlands since his arrival in August 1780 was vindicated.
Volume 12 opens in October 1781, as John Adams slowly regained his strength after a near-fatal illness struck him in August and left him unable to work for almost six weeks.2 His diplomacy apparently had reached a dead end. The States General and its constituent provincial states had not acted on his memorial of 19 April 1781,3 and seemed unlikely to do so in the near future. But the pace quickened when, after consulting with advisors, Adams visited the president of the States General on 9 January 1782 to demand a categorical reply to his memorial.4 A little over three months later, far sooner than Adams or anyone else expected, the States General recognized the United States. A selection of the many petitions from merchants and others supporting Adams’ request and all the resolutions by the provincial states and the States General to recognize the United States and admit Adams as minister appear in this volume.
While the primary focus of volume 12 is John Adams’ effort to convince the Dutch government and nation that their self-interest demanded recognition of the United States, other matters also required Adams’ attention—aid to American prisoners, Congress’ uncontrolled issuance of bills of exchange, the purchase of a building to house the American legation at The Hague, his first official meet•
{p. R16}
ings with members of the Dutch government and the diplomatic corps, submission of a draft treaty of amity and commerce to the States General, renewed efforts to raise a Dutch loan, and a response to Britain’s first tentative inquiries about a peace settlement.
John Adams’ correspondence provides a clear, comprehensive record of his diplomacy in the Netherlands. Particularly important are the letters he exchanged with the newly appointed secretary for foreign affairs, Robert R. Livingston. Livingston’s first letter of 23 October 1781 signaled a decisive change in the conduct of American foreign policy. The new secretary was determined to be an active participant in the formulation and execution of foreign policy and to closely supervise the efforts of American diplomats in Europe. Livingston’s appointment meant that, for the first time, Adams received regular acknowledgments of his letters together with suggested courses of action. Livingston’s criticism of Adams’ seemingly unorthodox diplomacy prompted Adams to mount a spirited defense. From that defense is derived the sometimes pejorative term “militia diplomacy,” for Adams declared that “Your Veterans in Diplomaticks and in Affairs of State consider Us as a kind of Militia.”5 No less important are the letters exchanged by Adams and C. W. F. Dumas, who continued to act as Adams’ agent, translator, and advisor. French reservations about Adams’ diplomacy are brought into sharp focus in his correspondence with the French ambassador at The Hague, the Duc de La Vauguyon. Substantial portions of Adams’ commentary written years later when he published many of his letters in the Boston Patriot are included in the annotation and provide a valuable supplement to his correspondence.
John Adams’ major correspondents in this volume differ little from those in volumes 10 and 11, which also document his tenure in the Netherlands. Edmund Jenings in Brussels remained a source of intelligence on events in England and elsewhere. In the Netherlands, Adams continued to correspond with members of the Patriot or anti-stadholder party, such as François Adriaan Van der Kemp, Joan Derk van der Capellen tot den Pol, Jean Luzac, and Antoine Marie Cerisier. They, together with bankers such as Hendrik Bicker, Nicolaas and Jacob van Staphorst, and Jean de Neufville, advised Adams on how to proceed in pursuit of recognition and a loan. Adams persevered in his efforts to win the hearts and minds of the British, Dutch, and other Europeans to the American cause through
{p. R17}
contributions to various publications, most notably Le politique hollandais and the Gazette d’Amsterdam. Adams missed the presence of his friend and advisor Francis Dana, but Dana was a valuable source of intelligence from his post in St. Petersburg. Other familiar names among Adams’ correspondents are the Marquis de Lafayette, Samuel Adams, John Bondfield, Joshua Johnson, and John Jay.
Adams continued his extensive correspondence with Benjamin Franklin. As in the past, most of their letters dealt with the precarious financial position of the United States in Europe owing to the Continental Congress’ willingness to issue bills of exchange without considering how its diplomats would pay them and France’s increasing reluctance to supply additional funds. But after the North ministry’s fall in March 1782, the focus of their letters increasingly turned to the questions of when and under what conditions Anglo-American peace negotiations could take place. The ensuing correspondence between Adams and Franklin is notable for its forthrightness and makes it clear that the two men differed little regarding the prospects for peace negotiations and the basis upon which they would be undertaken.
