James Madison to Biographer Jared Sparks on Washington and Hamilton, 1830
James Madison to Jared Sparks, October 5, 1830 (The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History)
Jared Sparks was a historian and author who tirelessly collected documents for his Life and Writings of George Washington. He was also the editor of the North American Review, which James Madison mentions in this letter from October 1830. Sparks was apparently doing some research for his book on Washington, and Madison provided some information about the Farewell Address. He also drops a few comments on Hamilton’s attribution of some of the Federalist Papers.
Letter from James Madison to Jared Sparks, October 5, 1830
Montpellier Oct 5 1830
Dear Sir
Your letter of July 16 was duly recd the acknowledgement of it has awaited your return from you tour to Quebec, which I presume has by this Time taken place.
Inclosed is the exact copy you wish of the draft of an address prepared for President Washington at his request in the year 1792, when he meditated a retirement at the experation of his first term. You will observe that (with a few verbal exceptions) it differs from the Extract inclosed in your letter only in the provisional paragraphs, which had become inapplicable to the period of plan of his communication to Col: Hamilton.
The No of the N. American Review for Jan 7 being I find a duplicate I return it. The pages, to which you refer throw a valuable light on a transaction, which was taking historical root, in a shape unjust as well as erroneous. Did you ever notice the “Life of Mr. Jay” in Delaplaine Biographical work? The materials of it were ardently derived from the papers, if not the pen of Mr Jay, and marked by the misconceptions into which he had fallen. It may be imeidentally noted as one of the confirmations of the fallibility of Mr. Hamilton’s memory in allotting the Nos in the “federalist, to the respective writers that one of them Noba, Which appears by Delaplaine to have been written by Mr. Jay, as it certainly was, is put on the list of Mr. Hamilton, as was not less certainly the case with a number of others written by another hand.
Previous to the receipt of your letter, I had Recd one from Mr Monroe to whom I had mentioned the liberty I had taken with Raynoval’s Memoir. I inclose the part of his letter answering that part of mine.
Mrs Madison offers you many thanks for the interesting narrative of which Layard is the subject. She has read it with great pleasure and with a just sensebility to the additional value which the volume has, as a token of the politeness & regard of the Author.
With great esteem & cordial salutations
James Madison
Source: James Madison to Jared Sparks, October 15, 1830, The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History, GLC08929.
A Letter from James Madison to Jared Sparks, October 5, 1830
Montpellier Oct.er 5. 1830
Dear Sir
Your letter of July 16. was duly recd the acknowledgement of it has awaited your return from your tour to Quebec, which I presume has by this Time taken place.
Inclosed is the exact copy you wish of the draft of an address prepared for President Washington at his request in the year 1792, when he meditated a retirement at the experation of his first term. You will observe that (with a few verbal exceptions) it differs from the Extract inclosed in your letter only in the provisional paragraphs, which had become inapplicable To the period of plan of his communication to Col: Hamilton.
The N.o of the N. American Review for Jan 7 last being I find a duplicate I return it. The pages, to which you refer throw a valuable light on a transaction, which was taking historical root, in a shape unjust as well as erroneous. Did you ever notice the “Life of Mr. Jay” in Delaplaine Biographical work? The materials of it were ardently derived from the papers, if not the pen of Mr Jay, and are marked by the misconceptions into which he had fallen. It may be imeidentally noted as one of the confirmations of the fallibility of Mr. Hamilton’s memory in allotting the Nos in the “Federalist, to the respective writers, that one of them Noba, Which appears by Delaplaine to have been written by Mr. Jay, as it certainly was, is put on the list of Mr. Hamilton, as was not less certainly the case with a number of others written by another hand.
Previous to the receipt of your letter, I had Recd one from Mr. Monroe to whom I had mentioned the liberty I had taken with Raynoval’s Memoir. I inclose the part of his letter answering that part of mine.
Mrs Madison offers you many thanks for the very interesting narrative of which Layard is the subject. She has read it with great pleasure, and with a just sensebility to the additional value which the volume has, as a token of the politeness & regard of the Author.
