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This collection is comprised of letters to Gideon Lee, a New York City politician, during his service in the New York State Assembly (1822-1823), as New York City mayor (1833), and in the United States House of Representatives (1835-1837). Lee's correspondents discussed local and national political issues, particularly during the Jackson administration.

This collection (0.75 linear feet) is comprised of letters to Gideon Lee, a New York City politician, during his service in the New York State Assembly (1822-1823), as New York City mayor (1833), and in the United States House of Representatives (1835-1837). Lee's correspondents discussed local and national political issues, particularly during the Jackson administration.

Lee often received letters from New York City residents, who commented on political issues such as commerce, taxation, and the city's infrastructure. Others requested Lee's assistance in securing political appointments or military commissions, and some stated their opinions on proposed bills. Many writers encouraged Lee to support particular pieces of legislation, and some late letters contain the authors' opinions on political patronage. Temperance advocate E.C. Delavan wrote to thank Lee for his donation to the cause (October 11, 1832).

During Lee's term as mayor in 1833, citizens wrote to Lee regarding matters such as gas lighting (January 17, 1833 and February 15, 1833) and public health (January 25, 1833 and June 29, 1833); a correspondent who signed himself "Justice" enclosed a newspaper article alerting Lee, then chief magistrate, to the "very many serious, and shocking abuses" of the city's government (January 10, 1834). Around 15 letters concern the Great Fire of New York City in December 1835, including eyewitness accounts (December 17, 1835 and December 21, 1835); additional letters pertain to federal legislation and financial compensation after the event. During Lee's service in Congress, his letters often focused on national political affairs, such as the Locofocos and foreign relations with countries such as France and Great Britain.

Lee also occasionally received personal letters from his daughters, Lucy Lee Ward and Laura Lee. His son, Samuel Lee, wrote about meeting President Andrew Jackson, whom he deemed an "agreeable pleasant old gentleman" (February 10, 1835). The collection also contains 2 personal letters between Gideon Lee and his first wife, Laura Buffington (June 10, 1807 and January 28, 1818); a letter from his second wife, Isabella Williamson (January 5, 1837); 2 printed letters; a printed address; and a printed invitation.

The Great Britain Army collection (1,369 items) is a miscellaneous collection of letters and documents related to the administration and operation of the British Army. The collection relates primarily to the quartermaster general's office, and deals with military matters in Great Britain, Europe, India, the West Indies, and various outposts of the British Empire. Document types include official letters written by officers and British government officials, pay records, military returns, requests for troop movements and secret service payments, and miscellaneous orders and accounts.

The Great Britain Army collection (1,369 items) is a miscellaneous collection of letters and documents related to the administration and operation of the British Army. The bulk of the material covers 1800 to 1819, with a few outlier items from as early as 1699 and as late as 1850. The collection relates primarily to the quartermaster general's office, and deals with military matters in Great Britain, Europe, India, the West Indies, and various outposts of the British Empire. Document types include official letters written by officers and British government officials, pay records, military returns, requests for troop movements and secret service payments, and miscellaneous orders and accounts.

The Correspondence series (588 items) contains letters from various British Army officers and government officials concerning administrative duties, interactions with private merchants, soldiers’ requests for transfers and promotions, regimental inspection reports, and disciplinary actions. Of note are 11 requests from Sir George Murray in Paris to Sir James Willoughby Gordon, quartermaster general of the Forces of the Horse Guards, concerning personal effects transported from England to France (April 1817-February 1818). See additional descriptive data for a list of letter writers.

The Documents series is comprised of five subseries:

The Pay Records subseries (378 items) contains proofs of payment for individual soldiers and pay accounts for regiments and groups of recruits. Included are War Office pay warrants for service members in Great Britain, the West Indies, the Mediterranean, and India, among other locations (1699-1819). Of note is a March 1699 regimental account for four companies stationed in New York under the Earl of Bellomont.

The Returns subseries (77 items) consists of detailed regimental lists; hospital returns; returns of arms and food (occasionally documenting weekly rations for men, women, and children); and lists of men employed victualing stores, repairing garrisons, and building forts and roads (1801-1819). Locations documented include the Northern District in England, London, Shelburne Castle, Canterbury, Oxfordshire, Hartfordshire, Dover, the Isle of Wight, Sussex, France, and Bermuda.

The Requests for Routes for Troop Movements subseries (231 items) is comprised of letters between officers concerning troop assignments, marching instructions, and the transportation of regiments (1802-1819). Also discussed are the movement of sick troops and the reassignment of individual service members.

The Secret Service Payments subseries (23 items) consists of receipts of payment from Lord Viscount Castlereagh (Robert Stewart, 2nd Marquess of Londonderry) to either Henry Wellesley in Madrid or Charles Stuart in Paris, spanning July 1812 to December 1819.

The Miscellaneous Documents subseries (72 items) contains various military documents (1770-1816), such as receipts for goods and services, accounts for military expenses, various signed oaths, paymasters orders, and courts martial warrants.. Of note is an account of "Bonded Debt due by the East India Company at the Presidencies of Fort William, Fort St. George, & Bombay" (December 31, 1784). Also present are several lifetime annuities records, including one dated 1746 that contains an attached engraving of Peter Lord King, printed in 1832.

The Henry A. S. Dearborn collection (176 items) contains the correspondence of the Massachusetts politician and author Henry Alexander Scammell Dearborn, son of the Revolutionary War General, Henry Dearborn. The papers largely document his career as the collector of the Boston Customs House and include letters from prominent government officials in Boston, New York, and Washington, D.C. The papers also include 16 speeches, orations, and documents pertinent to Dearborn's horticultural interests, Grecian architecture, politics, and other subjects.

The Henry A. S. Dearborn collection contains correspondence (160 items) and speeches, reports, and documents (16 items) of the Massachusetts politician, and author, Henry Alexander Scammell Dearborn. The bulk of the Correspondence Series documents Dearborn's career as the collector at the Boston Customs House. Dearborn corresponded with government officials in Boston, New York, and Washington D.C. These letters largely concern his management of the customs department and political matters. Of particular interest are 22 letters from the French émigré, Louis Dampus, which constitute a case history of customs problems (May to November 1814). Most of these are in French. Also of interest are 11 letters between Dearborn and Thomas Aspinwall, United States consul to London. They discussed exchanging political favors, purchasing books in London, and, in the July 11, 1817 letter, President James Monroe's tour of New England and the North West Territory.

• James Leander Cathcart, United States diplomat, on the state of commerce on the Black Sea and his career as a diplomat with the Ottomans (June 8 and 12, 1818).
• Fiction writer and scholar William S. Cardell, regarding his election as member of American Academy of Language and Belles Lettres (October 30, 1821).
• Colonel Nathan Towson, paymaster general of the United States, on John C. Calhoun's political fortunes as a presidential candidate and the political ramifications of raising taxes (December 22, 1821).
• Harvard University Overseer and Massachusetts Senator, Harrison Gray Otis, on "St. Domingo's" (Hispaniola) terrain, agriculture, export potential, its white and black populations, and its importance, as a trade partner, to the French. Otis supported bolstering the United States' trade relationship with the island (January 17, 1823).
• Nathaniel Austin, regarding an enclosed sketch of "Mr. Sullivan's land," located near Charlestown, Massachusetts (April 13, 1825).
• Federalist pamphlet writer, John Lowell, about his illness that him unable to contribute to [Massachusetts Agricultural Society] meetings (June 5, 1825).
• Massachusetts Senator, James Lloyd, concerning funding the building of light houses in the harbor at Ipswich, Massachusetts (April 11, 1826).
• H. A. S. Dearborn to state senator and later Massachusetts governor, Emory Washburn, regarding the American aristocracy. He accused the Jackson administration of putting "the Union in jeopardy,” and dishonoring the Republic with an “unprincipled, ignorant and imbecile administration" (May 22, 1831). Dearborn also summarized many of his ideas on the political and social state of the Union.
• Abraham Eustis, commander of the school for Artillery Practice at Fort Monroe, commenting that the "dissolution of the Union is almost inevitable. Unless you in Congress adopt some very decided measures to counteract the federal doctrines of the Proclamation, Virginia will array herself by the side of South Carolina, & then the other southern States join at once" (December 27, 1832).
• The botanist John Lewis Russell, about a charity request for support of the Norfolk Agricultural Society (February 6, 1850).

The collection contains several personal letters from family members, including three from Dearborn's mother, Sarah Bowdoin Dearborn, while she was in Lisbon, Portugal (January 29 and 30, 1823, and January 27, 1824); two letters from his father, General Henry Dearborn (May 25, 1814, and undated); and one from his nephew William F. Hobart (November 8, 1822).

The collection's Speeches, Reports, and Documents Series includes 15 of Henry A. S. Dearborn's orations, city or society reports, and a copy of the Revolutionary War roll of Col. John Glover's 21st Regiment. Most of them were not published in Dearborn's lifetime. The topics of these works include the art of printing (1803), Independence Day (4th of July, 1808 and 1831), discussion about the establishment of Mount Auburn Cemetery (1830), education, religion, horticulture, Whig politics, and the state of the country. See the box and folder listing below for more details about each item in this series.