In the crisis that followed the British defeat at Yorktown and fall of the North ministry, Thomas Digges and Henry Laurens were dispatched by the earl of Shelburne to the Netherlands to ascertain Adams’ position on negotiations. Adams told both men that he would not and could not act alone and that a negotiated peace was impossible without prior recognition of American independence and the notification of France. Digges, however, informed Shelburne that Adams had implied that a settlement short of independence, which would separate the United States from its ally France, might be possible. This was in accord with the ministry’s hopes, but they were soon dashed by Laurens’ report to Shelburne on his own discussions with Adams.6
As the American representative in the Netherlands, John Adams received proposals and appeals from a variety of correspondents. One such group was composed of American prisoners, both those still in British prisons and those who had escaped penniless to the Continent. Adams was concerned about their plight and aided many of these unfortunates, often out of his own pocket. His assistance to
{p. R18}
one group, sons of Braintree neighbors, brought a sharp letter of rebuke from another prisoner, Isaac Collins, who thought himself slighted.7 As Dutch recognition became a certainty, Adams received a flood of letters requesting his assistance in facilitating trade with and immigration to America, as well as congratulating him on the success of his efforts. One entrepreneur produced gloves made from Dutch and American wool to commemorate the occasion and the editor of a two-volume edition of American constitutions dedicated one of the volumes to John Adams. 8
As April turned into May, John Adams could look back on his accomplishments of the previous year with satisfaction. In April 1781 he had been a private person of no standing, using whatever means were available to pursue a seemingly impossible goal. At the end of April 1782 he was the U.S. minister to the Netherlands, soon to occupy the new American legation at The Hague, a full-fledged member of the diplomatic corps. The States General had received him and he had been presented to the Prince and Princess of Orange. He had submitted a draft treaty of amity and commerce to the States General for its consideration and was making progress towards obtaining a loan. Against formidable opponents, Adams had gained a “Signal Tryumph” for the American cause in the Netherlands, and would forever believe that this triumph represented the pinnacle of his diplomatic career. 9
John Adams and His Letterbooks
During the seven months covered by this volume, John Adams used five Letterbooks numbered 13, 14, 16, 17, and 18, which appear respectively on Reel Nos. 101, 102, 104, 105, and 106 of the Adams Papers microfilm edition. Detailed descriptions of Letterbooks 13 and 14, which contain copies of public and private letters written between 14 August 1780 and 26 April 1782, appear in the Introduction to volumes 9 and 10. Letterbooks 16 and 17, containing mostly official letters written between 8 March 1781 and 29 March 1782, are described in the Introduction to volume 11.10
Letterbook 18 is entitled “Holland Vol. 3.” On its cover Adams
{p. R19}
wrote “No 18. Holland 1782 From March 31. 1782 Paris 1783 From August 10. 1783.” The first 109 pages contain various documents written between 31 March and mid-August 1782 that concern Dutch recognition of the United States and John Adams’ initial undertakings as the American minister at The Hague. Included are letters to the secretary for foreign affairs, the instruments by which the provinces and the States General recognized the United States, and descriptions of the governments of the various provinces. After a gap of 111 blank pages, there is a 40-page section containing letters written between mid-August and 12 October 1782 that concern events in the Netherlands and the impending Anglo-American peace negotiations. The next 55 pages consist of letters written at Amsterdam and Paris between 23 July and 14 September 1783. The final 48 pages of the Letterbook are blank.
Notes on Editorial Method
The editors of the Papers of John Adams are guided by the editorial principles set down in the Notes on Editorial Method in previous volumes, especially volumes 1 (p. xxxi–xxxv), 9 (p. xx–xxiii), and 11 (p. xx–xxi). Three changes in the textual policy, for this and subsequent volumes in the Adams Papers, that incorporate a slightly more literal rendering of the text also should be noted:
Capitalization of proper names and geographical terms follows that in the manuscript.
Abbreviations and contractions are preserved as found throughout the document unless confusion or misunderstanding may result. The ampersand (&) is retained in the form of &c. (for etc.) and in the names of firms; elsewhere it is rendered as and.
Punctuation following all abbreviations and contractions is rendered as in the manuscript.
