Beschreibung:

JEFFERSON, THOMAS, President. Autograph letter signed ("Th: Jefferson") as Secretary of State under George Washington, to Beverley Randolph of Virginia; Philadelphia, 18 February l793. One full page, 4to, closely written, integral address leaf with panel in Jefferson's hand "Beverley Randolph esq. Cumberland by the Richmond post," and stamped "FREE" and with JEFFERSON'S FREE-FRANKING SIGNATURE, both pages slightly brittle, address leaf separated along its folds, letter browned from an old mat and frame, a clean l-inch tear at right-hand edge, not affecting text. JEFFERSON'S AND WASHINGTON'S LAST PEACE OVERTURE TO THE INDIANS ON THE NORTHWEST FRONTIER An important letter of State, by which Jefferson summons his fellow Virginian, Beverley Randolph, to join a key government peace commission slated to journey to a parley with the Indian tribes at Sandusky, on the troubled Northwest frontier. The letter also contains an eloquent allusion to Jefferson's concept of "service in the public interest." Jefferson writes: "A great assembly of the Northern & Western Indians is to be held at Sandusky in the approaching spring, to be met by three commissioners from the general government to treat of peace. It is highly important that some person from the Southward, possessing the public confidence, should be in the commission and a person too who has firmness enough to form opinions for himself. Though I knew that your health was sometime in default, yet I have ventured to propose you to the President [Washington] who joined at once in the wish that you would undertake it, and I expect he writes to you by this post. It will be the greatest collection of Indians (about 3000) which has ever taken place, and from very distant parts. The route thither will be through N. York, the Hudson, the Mohawk, L. Ontaria, Niagara, and L. Erie and you could return by Fort Pitt. The season [is] the finest of the year, & I presume every accomodation will be provided which the nature of the service admits. I am not able to say what the allowance will be, but I believe it has usually been 6 or 8 Doll. a day exclusive of expences, but this is guess-work in me. I hope you will resolve to undertake it, as I conceive the public interest intimately concerned in the conducting of this treaty, and on that consideration I am confident you will sacrifice any public disinclination to it. Be pleased to present my best respects to Mrs. Randolph...." The Definitive Treaty of Peace of l783 with Great Britain had attempted to set the boundaries between the new nation and British possessions, but the boundary was defined from an imperfect Mitchell map of 1755. By 1792 this inaccuracy had become a crucial issue, with increasing settlement in the area. Unable to reach a diplomatic settlement in its favor, British agents in the disputed area began to incite the native American tribes of the Northwest to violence against the American settlers and garrisons, especially North of the Ohio River. The Miami and Wabash tribes attacked boats on the Ohio and raided into Kentucky, setting fire to homes and massacring settlers. A punitive expedition led by General Arthur St. Clair in the winter of l79l suffered a disastrous defeat, to Washington's embarassment and disappointment (cf. the vivid account in D.S. Freeman, George Washington , vi, 335-338). Jefferson commented that the debacle underlined the "necessity of stronger preparations than before" ( ibid ., 340). One particularly troublesome British agent, Lt. Simcoe, based at Detroit, had become a trusted counselor to the already hostile Shawnee, Miami and Kickapoo tribes. "Conditions North of the Ohio had become desparate in the past year. The ugly spectre of Indian war hung everywhere, and American control of the Territory was threatened more each day as Simcoe's stature among the hostile natives continued to grow "( ibid ., vi, 13). A "Western Legion" of army regulars, commanded by the erstwhile General Anthony Wayne, was statione