Hudson's Bay Company papers consist of correspondence, financial records, and a memorandum book of the Canadian-based company. Also included is a printed version of Andrew Burnaby's Travels through the Middle Settlements In North America... and a manuscript of Thoughts on the Furr Trade With the Indians in N. America, extracted from the papers of the late John Gray of Quebec (1768).

Hudson's Bay Company papers consist of 4 letters, 4 financial records, 1 memorandum book, and 1 printed book containing manuscript contents. The first five items are letters and documents that came from the Hudson Bay Company's post at the mouth of the Michipicoten River (1859-1870), including two business letters between employees Lieutenant Denis de Larondo and James Watts, and an account of payment to Indians living on the North Shore of Lake Superior. The next three items are financial records from the company's New Brunswick post on the Missinaibi Lake near Moose River (1872, 1889, 1914). The Hudson's Bay Company Memorandum book contains a copy of the Hudson's Bay Company charter; copies of the charters for each of the 13 colonies; a map of the towns and rivers . . . that were ceded to Britain by Spain according to the terms of the Treaty of Utrecht (pages 24-25); memoranda and account information such as shipment details, personnel payments, and lists of goods traded; a shaded pencil sketch of a carronade gun (pages 34-35); and various historical reports, including one tracking company stocks from 1676-1779. Other interesting documents include a list of the provisions needed to support 40 men for 6 months, a proposed station for ships in 1790, and "Information of Isaac Ogden of Quebec to David Ogden in London," which describes the interior of North America from the Hudson Bay to the Pacific and discusses terrain and water features, as well as fur trading potential for the regions.

The final item is a single vellum covered volume titled "HB 1770" that contains both a printed version of Andrew Burnaby's Travels through the Middle Settlements In North America... and a manuscript of Thoughts on the Furr Trade With the Indians in N. America extracted from the papers of the late John Gray of Quebec (1768). The volume begins with a map of North America from 1763, just before the beginning of the 107-pages of Burnaby's Travels. The Gray writings detail interaction with the land's native populations and methods of trading for furs in the area (36 pages). Buried in the final 64 blank pages are five pages documenting the Original Proprietors of the Hudsonbay Stock 1667, 7 pages of stock accounts from 1720-1789, and accounts from 1776-1790. The volume also houses a loose letter to the Hudson's Bay House in London confirming a shipment of goods with prices (1791).

The James G. Birney papers consist of the personal, political, and professional letters of James Birney, a Kentucky slaveholder, Alabama politician, anti-slavery activist, and presidential candidate. The collection is particularly strong in Birney's political activities with the American Colonization Society, the American Anti-Slavery Society, and the Liberty Party; his role as an abolitionist writer and as the founder and editor of The Philanthropist; and his personal communications with his family and friends. In addition to this finding aid, the Clements Library has created a Contributor List .

The James G. Birney papers contain the personal, political, and professional letters of James Birney, a Kentucky slaveholder, Alabama politician, anti-slavery activist, and United States presidential candidate. The collection is particularly strong in Birney's political activities with the American Colonization Society, the American Anti-Slavery Society, and the Liberty Party; his role as an abolitionist writer and as the founder and editor of The Philanthropist; and his personal communications with his family and friends.

The Correspondence series (1909 items) is comprised of Birney's incoming letters, which span his entire career after 1818, with particularly full correspondence for the decade 1834-1844. Also present are 137 drafts of letters written by Birney. Birney corresponded with a wide variety of public figures in politics and in the anti-slavery movement in America and Great Britain, such as Gamaliel Bailey, Guy Beckley, James Buchanan, Theodore Foster, Seth Merrill Gates, William Goodell, Beriah Green, Ralph Randolph Gurley, Joshua Leavitt, Henry Brewster Stanton, Arthur Tappan, Lewis Tappan, Theodore D. Weld, Elizur Wright, Jr., and John Clark Young, among many others. In addition to business and political communications, the collection contains family and personal letters, including items to and from Birney's wife Agatha, his father James Birney, his father-in-law William MacDowell, and his siblings, children (particularly James, Jr., William, Dion, and David), and friends.

From 1818-1832, Birney was a lawyer and politician in Alabama, and a trustee of both Greene Academy in Huntsville and the University of Alabama. Much of the material from this period concerns personal and family news, and his nascent interest in anti-slavery. Birney received letters from many prominent Alabama politicians in Washington, including Clement Comer Clay, John McKinley, and Harry I. Thornton.

• February 12, 1827: From John McKinley on establishing a branch of the United States Bank in Nashville instead of Huntsville, Tennessee
• December 12, 1825: From Philip Lindsley containing the collection's first mention of the American Colonization Society (hereafter ACS), concerning founding a chapter in the South
• December 25, 1828: From Birney's uncle, Thomas B. Reed, on running for the United States Senate
• March 6, 1830: From Lucinda M. Bradshear to her sister Agatha Birney discussing family and social news
• January 9, 1832: Permission from the ACS giving Birney credit to put toward the "African Repository"
• January 24, 1832: From Clement Comer Clay concerning a meeting in Washington on temperance and "improving the morals of society"

Between 1832 and 1834, Birney served as southern agent for the ACS. Letters from this period reveal Birney's changing views on slavery, as well as his personal struggles as an abolitionist in the south. Birney communicated with his fellow ACS agents, society leaders, and the Washington office, including 10 letters from ACS Secretary Ralph Randolph Gurley between 1832 and 1833. Many letters deal with sending former slaves to Liberia, such as Cyrus Chinn and his family (November 1, 1832); Elijah and Benjamin Collier from St. Louis, Missouri (November 12, 1832); a group of 80 African Americans from Illinois, Ohio, Tennessee, and Mississippi (February 7, 1833); and Allen Bates and 15 others (March 10, 1833).

• June 12, 1832: From the ACS appointing Birney an official agent for the society in the southern and western states
• July 7, 1832: Birney’s official appointment as ACS agent, accompanied by a list of "Things which Should be done to aid the Cause"
• November 1, 1832: From Henry Sheffie Geyer regarding recruiting freed men and their families for emigration to Africa and inquiries into the creation of more local societies in the South
• April 24, 1833: From Birney to his wife Agatha regarding the death of two of their young children
• August 26, 1833: From Nathan Green who voiced abolitionist arguments against the ACS's mission

Though no longer a member of the ACS, Birney remained active in the abolitionist cause between 1834 and 1839, during which time he founded The Philanthropist and joined the American Anti-Slavery Society. Many of the 1836 letters relate to printing The Philanthropist, and contain details on funding, publication, and subscriptions, along with moral support from Birney's peers. During this time, Birney also maintained a close communication with Theodore Dwight Weld and Elizur Wright, Jr. Topics covered include Birney's anti-slavery speaking tour through several northern states, the growing divisions within the American Anti-Slavery Society, his relations with his family, and the death of his wife Agatha. A highlight of the collection is a letter from a slave named Milo Thompson, owned by Major George C. Thompson, to his fiancée Louisa Bethley, owned by James Birney, Sr., concerning their continued separation (October 15, 1834). Days later, Major Thompson wrote to James G. Birney explaining that he was uncomfortable with the situation and that hoped to purchase Louisa Bethley from his father so they could marry (October 18, 1834).

• September 15, 1834: A note from Henry Clay concerning a discussion on emancipation
• December 13, 1834: From Robert Hutchinson Rose, of Silver Lake, Pennsylvania, concerning the character of slaveholders and the practice of slaves earning their freedom
• January 6, 1835: From John Jones regarding the problems with giving blacks rights
• January-April 1835: Four letters between Birney and Peter Vanarsdall concerning local anxieties about the slavery question in Kentucky and the church's roll in the discussion
• June 20, 1835: From William Jennings Bryan, containing the collection's first mention of The Philanthropist
• August 1835: From Birney to subscribers of The Philanthropist discussing delays in publishing
• March 27, 1836: Account of travel in Mexico
• [July 1836]: A letter warning Birney that an organized band will tar and feather him if he returns to Kentucky
• August 1, 1836: Commission from Arthur Tappan appointing Birney agent for the American Anti-Slavery Society
• November 11, 1836: from Birney explaining that he prints The Philanthropist in a "country village" because no one in Cincinnati would print it for fear of reprisal
• January 12 and 25, 1837: between Birney and John J. Marshal
• May 1837: Longtime Alabama agent, Arthur Hopkins, severs ties with Birney and no longer collects claims from past land sales.
• October 21, 1838: A joint letter from Birney's sons Dion and William reacting to the death of their mother
• February 1839: Several letters discussing the division between the Boston and New York factions of the American Anti-Slavery Society
• July 28, 1839: News from Birney's Sister Anna Marsh of their father's death
• November 3, 1839: From William Birney discussing the life of a bachelor, doing housework, and hiring two hands to help him