It should also be noted that volume 12 is the first in which a substantial number of documents in a foreign language other than French have been considered for inclusion. French documents satisfying the general criteria for selectivity in the Papers of John Adams have been routinely translated and printed because John Adams could read French. He could not read Dutch or German, however, leading the editors to consider the basis on which such documents will be included. It has been decided that letters or documents in a language that John Adams could not read must meet one or more of the following conditions: evidence exists that Adams obtained either an English or French translation; he replied or otherwise responded to a letter or document; or the letter or document has an intrinsic value that demands its publication.
Volume 12 of the Papers of John Adams chronicles what was, at least in John Adams’ mind, the most important phase of his diplomatic career. But it is not the only documentary source for that period that is derived from the Adams Papers. The 316 letters and documents printed and 74 items omitted from this volume must be considered in conjunction with the 62 letters for the same period printed in
Adams Family Correspondence
, 4:223–319. Those letters provide additional information on the progress of John Adams’ efforts in the Netherlands, the actions of Congress, Charles Adams’ return to America on the South Carolina, John Quincy Adams’ residence at St. Petersburg with Francis Dana, and life in the United States during wartime. Abigail Adams remained John Adams’ most important correspondent, but see also the letters he exchanged with John Quincy Adams, Richard Cranch, John Thaxter, William Jackson, Isaac Smith, Cotton Tufts, and Benjamin Waterhouse. Finally, John Adams’
Diary and Autobiography
, especially 3:1–5, contains important details on Adams’ activities in the wake of Dutch recognition of the United States, and the
Diary of John Quincy Adams
, 1:102–124, chronicles the younger Adams’ residence at St. Petersburg with Francis Dana from January through April 1782.
1. To Benjamin Rush, 22 April 1782, below.
2. For an account of JA’s illness, see JA to Benjamin Franklin, 25 Aug. 1781, note 1 (vol. 11:469–470).
3. Vol. 11:272–282.
4. Address to the president of the States General, [
ante 9 Jan. 1782
], and note 1, below.
5. To Robert R. Livingston, 21 Feb. 1782, below.
6. For JA’s conversations with Thomas Digges and Henry Laurens on 21 March and 15 April 1782 respectively, see Thomas Digges’ letter of 2 April 1782, note 1; Henry Laurens’ memorandum of [
post 18 April 1782
]; and JA’s letters of 26 March and 16 April 1782 to Benjamin Franklin, all below.
7. From Isaac Collins, March 1782, below.
Acknowledgments
This volume would have been impossible without the assistance of many more people and institutions than can be listed on the title page. We greatly appreciate the work of Joanna M. Revelas, who provided translations of French documents, and of Hobson Woodward, who transcribed Adams documents for this and future volumes of the Papers of John Adams. Conrad E. Wright, Worthington C. Ford Editor of Publications at the Massachusetts Historical Society, undertook an early reading of the manuscript and his observations were of great value in completing the volume.
The assistance of old friends to the project is greatly valued and appreciated. Ellen R. Cohn, Jonathan R. Dull, and Kate M. Ohno of the Papers of Benjamin Franklin were always ready to answer our questions. Stephen Nonack, Head of Reference at the Boston Athenaeum; Edward B. Doctoroff, Head of Administrative Services at Harvard’s Widener Library; and the staff of the Rare Books and Manuscripts Department at the Boston Public Library greatly facilitated our research at their respective institutions. And we remain indebted to Prof. Ward W. Briggs of the University of South Carolina for his Latin translations.
The support of the Harvard University Press for the publication of the Adams Papers volumes continues unabated and is greatly appreciated. We particularly would like to thank Assistant Director/Design and Production Manager John Walsh and Ann Louise Coffin McLaughlin, our former editor, now retired. The crucial support of Kevin Krugh and Steven Lee of Technologies ’N Typography in the production of this volume was also much appreciated.
We would also like to welcome three new and valued contributors. Inez Hollander Lake of Orinda, California, transcribed and translated Dutch letters and was always ready to answer our questions about them. Margarete Ritzkowsky of Tutzing, Germany, did the same for German documents, all of them written in a very difficult archaic script. Eric Stockdale of London, England, verified some elusive newspaper references.
Without the unrivaled collections of the Massachusetts Historical Society and the services of the Society’s learned and devoted staff this volume would have been impossible. Particular thanks go to William M. Fowler Jr., Director; Peter Drummey, Stephen T. Riley Librarian; Brenda Lawson, Associate Librarian and Curator of Manuscripts; Mary E. Fabiszewski, Senior Cataloger; Nicholas Graham, former Reference Librarian; Kate DuBose, former Assistant Reference Librarian; and Jennifer Smith, Photographic Services. We also greatly appreciate the contributions made by the Adams Papers Administrative Committee to the success of this project.