With great esteem & cordial salutations
James Madison
Mr Sparks
Source: James Madison to Jared Sparks, October 15, 1830, The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History, GLC08929.
provisional: temporary
Background
Jared Sparks was a historian and author who tirelessly collected documents for his Life and Writings of George Washington. He was also the editor of the North American Review, which James Madison mentions in this letter from October 1830. Sparks was apparently doing some research for his book on Washington, and Madison provided some information about the Farewell Address. He also drops a few comments on Hamilton’s attribution of some of the Federalist Papers.
Transcript
Letter from James Madison to Jared Sparks, October 5, 1830
Montpellier Oct 5 1830
Dear Sir
Your letter of July 16 was duly recd the acknowledgement of it has awaited your return from you tour to Quebec, which I presume has by this Time taken place.
Inclosed is the exact copy you wish of the draft of an address prepared for President Washington at his request in the year 1792, when he meditated a retirement at the experation of his first term. You will observe that (with a few verbal exceptions) it differs from the Extract inclosed in your letter only in the provisional paragraphs, which had become inapplicable to the period of plan of his communication to Col: Hamilton.
The No of the N. American Review for Jan 7 being I find a duplicate I return it. The pages, to which you refer throw a valuable light on a transaction, which was taking historical root, in a shape unjust as well as erroneous. Did you ever notice the “Life of Mr. Jay” in Delaplaine Biographical work? The materials of it were ardently derived from the papers, if not the pen of Mr Jay, and marked by the misconceptions into which he had fallen. It may be imeidentally noted as one of the confirmations of the fallibility of Mr. Hamilton’s memory in allotting the Nos in the “federalist, to the respective writers that one of them Noba, Which appears by Delaplaine to have been written by Mr. Jay, as it certainly was, is put on the list of Mr. Hamilton, as was not less certainly the case with a number of others written by another hand.
Previous to the receipt of your letter, I had Recd one from Mr Monroe to whom I had mentioned the liberty I had taken with Raynoval’s Memoir. I inclose the part of his letter answering that part of mine.
Mrs Madison offers you many thanks for the interesting narrative of which Layard is the subject. She has read it with great pleasure and with a just sensebility to the additional value which the volume has, as a token of the politeness & regard of the Author.
With great esteem & cordial salutations
James Madison
Source: James Madison to Jared Sparks, October 15, 1830, The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History, GLC08929.
Excerpt
A Letter from James Madison to Jared Sparks, October 5, 1830
Montpellier Oct.er 5. 1830
Dear Sir
Your letter of July 16. was duly recd the acknowledgement of it has awaited your return from your tour to Quebec, which I presume has by this Time taken place.
Inclosed is the exact copy you wish of the draft of an address prepared for President Washington at his request in the year 1792, when he meditated a retirement at the experation of his first term. You will observe that (with a few verbal exceptions) it differs from the Extract inclosed in your letter only in the provisional paragraphs, which had become inapplicable To the period of plan of his communication to Col: Hamilton.
The N.o of the N. American Review for Jan 7 last being I find a duplicate I return it. The pages, to which you refer throw a valuable light on a transaction, which was taking historical root, in a shape unjust as well as erroneous. Did you ever notice the “Life of Mr. Jay” in Delaplaine Biographical work? The materials of it were ardently derived from the papers, if not the pen of Mr Jay, and are marked by the misconceptions into which he had fallen. It may be imeidentally noted as one of the confirmations of the fallibility of Mr. Hamilton’s memory in allotting the Nos in the “Federalist, to the respective writers, that one of them Noba, Which appears by Delaplaine to have been written by Mr. Jay, as it certainly was, is put on the list of Mr. Hamilton, as was not less certainly the case with a number of others written by another hand.
Previous to the receipt of your letter, I had Recd one from Mr. Monroe to whom I had mentioned the liberty I had taken with Raynoval’s Memoir. I inclose the part of his letter answering that part of mine.
Mrs Madison offers you many thanks for the very interesting narrative of which Layard is the subject. She has read it with great pleasure, and with a just sensebility to the additional value which the volume has, as a token of the politeness & regard of the Author.
With great esteem & cordial salutations
James Madison
Mr Sparks
Source: James Madison to Jared Sparks, October 15, 1830, The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History, GLC08929.
provisional: temporary
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