The period from 1839-1845 represents the height of Birney’s involvement in politics. On November 13, 1839, a Liberty Party convention at Warsaw, New York, nominated Birney to run for president. The letters from 1840 are dominated by news of presidential politics, including discussions of rivals Henry Clay and William Henry Harrison. Birney, however, did not campaign and instead spent the time from May to November 1840 attending an international anti-slavery convention in Great Britain. He received only a small percentage of national votes. In the fall of 1841, Birney and his family moved to Michigan, where he maintained close communications with his friends, children, the Fitzhugh family (relatives of his second wife Elizabeth), and abolitionist colleagues in Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, Ohio, and throughout the South. Birney also received personal requests for assistance from those in need, such as the case of a Creek Indian mother named Susan, who had been sold into slavery with her children, and was attempting to sue for their freedom (March 8, 1843). The letters from 1844 concern Birney's second run as the Liberty Party's presidential candidate, and include frequent references to Henry Clay, James K. Polk, and the landscape of the race. Of particular interest is a group of letters, dating from the end of October through November, relating to the "Garland letter," a letter published in newspapers which falsely claimed that Birney was a secret Democrat trying to swing the election subversively

• December 17, 1839: News from the Warsaw Abolitionist Convention that selected Birney to run for President of the Liberty Party
• February 17, 1840: From Benjamin Fenn, inviting Birney on a stumping trip from Vermont to Arkansas to Maryland, and his views on Blacks in government
• March 24, 1840: From Francis Julius Le Moyne who is concerned about splitting the anti-slavery vote
• April 1, 1840: Draft of a letter to the Mexican legislature on the taking of Texas and abolition of slavery in Mexico
• June 22, 1840: From the British Foreign Anti-Slavery Society
• May 27, 1840: From the Ladies of New York City Anti-Slavery Society, electing Birney to attend the World Anti-Slavery Convention in London
• December 27, 1843: From Dr. Joseph P. Gazzam concerning mason and anti-mason political parties in Pittsburgh
• January 1, 1844: From Reese C. Fleeson concerning presidential politics
• March 30, 1844: Against the Annexation of Texas
• April 13, 1844: From James Caleb Jackson informing Birney that he was chosen as the Liberty Party candidate for the upcoming presidential election
• November 2, 1844: A discussion of the Garland letter and a newspaper clipping of the incriminating article

In the autumn of 1845, Birney fell off of a horse and suffered a severe injury, possibly related to a paralytic stroke, which forced him to retire from public service. He continued, however, to write on political and constitutional issues and kept up broad correspondence with his anti-slavery colleagues (such as Gerrit Smith, William Goodell, Sarah Grimké, and Theodore Weld) and his family. He also kept in contact with Michigan Anti-Slavery Society activists. The period between his forced retirement and his death (1845-1857) also contains the most concentrated number of draft letters written by Birney. These reveal his political opinions, thoughts on religion, academic interests, and his life in Michigan and later New Jersey. The last letters, from 1856-1857, document the state of Birney's accounts and land holdings.

• September 17, 1845: From James Birney to his father regarding his accident
• December 7, 1845: From Theodore Foster regarding an anti-slavery meeting in Marshal, Michigan
• April 7, 1846: From the United States Attorney's Office
• April 1, 1847: From William Goodell discussing Birney's limited role in the Liberty Party and future activities of the party
• May 10, 1848: From Martha V. Ball: Address of the Massachusetts Female Emancipation Society
• July 10, 1848: From Birney to Lewis Tappan, in which he declines the office of vice president for the Foreign Anti-Slavery Society
• November 20, 1850: From James Birney to Theodore Parker regarding a draft of an article about the 1842 court case Prigg v. Pennsylvania
• December 2, 1850: Concerning secession and abolitionism from the Union Safety Committee of the City of New York
• June 1, 1852: A letter accompanied by a note from Frederick Douglass
• June 1, 1852-January 12, 1853: Four letters between Birney and Leonard Woolsey Bacon, writing for Harriet Beecher Stowe, concerning Stowe's new book, "Key to Uncle Tom's Cabin," and her discussion of churches and slavery, and mentioning a violent attack on Stowe and her brother
• January 1853: A printed circular from Frederick Douglass for subscribers for his paper
• August 30, 1854: From Sarah Grimké, discussing Weld's sickness, the shipment of Birney's luggage to New Jersey, and news from other friends

Only five letters post date Birney's death in 1857, all to or from his wife Elizabeth Birney and his daughter D. B. Birney, with the final item from George Clark of Oberlin to a Mr. Smith concerning studying under Henry Lloyd Garrison. The collection also contains eight undated letters, including six to Birney (one addressed to “Christianus," Birney's favorite pen name) and one letter to Florence Birney.

Many letters contain illustrated letterheads. Five items feature an image of a kneeling slave called, "A Colored Young Man of the City of New York, 1835," engraved by P. Reason: May 1, 1838 (invitation to Weld-Grimke wedding), June 1, 1840, August 15, 1840 ("Am I not a man and a brother"), December 4, 1840 (similar but different image), and January 2, 1841. Other items with illustrations include: June 10, 1839, containing a poem; April 26, 1847, depicting Astor House, New York; and June 28, 1853, depicting "Topsy, or the Slave girl's Appeal," along with a poem.

Dwight L. Dumond published many of Birney's letters related to abolition and anti-slavery in his book Letters of James Gillespie Birney, 1831-1857. See additional descriptive data for a full citation.

The Diaries and Journals series (4 items) contains volumes related to the American Colonization Society, to Birney's travels in Great Britain in 1840, to Birney's gardens, and his intellectual and personal life. The first item (8 pages) is entitled "Memorandum of Donations, Collections, Subscriptions, c&, c&, etc. for the American Colonization Society in Tennessee, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, and Arkinsas." It documents Birney's general accounts from June to December 1832, salary accounts for 1833, and general accounts for October 1833. The second item consists of brief entries during Birney's trip to England, Scotland, and Ireland from September to October 1840 (12 pages) and his meteorological observations for 1849 (30 pages). The third volume is a "Garden Memo" in which Birney recorded planting and harvesting details from November 1843 to July 1847.

The fourth volume is the personal journal that Birney kept between 1846 and 1850 while residing in Michigan. It includes essays or article drafts relating to pressing political affairs, predominantly the Mexican-American War; slavery and the expansion of slavery into new territories and states; and Congressional isues and political parties. Several of these drafts include notations of newspaper names next to them, indicating possible places where he submitted them for anonymous publication. He remarked regularly on what he was reading and how it spurred his thinking, including newspapers and specific articles, almanacs, Bible passages and religious works, presidential messages and Congressional reports, various history texts, and more. Birney frequently wrote religious reflections as well as essays relating to Catholicism and early Jewish history. He also kept meteorological and gardening records. The journal contains personal reflections, including analysis of the impacts strokes had on his physical and mental health, his reliance on his wife, comments about visitors, and news about various family matters. He wrote either on the day of his second stroke or shortly thereafter, as well as annual reflections on his birthday commenting on his disability. The journal interweaves various veins of thought, revealing how deep religious reflection, social and political engagement, daily labor, and physical ailment all combined in Birney’s intellectual world.

The Speeches, Essays, Notes, and Other Writings series (74 items) contains Birney's non-correspondence manuscript writings. The series is organized into three subseries: Speeches, Essays, and Drafts (1833-1852); Speech Notes (1836-1841); and Miscellaneous Notes (1832-1852). The Speeches, Essays, and Drafts subseries (22 items) reveals Birney's thoughts on social reform and slavery in American society, politics, and history.

• August 10, 1833: Colonization of the Free Colored People: Prospective Evil of the Free Colored People in the South
• March 20, 1840: Committee in Temperance
• [1847]: Presidential Nomination--Mr. Clay--Slavery
• [1852]: To The People, concerning the president, congress, and habeas corpus
• Undated: Angels Suggested by Arch. Bishop Whatley's Sections on "Good + Evil Angels"]
• Undated: An address from the Independent Party concerning slavery
• Undated: The point to be established in my reply to the foregoing note is the affirmative of the question--Is Slaveholding Sinful under all circumstances?
• Undated: Proclamation to the Free People of Color
• Undated: General Lecture on Slavery , unsigned but believe to be authored by Sarah Moore Grimké.

The Speech Notes subseries (38 items) is comprised of the notes and note cards that Birney used during speeches. Most of the notes relate to Christianity, slavery, and abolition. The dated speech notes are from 1836 to 1841, however, many items are undated.

The Miscellaneous Notes subseries (13 items) contains manuscript fragments of speeches, essays, and articles, including a copy of an essay from the Vermont Chronicle on the abolition of slavery in Mexico (March 3, 1832), a report of cruelty of a young slave copied from the New Orleans Bee (June 25, 1834), and two pledges to give up drinking (December 1842 and January 19, 1845).