Guide to Editorial Apparatus
In the first three sections (1–3) of the six sections of this Guide are listed, respectively, the arbitrary device used for clarifying the text, the code names for designating prominent members of the Adams family, and the symbols describing the various kinds of manuscript originals used or referred to, that are employed throughout The Adams Papers in all its series and parts. In the final three sections (4–6) are listed, respectively, only those symbols designating institutions holding original materials, the various abbreviations and conventional terms, and the short titles of books and other works that occur in volume 12 of the Papers of John Adams. The editors propose to maintain this pattern for the Guide to Editorial Apparatus in each of the smaller units, published at intervals, of all the series and parts of the edition that are so extensive as to continue through many volumes. On the other hand, in short and specialized series and/or parts of the edition, the Guide to Editorial Apparatus will be given more summary form tailored to its immediate purpose.
Textual Devices
The following devices will be used throughout The Adams Papers to clarify the presentation of the text.
| [. . .], [. . . .] | One or two words missing and not conjecturable. |
| [. . .], [. . . .] | More than two words missing and not conjecturable; subjoined footnote estimates amount of missing matter. |
| [ ] | Number or part of a number missing or illegible. Amount of blank space inside brackets approximates the number of missing or illegible digits. |
| [roman] | Conjectural reading for missing or illegible matter. A question mark is inserted before the closing bracket if the conjectural reading is seriously doubtful. |
| <italic> | Matter canceled in the manuscript but restored in the text. |
| [italic] | Matter editorially inserted. |
| ||roman|| | Matter editorially decoded. |
Adams Family Code Names
| First Generation | |
| JA | John Adams (1735–1826) |
| AA | Abigail Adams (1744–1818), m. JA 1764 |
| {p. R24} | |
| Second Generation | |
| JQA | John Quincy Adams (1767–1848), son of JA and AA |
| LCA | Louisa Catherine Johnson (1775–1852), m. JQA 1797 |
| CA | Charles Adams (1770–1800), son of JA and AA |
| Mrs. CA | Sarah Smith (1769–1828), sister of WSS, m. CA 1795 |
| TBA | Thomas Boylston Adams (1772–1832), son of JA and AA |
| Mrs. TBA | Ann Harrod (1774?–1845), m. TBA 1805 |
| AA2 | Abigail Adams (1765–1813), daughter of JA and AA, m. WSS 1786 |
| WSS | William Stephens Smith (1755–1816), brother of Mrs. CA |
| Third Generation | |
| GWA | George Washington Adams (1801–1829), son of JQA and LCA |
| JA2 | John Adams (1803–1834), son of JQA and LCA |
| Mrs. JA2 | Mary Catherine Hellen (1806?–1870), m. JA2 1828 |
| CFA | Charles Francis Adams (1807–1886), son of JQA and LCA |
| ABA | Abigail Brown Brooks (1808–1889), m. CFA 1829 |
| ECA | Elizabeth Coombs Adams (1808–1903), daughter of TBA and Mrs. TBA |
| Fourth Generation | |
| JQA2 | John Quincy Adams (1833–1894), son of CFA and ABA |
| CFA2 | Charles Francis Adams (1835–1915), son of CFA and ABA |
| HA | Henry Adams (1838–1918), son of CFA and ABA |
| MHA | Marian Hooper (1842–1885), m. HA 1872 |
| BA | Brooks Adams (1848–1927), son of CFA and ABA |
| LCA2 | Louisa Catherine Adams (1831–1870), daughter of CFA and ABA, m. Charles Kuhn 1854 |
| MA | Mary Adams (1845–1928), daughter of CFA and ABA, m. Henry Parker Quincy 1877 |
| Fifth Generation | |
| CFA3 | Charles Francis Adams (1866–1954), son of JQA2 |
| HA2 | Henry Adams (1875–1951), son of CFA2 |
| JA3 | John Adams (1875–1964), son of CFA2 |
Descriptive Symbols
The following symbols will be employed throughout The Adams Papers to describe or identify in brief form the various kinds of manuscript originals.