The Financial Documents series (384 items) contains a plantation record book, bills and receipts for household expenditures, receipts for speaking engagements and other employment, tax records, estate records, and stock certificates. The plantation record book (139 pages) documents the 43 slaves working on Birney's father's plantation and the slave's cotton production from 1819 to 1821. Slave records include birth dates, previous owners, dates of purchase, buyers, dates of sale, prices, and deaths. The record book contains details on the following names: Tom, Billy Banks, Michael, Jesse, Ben, Sam, Hartwell, Jerry, Willis, Little Ben, Charles, Luke, Moses, Isham, Edwin, Wilson, George, Alfred, Henry, Charles, Anthony, William, Charles, Amy, Daphnie, Biddy, Hannah, Clara, Sarah, Kitty, Maria, Barbara, Mary, Margaret, Caroline, Betsey, Julianne, Viney, Silvia, Susan, Polly, Judy, and Lucy. The volume also contains records for the number of bales of cotton each slave picked in 1820 and 1821.

• 1834-1836: Kentucky, kept by Henry and Robert Chambers while Birney was living in Ohio.
• 1837-1841: New York, including the sale of household furniture October 27, 1838-1841
• 1842-1854: Michigan
• 1854-1857: New Jersey
• 1857-1860: Estate records

Also present are personal records for food, clothing, household goods, and medical assistance; certificates for shares of stocks; tax records concerning his land in Michigan; bundles of personal receipts from 1850, 1851, 1853, 1854; receipts for magazine subscriptions; payments for Birney's speaking engagements; and 19 undated items.

The Legal Documents series (123 items) consists primarily of deeds, leases, contracts, and sales of land in Kentucky, Alabama, New York, Michigan, and New Jersey, with the bulk of these related to land in Saginaw County, Michigan. This series also contains Birney's legal manumission papers for freeing his father's slaves (September 3, 1839).

• August 6, 1835: a report from Danville, Kentucky, on a mob that threatened to use force against Birney and vandalize the office where he planned to print The Philanthropist
• August 15, 1845: a copy of a document concerning the stockholders and the board of directors approving the purchase of land for the Saginaw Bay Company

The Genealogy series (11 items) is made up of various documents containing genealogical information primarily on Birney and his extended family. Included are: an item from William Birney to his cousin listing the decedents of Thomas Madison (April 3, 1882); a list of the birth and death dates of many members of the Birney family throughout the 19th century (undated); details on the births and deaths of Birney's children; and a report on the descendants of John J. Marshall and Anna Reed Birney (undated).

The Printed Material and Illustrations series (43 items) is composed of newspaper clippings, political broadsides, invitations to social events, and school report cards. Of note are a broadside entitled "Abolitionists Beware" (July 1836) and an 1852 broadside for the National Liberty Party. The collection holds 15 newspaper selections which contain articles by or about Birney. The series also includes a printed invitation to the burial of Arthur Hopkins Birney (March 8, 1833).

• The Olive Branch, Danville, Kentucky: July 25, 1835
• National Intelligencer, Danville, Kentucky: March 15, 1840
• Southern Advocate, Huntsville, Alabama: October 9, 1829; July 16, 23, 30, August 6, 20, 1833.
• Southern Mercury, Huntsville, Alabama: July 10 and August 10, 1833
• The Democrat, Huntsville, Alabama: April 16, 23, May 7, 1830; May 16, 1833

Also present are two clippings about Birney that post date his death: "No. 1 Abolitionist," Washington Post, October 30, 1938, and "Presidential Candidate," unknown source, February 38, 1937. Of the seven undated items, two are illustrations and the floor plan of a house, possibly in Bridgeport, Michigan. The collection also holds 27 broadsides, many integrated into the Correspondence series. For a complete list of broadsides see the additional descriptive data.

In addition to this finding aid, the Clements Library has created a Contributor List (.pdf format). For additional information see the Clements Library card catalog.

The James McHenry papers contain correspondence and documents related to the political career of James McHenry. The majority of the materials pertain to his tenure as Secretary of War from 1796 to 1800. In addition to this finding aid, the Clements Library has created a full list of letter-writers in the James McHenry papers: James McHenry Contributor List.

The James McHenry papers contain over 800 items related the life and career of James McHenry. Included in the materials are approximately 670 letters and 106 documents, primarily related to McHenry's political career, as well as financial records and miscellaneous documents, including poetry and genealogical materials. The majority of the correspondence and documents are drafts or retained manuscript copies.

The Correspondence and Documents series spans 1777-1832, with the bulk of materials concentrated around 1796 to 1803. The first box of the collection contains documents and correspondence related to McHenry's service in the Revolutionary War, including correspondence with Sir Henry Clinton, George Washington, and Alexander Hamilton. The materials include a draft of a letter to British general Henry Clinton regarding his military failures, written in McHenry's hand but signed "Z" (October 26, 1779), as well as a copy of a letter allegedly written by Clinton to Lord George Germain, which McHenry sent to Samuel Louden of the New York Packet to be published (March 24, 1780). The postwar materials in the collection pertain to McHenry's tenure as a Maryland statesman. Along with documents related to McHenry's political career during those years is a letter dated August 13, 1794, which relates news of the massacre of French colonists at Fort Dauphin in Saint-Domingue (now Haiti), led by Jean-François, an important figure in the Haitian Revolution.

The bulk of the collection, representing 1796 to 1803, documents McHenry's tenure as secretary of war under presidents Washington and Adams. The correspondence and documents relate to military structures, provisions, international relations, treaties, politics, and relations with Native American tribes. The collection contains frequent correspondence with other cabinet members and politicians, including Secretary of State Timothy Pickering and Secretary of the Treasury Oliver Wolcott as well as President George Washington, John Adams, and the Marquis de Lafayette. McHenry served as secretary of war during the Quasi-War with France and, as a staunch Federalist, favored positive relations with Britain over France. A large portion of the correspondence during this period relates to the ongoing feud with that country. A letter from James Winchester to McHenry describes the suspicion with which the Federalists regarded Jeffersonian Democratic-Republicans, who favored closer relations with France: "…tho' they will not openly shew at this time their predilection for France, they will discover it in the first calamitous event which may happen to our Country. Depend on it they are not to be trusted. I speak of the party here" (April 18, 1789). Several months later McHenry wrote in an unaddressed letter draft that he believed the President should recommend a declaration of war with France to Congress. He also expressed his concerns over "a faction within the country constantly on the watch and ready to seize upon every act of the Executive which may be converted into an engine to disaffect the people to the government" (November 25, 1798).

In addition to national and international politics, many of the items relate to U.S. relations with Native American tribes, including the Creek, Chickasaw, and Miami. The materials frequently concern attempts to maintain peace and create treaties with the tribes, as well as to prevent them from giving their loyalty to other countries, such as Britain, France, or Spain. Box 2 contains a copy of a "Talk of the Chickasaw Chiefs at the Bluffs represented by Wolf's Friend, Ugalayacabé" regarding the tribe's concerns about the Americans: "Tell me if I may return to my Nation to appease the tumult of their minds. Shall I tell them the talk of the Americans is falsehood? Shall I assure our warriors our children and our women that your flag will always wave over our land, or tell them to prepare to die?" [1797]. This box also contains a small series of letters from General Anthony Wayne, written from his headquarters in Detroit, where he was stationed before his death, after successfully leading U.S. troops in the Northwest Indian War (August 29 to October 3, 1796). After the war, Miami Chief Little Turtle, became a proponent of friendly relations with the Americans. McHenry wrote to him upon his resignation as secretary of war, thanking him for his friendship: "…I shall carry with me the remembrance of your fidelity, your good sense, your honest regard for your own people, your sensibility and eloquent discourse in their favour, and what is precious to me as an individual, a belief that I shall always retain your friendship" (May 30, 1800). Other documents include an extract of a letter from Major Thomas Cushing to Brigadier General James Wilkinson, writing that he had given gifts to the Native Americans in order to prevent them from siding with the Spanish at New Orleans, who were attempting to win their favor (February 15, 1800).

Boxes 6 through 8 contain correspondence and documents written after McHenry's resignation as secretary of war at the end of May 1800. Though he retired from politics, his letters document that he maintained a keen interest in domestic and international issues. Senator Uriah Tracy wrote regular letters to McHenry in February 1801, keeping him up-to-date on the daily events regarding the presidential election between Thomas Jefferson and Aaron Burr. After the election, McHenry wrote a letter to U.S. Ambassador to the Netherlands William Vans Murray, in which he discussed the election and why public opinion had shifted from the Federalists to Jefferson: "I still am of opinion, that we should have gained nothing by the election of Mr. Burr, could it have been accomplished by federal means. The general sentiment is so strong and ardent for Mr. Jefferson, that experience alone can correct it" (February 23, 1801). This section of correspondence also contains a draft of a letter to the speaker of the House of Representatives containing McHenry's defense against charges brought against him regarding disbursements while secretary of war (December 22, 1802), as well as his opinions of current political happenings, including the Louisiana Purchase in 1803, and the Embargo Act of 1807. Several of the letters written during this period also relate to McHenry's low opinion of John Adams, who forced him out of office. In a series of letters exchanged by McHenry and Oliver Wolcott in 1800, McHenry described his anger regarding Adams, and expressed regret that Adams remained in office after George Washington left. Over ten years later, McHenry wrote a letter to Timothy Pickering, responding to a series of memoirs Adams had printed in the Boston Patriot . He accused Adams of making significant errors and misrepresentations, and mused, "How many recollections have these puerile letters awakened. Still in his own opinion, the greatest man of the age. I see he will carry with him to the grave, his vanity, his weaknesses and follies, specimens of which we have so often witnessed and always endeavored to veil from the public" (February 23, 1811).

The Bound Items series consists of a diary, a published book of letters, a book of U.S. Army regulations, an account book, and a book of poetry. McHenry kept the diary from June 18 to July 24, 1778, beginning it at Valley Forge. It contains accounts of daily events, intelligence, orders, the Battle of Monmouth, and the march of Washington's army to White Plains, New York. The 1931 book, entitled Letters of James McHenry to Governor Thomas Sim Lee is the correspondence written by James McHenry to Maryland governor Thomas Sim Lee during the 1781 Yorktown Campaign. The book of army regulations spans ca. 1797-1798, while the account book covers 1816-1824. The book of poetry is handwritten but undated and unsigned.

In addition to this finding aid, the Clements Library has created a full list of letter-writers in the James McHenry papers: James McHenry Contributor List.

This collection contains 25 letters and 1 book that historian Jared Sparks wrote about his work, about historical manuscripts, and about the historian's profession in the mid-19th century.

This collection contains 25 letters and 1 book that historian Jared Sparks wrote about his work, about historical manuscripts, and about the historian's profession in the mid-19th century.

Jared Sparks corresponded with historians and other acquaintances in the United States and England about books and prominent figures in American history, among other subjects. Many letters pertain to his attempts to procure manuscripts written by George Washington and to a proposed publication of Benjamin Franklin's papers. Between 1852 and 1857, Sparks most frequently wrote to bibliographer and antiquarian Henry Stevens. In his final letter, he described Japanese tourists visiting New York City (June 16, 1860). Mary C. Sparks wrote 1 letter to Henry Stevens (on behalf of her ill husband) in March 1855, and Josiah Quincy added a brief note to Sparks's letter of December 30, 1842. The collection also contains a copy of Sparks's Reply to the Strictures of Lord Mahon and Others on the Mode of Editing the Writings of Washington (1852) and a spine from an edition of his Life of Washington (enclosed in October 28, 1858).

For more information on each item, see the Detailed Box and Folder Listing below.

The Joseph Story papers contain the incoming letters of Joseph Story, a Massachusetts state representative, United States Supreme Court justice, and Harvard Law School professor. The papers deal with a wide range of political and legal issues concerning Massachusetts and the United States in the first half of the 19th century.

The Joseph Story papers (685 items) consist of the incoming letters of Joseph Story, a Massachusetts state representative, United States Supreme Court justice, and Harvard Law School professor. The collection contains 672 letters, 7 financial bills, and five printed items. Included are nine letters written by Story, and four by wife Mary Story. The rest were all addressed to Joseph Story, with the exception of two that were addressed to his daughter Sarah Wetmore Story and 15 written to his son William Wetmore Story. Forty-three items are undated. The papers deal with a wide range of national and state political issues and legal matters.

The collection covers the years 1794-1806, 1819-1825, and 1839-1843, with only a few items representing the remaining years. Included are letters from United States representatives related to congressional news; letters from prominent lawyers, judges, and jurors concerning legal matters and cases; and letters concerning Harvard Law School.

• October 1833: Antoine F. Picquet v. Charles P. Curtis, administrator of James Swan
• October 1843: Augustus H. Fiske v. Lyman Hunt
• October 1843: Bankruptcy case against B____.

The 1794-1806 letters document Story's early days as a Massachusetts lawyer and the beginning of his career as a state representative. Of particular interest are 10 letters from Samuel Sewall, a Massachusetts representative and later Supreme Court chief justice, under whom Story studied law. These mainly deal with Sewall's law office in Salem, Massachusetts, but also contain advice to Story on his reading of the law. Also of note are 14 letters from Jacob Crowninshield, a congress member and later secretary of the navy, concerning legislation affecting Massachusetts, policies regarding the fishing industry, and the presidential election of 1804. Prominent Boston lawyer James Sullivan contributed five letters related to various legal matters of the day.

The 1819-1825 letters document Story's activities as overseer of Harvard University and Supreme Court justice, during which time he split his residency between Salem and Washington D.C. Of special interest are 18 letters from Massachusetts congress member John Davis, in which he discussed international maritime law. Other notable contributors include Simon Greenlead (12 items), who discussed court decisions in Maine; Isaac Parker (6 items), who wrote about legal cases in Boston; Bushrod Washington (4 items), who reported on his legal cases before the Philadelphia circuit court; and Henry Wheaton (10 items), who shared judicial matters about New York. Also of note are letters from 1825 that relate to the need for altering instructional methods at Harvard, and a controversial election of members to the Corporation of Harvard College.

The Story papers contain only 27 items that date from 1826 to 1838. Of these, six are from French jurist Jean-Jacques Gaspard Foelix containing requests for Story to contribute to his journal Revue du droit français et étranger.

The 1839-1842 letters document the end of Story's career as an active justice, scholar, and law professor. Story received letters from prominent lawyers and judges from Portland, Boston, Providence, New York, Philadelphia, and Baltimore. Story also received requests for speeches and was given honors from scholarly institutions throughout New England.

• John C. Calhoun (1 item)
• Henry A.S. Dearborn (9 items)
• William Fettyplace (7 items)
• Joseph Hopkinson (5 items)
• Susan Ledyard (12 items)
• Francis Lieber (10 items)
• Jeremiah Mason (10 items)
• Theron Metcalf (5 items)
• Richard Peters (15 items)
• John Pickering (8 items)
• John Pitman (20 items)
• William Prescott (5 items)
• Jared Sparks (5 items)
• Charles Sumner (8 items)
• George Ticknor (10 items)
• Bushrod Washington (4 items)
• Daniel Webster (3 items)
• Stephen White (16 items)
• Nathaniel Williams (15 items)

• September 12, 1796: Leonard Woods to Story concerning religion and containing maxims on happiness
• February 12, 1799: Samuel Sewall to Story concerning advice for reading law
• January 15, 1800: Samuel Sewall to Story concerning the death of George Washington
• April 3, 1800: Sewall to Story concerning advice for reading law
• February 13, 1804: Jacob Crowninshield to Story concerning the Louisiana Purchase
• February 26, 1804: Jacob Crowninshield to Story concerning the presidential and vice-presidential elections of 1804
• March 23, 1804: Jacob Crowninshield to Story concerning the sinking of the Ship Philadelphia off the coast of Tripoli and the Barbary conflict
• November 3, 1804: James Sullivan to Story concerning probate court decisions from 1776-1779
• January 28, 1806: Jacob Crowninshield to Story concerning Napoleon's victories in Europe
• April 13, 1819: Henry Wheaton to Story concerning an "Ann Act to protect Banks against embezzlement by their agents, Clerks, or servants, and for other purposes."
• January 15, 1821: Elizabeth H. Walker to Story concerning arguments against slavery in congress
• July 9, 1821: Henry Dearborn to Story concerning a military officer's trial before a Boston circuit court
• August 25, 1821: Theodore Lyman to Story concerning the constitutionality of new laws concerning slaves and abolition in Massachusetts
• December 10, 1821: Elijah Paine to Story concerning the selection of a president of Dartmouth College
• June 1, 1822: Benjamin Livingston to Story concerning William Johnson's Sketches of the Life and Correspondence of Nathaniel Greene
• June 11, 1822: Francis Scott Keys to Story, concerning Ralph Randolph Gurley and the American Colonization Society
• August 15, 1822: Ralph Randolph Gurley to Story concerning American Colonization Society and the "African cause"
• February 23, 1823: Sarah Dunlap to Story requesting help with her son will soon disgrace her family by marrying a divorced wife and profligate actress
• August 22, 1823: William J. Spooner to Story concerning Phi Beta Kappa
• December 7, 1823: John Mason to Story concerning the national debt and the Monroe Doctrine
• June 5, 1825: Massachusetts Governor John Davis to Story concerning the Corporation of Harvard College
• July 7 and October 24, 1825: Justice Smith Thompson to Story providing legal summaries of important cases appearing before Story
• August 20, 1828: Joseph Hopkinson to Story regarding thoughts on the presidential election between Jackson and Adams and on becoming a federal judge
• March 18, 1839: Charles Sumner to Story concerning Lord Brougham gifting Sumner his wig
• August 26, 1839: Charles P. Curtis to Story, proposing the appointment of Edward G. Loring as a master in chancery of the United States Circuit Court.
• January 7, 1842: H.G.V. Colby to William Wetmore Story concerning Colby's remarks in the case of Sampson vs. Stoddard
• March 19 and May 13, 1842: Alexander Maxwell & Son of London to Story concerning a bill for books
• June 7, 1842: Artist Augustin Edouard to Story concerning making a "silhouette likeness" of Story
• December 31, 1845: Harriet Martineau to Sarah Wetmore Story, concerning Joseph Story's death

Collection of bound and miscellaneous manuscripts relating to the history of Latin America between 1518 and 1882. These materials pertain to laws, religious doctrines, indigenous cultures and interactions with Europeans, city ordinances, land holdings, and other subjects. In addition to this finding aid, the Clements Library has created the following descriptions of each volume in the collection: Latin America Collection: Volume Descriptions.