| D | Diary (Used only to designate a diary written by a member of the Adams family and always in combination with the short form of the writer's name and a serial number, as follows: D/JA/23, i.e. the twenty-third fascicle or volume of John Adams' manuscript Diary.) |
| Dft | draft |
| Dupl | duplicate |
| FC | file copy (Ordinarily a copy of a letter retained by a correspondent other than an Adams, for example Jefferson's press copies and polygraph copies, since all three of the Adams statesmen systematically entered copies of their outgoing letters in letterbooks.) |
| {p. R25} | |
| Lb | Letterbook (Used only to designate Adams letterbooks and always in combination with the short form of the writer's name and a serial number, as follows: Lb/JQA/29, i.e. the twenty-ninth volume of John Quincy Adams' Letterbooks.) |
| LbC | letterbook copy (Letterbook copies are normally unsigned, but any such copy is assumed to be in the hand of the person responsible for the text unless it is otherwise described.) |
| M | Miscellany (Used only to designate materials in the section of the Adams Papers known as the “Miscellany” and always in combination with the short form of the writer's name and a serial number, as follows: M/CFA/32, i.e. the thirty-second volume of the Charles Francis Adams Miscellany—a ledger volume mainly containing transcripts made by CFA in 1833 of selections from the family papers.) |
| MS, MSS | manuscript, manuscripts |
| RC | recipient's copy (A recipients copy is assumed to be in the hand of the signer unless it is otherwise described.) |
| Tr | transcript (A copy, handwritten or typewritten, made substantially later than the original or than other copies—such as duplicates, file copies, letterbook copies—that were made contemporaneously.) |
| Tripl | triplicate |
Location Symbols
| CtY | Yale University |
| DLC | Library of Congress |
| DNA | The National Archives |
| MB | Boston Public Library |
| MHi | Massachusetts Historical Society |
| MQA | Adams National Historical Park, Quincy, Mass. |
| MiU-C | University of Michigan, The Clements Library |
| NHi | New-York Historical Society |
| NN | New York Public Library |
| NNC | Columbia University Library |
| OClWhi | Western Reserve Historical Society |
| PHi | Historical Society of Pennsylvania |
| PPAmP | American Philosophical Society |
| PU | University of Pennsylvania |
| PWacD | David Library of the American Revolution |
Other Abbreviations and Conventional Terms
-
Adams Papers - Manuscripts and other materials, 1639–1889, in the Adams Manuscript Trust collection given to the Massachusetts Historical Society in 1956 and enlarged by a few additions of family papers since then. Citations in the present edition are simply by date of the original document if the original is in the main chronological series of the Papers and therefore readily found in the microfilm edition of the Adams Papers (see below). The location of materials in the Letterbooks and in the volumes of Mis• {p. R26} cellany is given more fully and, if the original would be hard to locate, by the microfilm reel number.
-
Adams Papers Editorial Files - Other materials in the Adams Papers editorial office, Massachusetts Historical Society. These include photoduplicated documents (normally cited by the location of the originals), photographs, correspondence, and bibliographical and other aids compiled and accumulated by the editorial staff.
-
Adams Papers, Adams Office Files - The portion of the Adams manuscripts given to the Massachusetts Historical Society by Thomas Boylston Adams in 1973.
-
Adams Papers, Microfilms - The corpus of the Adams Papers, 1639–1889, as published on microfilm by the Massachusetts Historical Society, 1954–1959, in 608 reels. Cited in the present work, when necessary, by reel number. Available in research libraries throughout the United States and in a few libraries in Canada, Europe, and New Zealand.
-
The Adams Papers - The present edition in letterpress, published by The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press. References to earlier volumes of any given unit take this form: vol. 2:146. Since there will be no over-all volume numbering for the edition, references from one series, or unit of a series, to another will be by title, volume, and page; for example, JA, Diary and Autobiography, 4:205.
-
Algemeen Rijksarchief - Algemeen Rijksarchief, The Hague.
-
Koninklijk Huisarchief - Koninklijk Huisarchief, The Hague.
-
PCC - Papers of the Continental Congress. Originals in the National Archives: Record Group 360. Microfilm edition in 204 reels. Usually cited in the present work from the microfilms, but according to the original series and volume numbering devised in the State Department in the early 19th century; for example, PCC, No. 93, III, i.e. the third volume of series 93.