The Latin America collection is made up of 57 volumes of miscellaneous items related to New Spain, Mexico, Peru, and Guatemala. The items span from 1518 to 1882. The materials came to the Clements Library from multiple dealers and donors between 1928 and 1951. The New Spain series is made up of volumes that broadly cover the areas under Spanish control in Latin America. The Mexico, Peru, and Guatemala series is made up of materials that specifically address each of those areas. Topics addressed in the letters and documents include laws, religious doctrines, indigenous culture and interactions with Europeans, city ordinances, land holdings, viceregal matters, and many other subjects. Of particular note is a 1760 manuscript copy of a 1587 original of three religious dramas in the Nahuatl language. In 2023, an 1822 contemporary manuscript copy of Manuel de la Barcena's Manifiesto al Mundo: La Justicia y Necesidad de la Independencia de Nueva-España was added to Volume 38.

In addition to this finding aid, the Clements Library has created detailed the following descriptions of each volume in the collection: Latin America Collection: Volume Descriptions.

The Lewis Cass papers contain the political and governmental letters and writings of Lewis Cass, American army officer in the War of 1812, governor and senator from Michigan, American diplomat to France, secretary of war in the Andrew Jackson administration, secretary of state under James Buchanan, and Democratic candidate for President. These papers span Cass' entire career and include letters, speeches, financial documents, memoranda, literary manuscripts, newspaper clippings, and a travel diary. In addition to documenting his political and governmental career, the collection contains material concerning relations between the United States and Native Americans, and Cass' role in presidential politics.

The Lewis Cass papers (approximately 1195 items) contain the political and governmental letters and writings of Lewis Cass, American army officer in the War of 1812, governor and senator from Michigan, American diplomat to France, secretary of war to Andrew Jackson, secretary of state to James Buchanan, and Democratic candidate for President. Included are letters, speeches, financial documents, memoranda, literary manuscripts, newspaper clippings, and a travel diary. In addition to documenting his official and governmental activities, the collection contains material related to Cass' influence on Native American policy and his role in presidential politics.

The Correspondence series (approximately 990 items) contains the professional and political letters of Lewis Cass. These reveal details of Cass' entire career and involve many of the most important political topics of the day. Within the series are communications with many prominent American politicians and military officers, including John Adams (2 items), Thomas Hart Benton (4 items), James Buchanan (20 items), John C. Calhoun (3 items), Henry Clay (1 item), Jefferson Davis (3 items), Stephen Douglas (2 items), Secretary of State John Forsyth (5 items), Albert Gallatin (2 items), William Henry Harrison (3 items), Samuel Houston (1 item), Andrew Jackson (23 items), Thomas Jefferson (1 item), Francis Scott Key (3 items), Alexander Macomb (4 items), James Monroe (1 item), Samuel F. B. Morse (2 items), Franklin Pierce (1 item), James K. Polk (8 items), Richard Rush (6 items), William Seward (3 items), Winfield Scott (3 items), Zachery Taylor (2 items), John Tyler (2 items), Martin Van Buren (8 items), Daniel Webster (4 items), and many others. This series also contains a small number of personal letters, including communications with Cass' siblings, his nephew Henry Brockholst Ledyard, and his friends.

The collection's early papers (1777-1811) contain material related to Cass' family, his education, his professional career in Ohio, and relations between the United States government and Native Americans. The earliest item is from Elizabeth Cass' father, Joseph Spencer, relating to his service in the Revolutionary War. Two letters are from John Cass, Lewis' father, concerning business, and five items are from Cass' siblings, written to him at Philips Exeter Academy (1790-1795). His service as an Ohio congressman is represented by a single resolution, drafted by Cass, and submitted by the Ohio Congress to President Jefferson, voicing their commitment to the constitution and the Union (December 26, 1806, with Jefferson's response enclosed). Also present are nine items related to Native American relations, including formal letters to the Chippewa, Delaware, Miami, Ottawa, Potawatomi, Shawnee, and Wyandot tribes, from Superintendent of Indian Affairs Richard Butler, Northern Territory Governor Arthur St. Clair, and Secretary of War James McHenry. Of particular importance is a signed letter from several tribes to President James Monroe, composed shortly after the Battle of Tippecanoe, stressing the importance of treaties and lobbying to employ John Visger on behalf of the Indians (November 13, 1811). Two miscellaneous items from this period are letters from John Adams: one letter to Charles Guillaume Frederic Dumas requesting permission for Adams to return to America after the Treaty of Paris (March 28, 1783), and one to a group of volunteer troops of light dragoons (July 12, 1798).

Eleven letters deal with Cass' role in the War of 1812. Topics discussed include raising a regiment in Ohio (March 23, 1813), concerns with obtaining food and clothing for troops and British prisoners at Detroit (November 1813), and Cass' thoughts on receiving the governorship of the Michigan Territory (December 29, 1813). Of note is a letter containing William Henry Harrison's impressions on Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry's victory on Lake Erie, sent to Secretary of War John Armstrong (enclosed in September 13, 1813). For more material relating to the War of 1812 see the Manuscript Writing series.

The collection contains 55 letters from Cass' tenure as governor of Michigan Territory (1815-August 1831). These represent a broad range of topics including territorial administration, expeditions throughout the western territory, western expansion, and studies of and treaties with Native Americans. Contacts include travelers from the east coast interested in Michigan and Indian affairs, officials in outposts throughout Michigan, officials from eastern states, and officials from Washington including presidents, their cabinets, and congressmen.

• November 21, 1816, January 11 and February 2, 1817: A discussion between Cass and Henry Clay regarding opening a branch of the United States Bank in Lexington, Kentucky
• February 12, 1817: A letter concerning troop service under General Hull in the War of 1812
• August 14 and 25, 1817: Letters between Cass and President James Monroe relating to travel in the Ohio Territory
• June 10, 1818: Courts martial for depredations against Indians at Detroit
• October 20, 1818: A letter from Alexander Macomb concerning the purchase of Cass' servant Sally for $300
• December 9, 1821, October 14, 1823, and April 24, 1824: Three letters from John C. Calhoun about governmental promotions, the vice presidency, and Indian affairs
• November 14, 1821 and February 16, 1824: two letters discussing or addressed to John C. Calhoun from Cass.
• March 21, 1830: A letter from Cass to President Jackson requesting the reinstatement of a Major Clark into the army

Cass communicated frequently with David Bates Douglass, an engineer who worked with Cass in Michigan. In his letters, Douglass often mentions their mutual colleague Henry Schoolcraft, and Douglass' mapping areas of Michigan, Indiana, and Illinois. Also of interest are five letters to George Wyllys Silliman, a lawyer in Zanesville, Ohio, and nephew of Lewis Cass, from friend William Sibly (November 17, 1827-November 6, 1828) and from cousin Elizabeth Cass (May 1, 1829). Sibly discussed personal and social news and made several comments on women. Elizabeth mentioned a month-long visit from Martin Van Buren and described Detroit as being "in turmoil" because of conflicts between the "Masons & Anti-Masons--Wing men & Biddle men--Sheldonites and Anti Sheldonites . . ."

Cass served as Andrew Jackson's secretary of war from 1831-1836. Most of the approximately 195 items concern Washington politics; department of war administration; affairs of the president and cabinet; and requests for appointments, promotions, and political favors from congressmen and other politicians. Of note are 18 letters and memoranda from Andrew Jackson to Cass and other cabinet members, regarding Indian resettlement (1831-1836), firearms delivered to members of congress (November 3, 1834), and news of generals Samuel Houston and Santa Anna and the war with Mexico (August 31, 1836). Cass was also involved with the administration of West Point; he received news of leadership changes and recommendations for admissions and teaching posts, including one request from author Washington Irving (March 20, 1834). During this period, Cass kept in close contact with Secretary of the Treasury Louis McLane.

• August 1, 1831: A letter from General Winfield Scott voicing support for his appointment as secretary of war
• August 8, 1831: Cass' acceptance of the secretary of war position
• August 29, 1831: A long letter from William Henry Harrison discussing his loyalty to Cass, Colonel Shelby's personal jealousy and his attempts to replace Harrison in congress, the presidential aspirations of Henry Clay, and the poor state of Harrison's personal fortunes
• December 31, 1831: A letter from Susan Wheeler Decatur of Georgetown, South Carolina, concerning her declining finances
• February 24, 1832: A letter from Henry R. Schoolcraft describing the state of the settlement at Sault Ste. Marie and mapmaking at the mouth of the Mississippi River
• July 26, 1832: A letter from General Alexander Macomb to Cass offering condolences for the loss of his daughter Elizabeth and informing Cass of a cholera epidemic in western forts
• December 26, 1832: Callender Irvine, United States Army Commissary General of Purchases, to Cass regarding the design and procurement of Army uniforms
• January 24, 1833: Cass to Richard Smith, United States Bank cashier, with instructions to close the accounts of the war department and Indian Agency
• A bundle of letters and enclosures, January 1, 1834-March 5, 1834, written by Gorham Parks to Samuel Farrar, including copies of correspondence and a petition regarding the establishment of a military buffer between Maine and British Canada
• April 3, 1834: A letter from Cass' brother George Cass concerning his family's finances
• May 12, 1834: Congressman James K. Polk concerning a general appropriations bill and Indian annuity bill that passed the house
• June 20 and October 20, 1834: Two letters from Benjamin Waterhouse of Harvard University discussing temperance and early American history concerning General Wolfe's attack on Canada and Bunker Hill
• April 18- December 24, 1835: Seven letters concerning the territorial conflict between Michigan and Ohio over the Toledo Strip
• February 22, 1836: A letter from John Henry Eaton to Cass describing the state of affairs in Florida and a revolt of Indians in Tampa Bay
• July 4, 1836: Edgar Allen Poe to Cass concerning contributions to the Southern Literary Messenger

From 1836 to 1842, Cass served as Jackson's minister to France. Many of the 148 items from this period are letters of introduction from Cass' colleagues in Washington, New York, Albany, Boston, Baltimore, and Virginia, for family and friends traveling in France and Europe. Though most of these travelers were well connected young men from prominent families, two letters were for women traveling without their husbands (August 29 and September 27, 1841). In 1842, before Cass returned to America, he communicated with senators and the President's cabinet regarding negotiations with the British for Canadian boundary lines, and other news from the continent. Throughout Cass' time in France, he received updates on his finances and properties in Detroit from Edmund Askin Brush.

• October 4, 1836: President Jackson's acknowledgement of Cass' resignation as secretary of war, and Cass' appointment as minister to France
• February 5, 1837: Plans for the Cass family's trip to the Mediterranean on the USS Constitution, including the suggestion that the women wear men's clothing in the Holy Land
• November 3, 1837: Remarks regarding the reaction in Boston to a visit from Sauk Chief Keokuk (Kee-O-Kuk) and a group of Blackhawk Indians
• September 10-December 14, 1841: Ten letters about a court of inquiry concerning Assistant Surgeon General Dr. Edward Worrell's record keeping for medicine and supplies at the hospital at Fort Niagara
• March 14, 1842: A letter from Daniel Webster to Cass relating to the abolition of slavery
• April 25, 1842: A letter from Daniel Webster to Cass regarding the rights of "visit and search, the end of the African slave trade, the 'Creole Case,'" and the Oregon compromise
• June 29, 1842: A letter from John Tyler reporting on Congress' activities and further negotiations with Lord Ashburton, the Maine boundary and the "Creole Case"

Between 1842 and 1857, Cass served two senate terms representing Michigan, competed for the Democratic nomination for president in 1844 and 1852, and lost the presidency to Zachery Taylor in 1848. Letters from this time period amount to approximately 278 items. In December 1842, when first arriving back in America from France, Cass received a number of welcoming letters from officials in Boston and Philadelphia, including one that suggested he could be chosen as Democratic vice presidential nominee (December 28, 1842). Cass soon returned to Detroit but kept up with news from Washington. As presidential contender and then senator, Cass was concerned with the biggest issues of the day, including relations with England over the Oregon Territory; relations with Mexico; Indian affairs; and the Wilmot Proviso and the spread of the slavery to new states and territories. In addition to discussions of slavery in the South, Cass received reports on slavery in California, Missouri, Utah, Kansas, and Texas. The year 1848 is dominated with material on the presidential election, consisting of letters expressing support and discussing the landscape of the election. Of note are 45 letters, spanning 1844-1859, from Cass to Massachusetts Congressman Aaron Hobart of Boston, which feature both personal and political content.

• July 8, 1843: A letter from Andrew Jackson regarding relations with France and England and the Oregon Bill
• May 6 and 11, 1844: Letters from Cass discussing his chances to be nominated to run for president at the Baltimore Democratic Convention, and his thoughts on the annexation of Texas and the "Oregon Question"
• July 1844: A letter from William Berkley Lewis describing the political climate surrounding Andrew Jackson's campaign and assent to the presidency (30 pages)
• July 30 and 31, 1845: Letters from Lewis Henry Morgan concerning a council of Iroquois at Aurora, New York, and the education of the Indians of western New York
• December 24, 1845: A letter from Henry Wheaton concerning commerce and communications through the isthmuses at Suez, Egypt, and at Panama
• March 19, 1846: A letter from Francis Parkman, Jr., regarding the study of the Indians of Michigan's Upper Peninsula
• August 5, 1846: A letter from Cass concerning Democratic Party politics and the war with Indians in Florida
• December 26, 1846: A letter from Cass on the state of the Democratic Party and his intention to run for president
• January 6, 1848: A letter from Cass discussing the Wilmot Proviso
• April 6, 1748: A letter from Henry Hunt regarding the war in Mexico and General William Worth
• May 23, 1848: A letter from W. T. Van Zandt who witnessed the French Revolution, and mentioned that two of the King's grandchildren hid in a nearby boarding house
• June 13, 1848: A letter from Stephen Douglas reassuring Cass that Southerners are "satisfied with your views on the slavery question, as well as all others"
• August 24 and November 14, 1848 and January 9, 1849: Letters from President Polk concerning the politics of slavery in the senate and the Wilmot proviso
• October 25, 1851: A letter from relative Sarah Gillman, whose husband is prospecting in California and is in need of a loan
• August 9, 1852: A letter from Cass to John George
• August 30, 1853: A letter from Cass to President Franklin Pierce congratulating him on his election and recommending Robert McClelland, regent of the University of Michigan, for the position of secretary of the interior
• April 1, 1856: W.W. Drummond of Salt Lake City commented on Mormons, polygamy, slavery, the statehood of Nevada, and local support for the Nebraska Bill. Enclosed is a printed bill of sale for a runaway slave
• June 24, 1856: Cass' explanation that the Democratic party must work to preserve the Union

The series contains 172 letters from Cass' service as James Buchanan's secretary of state from 1857-1861. During his time, he received communications dealing with political unrest in the South over the slavery issue, and concerning foreign relations with Mexico, England, France, Russia, Nicaragua, and Cuba. Of particular interest are ten letters from the Minister to England George Mifflin Dallas who reported on parliamentary and political news in London (April 28, 1857-February 2, 1858). He discussed the British views on slavery in America and about the Oregon border; activities of the British East India Company; England's conflicts in India, West Africa, and China; the planning of the transatlantic telegraph and the first communication between Queen Victoria and President Buchanan; and American relations with France and Russia. Cass also received frequent memoranda from Buchanan concerning foreign relations, focusing on treaties with Mexico. The series contains 10 letters from supporters, reacting to Cass' resignation from Buchanan's administration for failing to use force in South Carolina (December 14, 1860-January 2, 1861). Also present are three personal letters from Cass to his young nephew Henry Brockholst Ledyard.

• March 19, 1857: A letter from Judah Philip Benjamin relating intelligence on the political situation in Mexico, led by Ignacio Comonfort, and urging the United States to make a treaty with Mexico for control of California without delay
• April 20, 1857: A manuscript copy of a letter from Lewis Cass to Secretary of the Navy Isaac Toucey, concerning the U.S. commercial agent at St. Paul de Loando, Willis, sent dispatches informing them that "the slave trade on this Coast is flourishing" and that five vessels have lately left with enslaved persons. Willis also reported that "The Congo River and its neighborhood have been the head Quarters, and American gold is now quite plenty there, having been brought in vessels which clear from New York."
• August 3, 1857: A letter from Jefferson Davis discussing issues in Cuba, Panama, Mexico, and England, and offering his thoughts on states' rights and state creation
• August 5, 1857: A memo from Buchanan inquiring about the United States' relationship with England and political division in the Democratic Party
• November 17-20, 1857: Sculpture design for decorations on the Capitol building at Cincinnati, Ohio
• August 30, 1858: A letter from Francis Lieber explaining his poem celebrating the transatlantic telegraph
• October 27, 1858: A letter from Rebecca P. Clark, General William Hull's daughter, claiming that she had a long-suppressed pamphlet ready to publish that would redeem her father's reputation and prove that the United States did not invade Canada in 1812 in order to maintain the slave state vs, free state balance of power
• January 27, 1859: A letter from Buchannan expressing his desire to take lower California from Mexico
• December 6, 1859: A letter from George Wallace Jones regarding the administration's position on the slavery question and the "doctrine of non-interference"
• December 19, 1859: A letter from Jeremiah Healy, a prospector from San Francisco, requesting a loan to extract silver and lead ore from his mine to compare it to the "Comstock Claim"
• April 14, 1760: An unofficial letter from Robert M. McClelland concerning peace with Mexico and dealings with Lord John Russell
• May 29, 1860: A letter from former Governor John B. Floyd regarding a friend who wants to set up a commercial house in Japan
• December 6, 1860: An unofficial letter from General John Wool concerning South Carolina's secession and troops to protect the fort at Charleston
• December 17, 1860: A letter of support from Lydia Howard Sigourney for Cass' resignation

The collection contains only 9 letters written after Cass' resignation from the Buchanan administration until his death, though a few of these are from old connections in Washington. One particularly interesting letter is a response from President Lincoln's office concerning Cass' request that he parole two of Elizabeth Cass' nephews who were Confederate officers (June 30, 1864). Going against his standard policy, Lincoln agreed to the parole out of respect for Cass.