-
PCC, Misc. Papers - Miscellaneous Papers of the Continental Congress. Originals in the National Archives: Record Group 360. Microfilm edition in 9 reels. Cited in the present work from the microfilms by reel and folio number.
Short Titles of Works Frequently Cited
-
Adams Family Correspondence - Adams Family Correspondence, ed. L. H. Butterfield and others, Cambridge, 1963– .
-
T. R. Adams, American Controversy - Thomas R. Adams, The American Controversy, A Bibliographical Study of the British Pamphlets about the American Disputes, 1764–1783, Providence and New York, 1980; 2 vols.
-
Allen, Mass. Privateers - Gardner Weld Allen, Massachusetts Privateers of the Revolution (Massachusetts Historical Society, Collections, vol. 77), Boston, 1927
-
Boston Record Commissioners, Reports - City of Boston, Record Commissioners, Reports, Boston, 1876–1909; 39 vols.
-
Cal. Franklin Papers, A.P.S. - I. Minis Hays, comp., Calendar of the Papers of Benjamin Franklin in the Library of the American Philosophical Society, Philadelphia, 1908; 5 vols.
-
Cambridge Modern Hist. - The Cambridge Modern History, Cambridge, Eng., 1902–1911; repr. New York, 1969; 13 vols.
-
Catalogue of JA’s Library - Catalogue of the John Adams Library in the Public Library of the City of Boston, Boston, 1917.
-
Catalogue of JQA’s Books - Worthington C. Ford, ed., A Catalogue of the Books of John Quincy Adams Deposited in the Boston Athenaeum. With Notes on Books, Adams Seals and Book-Plates, by Henry Adams, Boston, 1938.
-
DAB - Allen Johnson and Dumas Malone, eds., Dictionary of American Biography, New York, 1928–1936; 20 vols. plus index and supplements.
-
Davies, ed., Docs. of the Amer. Rev., 1770–1783 - Documents of the American Revolution, 1770–1783 (Colonial Office Series), ed. K. G. Davies, Shannon, Ire., 1972–1981; 21 vols.
-
De Madariaga, Armed Neutrality of 1780 - Isabel de Madariaga, Britain, Russia and the Armed Neutrality of 1780, New Haven, 1962.
-
Dexter, Yale Graduates - Franklin Bowditch Dexter, Biographical Sketches of the Graduates of Yale College, with Annals of the College History, New York, 1885–1912; 6 vols.
-
Digges, Letters - Letters of Thomas Attwood Digges, ed. Robert H. Elias and Eugene D. Finch, Columbia, S.C., 1982.
-
DNB - Leslie Stephen and Sidney Lee, eds., The Dictionary of National Biography, New York and London, 1885–1900; 63 vols. plus supplements.
-
Dull, French Navy and Amer. Independence - Jonathan R. Dull, The French Navy and American Independence: A Study of Arms and Diplomacy, 1774–1787, Princeton, 1975.
-
Edler, Dutch Republic and Amer. Rev. - Friedrich Edler, The Dutch Republic and the American Revolution, Baltimore, 1911.
-
Franklin, Papers - The Papers of Benjamin Franklin, ed. Leonard W. Labaree, William B. Willcox (from vol. 15), Claude A. Lopez (vol. 27), Barbara B. Oberg (from vol. 28), Ellen R. Cohn (from vol. 36), and others, New Haven, 1959– .
-
Greene, Papers - The Papers of Nathanael Greene, ed. Richard K. Showman, Dennis Conrad (from vol. 8), and others, Chapel Hill, 1976–?.
-
Heitman, Register of the Continental Army - Francis B. Heitman, comp., Historical Register of Officers of the Continental Army during the War of the Revolution, new edn., Washington, 1914.
-
Hoefer, Nouv. biog. générale - J. C. F. Hoefer, ed., Nouvelle biographie générale depuis les temps les plus reculés jusqu’à nos jours, Paris, 1852–1866; 46 vols.
-
JA, Diary and Autobiography - Diary and Autobiography of John Adams, ed. L. H. Butterfield and others, Cambridge, 1961; 4 vols.
-
JA, Papers - Papers of John Adams, ed. Robert J. Taylor, Gregg L. Lint, and others, Cambridge, 1977–?.