Of the 50 letters written after Cass' death (1766-1917), the bulk are addressed to Cass' granddaughter, Elizabeth Cass Goddard of Colorado Springs, Colorado, and Cass' grandson, Lewis Cass Ledyard. These primarily relate to family and business matters and are not related to Lewis Cass. Of note are a letter from William Cook to Lewis Cass Ledyard containing copies of four letters from Cass to J. P. Cook in 1856 (September 15, 1909), and a letter to Henry Ledyard concerning Cass family portraits. Other notable contributors from this period include Ulysses S. Grant (August 18, 1868), Congressman James A. Garfield (1871) Julia Ward Howe (written on a circular for a New Orleans exposition, 1885), and Elizabeth Chase on women's suffrage (October 1886).

This series contains 24 undated letters from all phases of Cass' career, including his time in Detroit, Paris, and Washington. Of note is a letter to Cass from William Seward concerning a social engagement, and three letters to Elizabeth Goddard from Varina Davis, in which she voices her opinions on bicycling and offers sympathy for the death of a child.

The Diary series (1 volume) contains a personal journal spanning June 11 to October 5, 1837, just before Cass began his service as diplomat to France. The 407-page volume, entitled "Diary in the East," documents Cass and his family's tour of the Mediterranean and Middle East. Among the places visited were the Aegean Sea, the Dead Sea, Egypt and the Nile, Cyprus, and Lebanon. Entries, which were recorded daily, range from 3 to 20 pages and relate to travel, landmarks, local customs, and the group's daily activities.

The Documents series (116 items) is made up of financial, legal, military, honorary, and official government documents related to Cass and his relatives. Early documents relate to the Revolutionary War service of Dr. Joseph Spencer, the father of Elizabeth Cass and the military discharge of Cass' father Jonathan Cass. War of 1812 items include 16 receipts of payments to soldiers for transporting baggage, a payment of Cass' troops approved by Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin, and a report made up of eyewitness accounts of General Hull's surrender at Detroit (September 11, 1812).

Material related to Native Americans includes a treaty between Anthony Wayne and various tribes (August 3, 1795); the Treaty of St. Mary's with Cass, Duncan McArthur, and the Wyandot Indians; several permission bonds awarded by Governor William Hull to Michigan merchants for Indian trade (1798-1810); and Cass' 48-page report detailing the reduction of Native population in North America (with a population count by region), the agriculture and hunting practices of Native Americans, and the history and future of American Indian relations (July 22, 1829).

• March 11, 1826: Cass' oath of office for Governor of the Michigan Territory
• August 1, 1831: Cass' appointment to Secretary of War by Andrew Jackson.
• March 6, 1857: Cass' appointment to Secretary of State by James Buchanan.

Cass' personal accounts are documented in three ledgers kept by Edmund Askin Brush's agency, which managed his financial and land interests, including payments on loans, interest, rent, and land sales and purchases (September 1832-March 1843, January 30, 1836, and undated). Honorary documents include memberships in the New York Naval Lyceum, the Rhode Island Historical Society, and the Buffalo Historical Society, and a degree from Harvard.

• 1776: One bill of Massachusetts paper currency
• January 5, 1795: Power of attorney for Aaron Burr to Benjamin Ledyard
• December 21, 1816: An item documenting the Bank of the United States opening a branch in Lexington, Kentucky
• 1836-1841: Twelve items related to the divorce of Mary K. Barton of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, from her violent husband Seth Barton
• November 11, 1842: A menu for a dinner celebrating Cass at Les Trois Frères Provençaux
• November 5, 1845: A printed protest from the citizens of Massachusetts who met at Faneuil Hall, Boston, concerning the annexation of Texas as a slave state
• 1850: Three signup sheets to purchase printed copies of a Cass speech on the Compromise of 1850 and a copy of "Kansas--The Territories"
• February 27, 1878: Lewis Cass, Jr.'s last will and testament

• March 17, 1821: A merchant pass for the Bark Spartan, signed by John Quincy Adams, illustrated with a ship and a harbor with a lighthouse
• July 19, 1833: A membership document from the Rhode Island Historical Society featuring neoclassical imagery of a woman in front of a city and a shield with an anchor inscribed with the word "Hope"
• 1837: A bank note picturing Greek gods
• 1858-1860: Three passports with large state department seals

The Speeches series (17 items) contains 16 items related to Indian affairs spanning 1792-1816, and one undated item concerning agriculture in Michigan. The speeches were delivered by individual Native Americans (Grand Glaize, Painted Tobacco, Maera Walk-in-the-Water, Yealabahcah, Tecumseh, and the Prophet); Indian confederacies to the Commissioners of Indian Affairs; and the Indian commissioners to the Cherokee, Chippewa, Ottawa, Potawatomie, Shawnee, and Wyandot tribes.

• November 29, 1796: A speech from George Washington to the Wyandot, Delaware, Shawnee, Ottawa, Miami, Potawatomi, Kickapoo, Piankeshaw, and Kaskaskia Indians
• August 18, 1807-1810: Five speeches to and from General William Hull and various Indian tribes, including the Wyandot Chief Maera (Walk-In-The-Water)
• December 21, 1807-January 31, 1809: Four speeches from President Thomas Jefferson to various Indian tribes
• 1816: A speech from Shawnee Chief Yealabahcah and the Prophet Tecumseh in a council with Lewis Cass

For additional Indian speeches see the Manuscript Writings series. The Clements Library Book Division has several published versions of Cass' political speeches spanning 1830-1856.

The Manuscript Writings series (41 items) consists of Cass' non-correspondence writings, of which 30 are undated. Though Cass did not pursue a formal higher education after his years at Philips Exeter Academy, he received many honorary degrees and published scholarly works on the history of Native Americans and American political issues. This series contains 13 items that reveal Cass' views on Native Americans, including a 104-page item on Indian treaties, laws, and regulations (1826); notes on the war with the Creek Indians in 1833 (undated); undated notes and articles on the Shawnee, Kickapoo, and Miami tribes and lands; a 23-page review of published works on Indians; two sets of notes with corrections by Cass that were later published in the Northern American Review, and a four-page essay on Indian language.

Two items relate to the War of 1812. The first is a notebook entitled "Extracts from Franklin's Narratives," which contains copies of letters, speeches, and documents relating to Tecumseh and The Prophet, Canadian Governor George Prevost, President Madison's speeches to Congress, and Canadian General Henry Proctor, spanning 1812-1813. The second is an eyewitness account of the siege and battles of Fort Erie in 1814 by Frederick Myers (September 27, 1851). Also present are copied extracts from other writers' works, including Charlevoix's Histories and a work on Indiana by an unidentified author.

• April 9, 1858: A memorandum in regard to an interview with Colonel Thomas Hart Benton on his deathbed
• Undated: 34 pages of autobiographical writings
• Undated: 42 pages of notes on the creation of the universe and the theory of evolution

• February 10, 1836: A poem by Andrew Buchanan performed at Mrs. White's party
• August 30, 1858: "An Ode on the Sub-Atlantic Telegraph," by Dr. Francis Lieber
• Undated: Two genealogical items related to Elizabeth Cass' ancestors
• Undated: a draft of a biographical essay on Cass' early years by W. T. Young (eventually published in 1852 as Life and Public Services of General Lewis Cass)

The Printed Items series (14 items) is comprised of printed material written by or related to Cass. Many of the items are contemporary newspaper clippings reporting on Cass' role in government and eulogies assessing his career after his death.

• November 4, 1848: A 4-page Hickory Sprout newspaper with several articles on Cass and his presidential bid. This paper also contains pro-Democrat and pro-Cass poetry set to the tune Oh! Susannah
• 1848: A political cartoon lampooning Cass after his defeat to Taylor in the presidential election
• March 25, 1850: An announcement for a ball at Tammany Hall in honor of Cass
• July 17, 1921: A Detroit Free Press article on the dedication of the Cass Boulder Monument at Sault Ste. Marie
• Three engraved portraits of Cass
• Undated: A newspaper clipping with recollections of Lewis Cass as a young boy
• Undated: An advertisement with a diagram of the Davis Refrigerator.

The Autographs and Miscellaneous series (21 items) contains various autographs of James Buchanan (October 10, 1860), Theodore Roosevelt (August 11, 1901), and author Alice French with an inscription and a sketch (September 29, 1906). This series also contains 19 pages of notes from Cass collector Roscoe O. Bonisteel, who donated many of the items in this collection, and four colored pencil sketches of furniture.