-
JA, Works - The Works of John Adams, Second President of the United States: with a Life of the Author, ed. Charles Francis Adams, Boston, 1850–1856; 10 vols.
-
JCC - Worthington C. Ford and others, eds., Journals of the Continental Congress, 1774–1789, Washington, 1904–1937; 34 vols.
-
Jefferson, Papers - The Papers of Thomas Jefferson, ed. Julian P. Boyd, Charles T. Cullen (from vol. 21), John Catanzariti (from vol. 24), Barbara B. Oberg (from vol. 29), and others, Princeton, 1950–?.
-
JQA, Diary - Diary of John Quincy Adams, ed. David Grayson Allen, Robert J. Taylor, and others, Cambridge, 1981–?.
-
Laurens, Papers - The Papers of Henry Laurens, ed. Philip M. Hamer, George C. Rogers Jr., and David R. Chesnutt (from vol. 5), David R. Chesnutt and C. James Taylor (from vol. 11), and others, Columbia, S.C., 1968–2003; 16 vols.
-
Mackesy, War for America - Piers Mackesy, The War for America, 1775–1783, Cambridge, 1965.
-
Mahan, Navies in the War of Amer. Independence - Alfred Thayer Mahan, The Major Operations of the Navies in the War of American Independence, Boston, 1913.
-
Mass., Acts and Laws - Acts and Laws of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts [1780–1805], Boston, 1890–1898; 13 vols.
-
MHS, Colls., Procs. - Massachusetts Historical Society, Collections and Proceedings.
-
Middlekauff, Glorious Cause - Robert Middlekauff, The Glorious Cause: The American Revolution, 1763–1789, New York, 1982.
-
Miller, ed., Treaties - Hunter Miller, ed., Treaties and Other International Acts of the United States of America, Washington, 1931–1948; 8 vols.
-
Morris, Papers - The Papers of Robert Morris, 1781–1784, ed. E. James Ferguson, John Catanzariti, and E. James Ferguson (from vol. 6), Elizabeth M. Nuxoll and Mary A. Gallagher (from vol. 8), and others, Pittsburgh, 1973–1999; 9 vols.
-
Morris, Peacemakers - Richard B. Morris, The Peacemakers: The Great Powers and American Independence, New York, 1965.
-
Parliamentary Hist. - The Parliamentary History of England, from the Earliest Period to the Year 1803, London, 1806–1820; 36 vols.
-
PMHB - Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography.
-
Repertorium der diplomatischen Vertreter aller Länder - Ludwig Bittner and others, eds., Repertorium der diplomatischen Vertreter aller Länder seit dem Westfälischen Frieden (1648), Oldenburg &c., 1936–1965; 3 vols.
-
Schulte Nordholt, Dutch Republic and Amer. Independence - Jan Willem Schulte Nordholt, The Dutch Republic and American Independence, transl. Herbert H. Rowen, Chapel Hill, 1982.
-
Scott, ed., Armed Neutralities of 1780 and 1800 - The Armed Neutralities of 1780 and 1800: A Collection of Official Documents Preceded by the Views of Representative Publicists, ed. James Brown Scott, New York, 1918.
-
Sibley’s Harvard Graduates - John Langdon Sibley and Clifford K. Shipton, Biographical Sketches of Graduates of Harvard University, in Cambridge, Massachusetts, Cambridge and Boston, 1873–.
-
Smith, ed., Letters of Delegates - Paul H. Smith and others, eds., Letters of Delegates to Congress, 1774–1789, Washington, 1976–1998; 25 vols.
-
Washington, Writings, ed. Fitzpatrick - The Writings of George Washington from the Original Manuscript Sources, 1745–1799, ed. John C. Fitzpatrick, Washington, 1931–1944; 39 vols.
-
Wharton, ed., Dipl. Corr. Amer. Rev. - Francis Wharton, ed., The Revolutionary Diplomatic Correspondence of the United States, Washington, 1889; 6 vols.
-
WMQ - William and Mary Quarterly.
volume 12
Papers
October 1781 – April 1782
Cite web page as: Founding Families: Digital Editions of the Papers of the Winthrops and the Adamses, ed.C. James Taylor. Boston: Massachusetts Historical Society, 2007.
http://www.masshist.org/ff/
http://www.masshist.org/ff/