and 1816-1819; and, as presidential elector in 1820, cast the single vote against James Monroe. Plumer devoted the later years of his life to literature. He died in 1850. Having decided early in life to write a history of the United States, Plumer made use of every opportunity to collect materials to that end. His ambition as a historical writer was not gratified, but he left a vast quantity of manuscripts, invaluable for the history of his period. A small part of this collection was used by William Plumer Jr. in his Life of William Plumer. In that book, however, the younger Plumer practically ignored the very valuable memorandum which Senator Plumer kept of the debates in the United States Senate from 1803 to 1807. This memorandum gives detailed information on government matters seemingly nowhere else obtainable. Neither the Government nor the newspapers at that time kept a full report of the debates in Congress. Especially was this true of those of the Senate. A part of this "Memorandum" was contributed by the present writer to the American Historical Review, XXII (1917), 340-364. No other writer, so far as I can ascertain, has extensively used the Plumer "Memorandum." In the monograph a differentiation in citation is made between the "Memorandum" and Plumer's letters, the latter being referred to as MSS. Plumer's papers have not been arranged in any more definite order than that in which he left them, which makes citation of them rather difficult. Other important manuscripts used were the Claiborne Papers, consisting of six volumes entitled "Claiborne's Correspondence relative to Orleans Territory," and one volume, "Orleans Territory, Miscellaneous. These volumes in the Bureau of Rolls and Library in the Department of State in Washington, contain Governor Claiborne's reports of the territorial government of Louisiana, or, to be more exact, of Orleans Territory, from December, 1803, when the province was turned over to the American commissioners, until the admission, in 1812, of Orleans Territory into the Union as the state of Louisiana. The volume of miscellaneous papers contains a few items of as late date as 1815. An idea of the number of letters in the Claiborne collection and the subject matter contained in them. can be obtained by consulting David W. Parker, Calendar of papers in Washington relating to the territories of the United States, Washington, D. C., 1911 (Publication number 148 of the Carnegie Institution). Copies of Claiborne's letters and papers have been preserved in Jackson, Mississippi.* From the Jefferson, Madison, and Monroe papers were gleaned many items not contained in the published writings of these statesmen. Especially was this true of letters which had been available only in part in printed form. The following bibliographical aids were of much assistance in the examination of the voluminous collections just cited: Calendar of the Correspondence of Thomas Jefferson, Part I, Letters from Jefferson. Bulletin No. 6 of the Bureau of Rolls and Library of the Department of State, Washington, 1894. Ibid., Part. II, Letters to Jefferson. Bulletin No. 8 of the same department. Washington, 1895. Ibid., Part III, Supplementary. Bulletin No. 10 of the same department. Washington, 1903. (Calendar of papers received after the publication of Bulletin No. 8.) See the Third Annual Report of the Director of the Department of Archives and History of the State of Mississippi from October 1, 1903, to October 1, 1904, Dunbar Rowland, director. Nashville, Tenn., 1905. Also Eleventh and Twelfth Reports of the Director of the Department of Archives and History of the State of Mississippi from November 1, 1911, to October 31, 1912. An Official Guide to the Historical Materials in the Mississippi Department of Archives and History, Dunbar Rowland, LL.D., director. Nashville, Tenn., 1914. At the time when this monograph was being written, the Official Letter Books of W. C. C. Claiborne, 1801-1816, edited by Dunbar Rowland (6 vols. Jackson, Miss., 1917) had not yet appeared. Many of the Claiborne letters cited in manuscript form are now available in print. Calendar of the Correspondence of James Monroe. Bulletin No. 2 of the same department. Washington, 1893. Calendar of the Correspondence of James Madison. Bulletin No. 4 of A number of unpublished letters bearing on the subject of Louisiana were found in the Pickering Papers, in the library of the Massachusetts Historical Society. Consultation of the Pickering collection also afforded the opportunity of correcting or verifying dates and names used erroneously or doubtfully by editors of the printed works of some of Pickering's correspondents. The Historical Index to the Pickering Papers in the Massachusetts Historical Society, Collections, Sixth Series, III, Boston, 1896, was of great assistance in the use of these papers. Occasional important letters were picked up in odd places. An excellent example is the Nahum Mitchell letter, quoted in Chapter VIII, which was found among the Robbins Papers. The present writer is unaware of its ever having been previously used. Needless to say, the published writings of the statesmen already mentioned, as well as many others, were carefully consulted. A full list is given in the bibliography. The controversial side of the Louisiana question is well illustrated by contemporaneous printed pamphlets and newspapers. On the publications of this type, the citations in the monograph and the bibliography afford sufficient comment. Secondary authorities were used only to substantiate a statement already obtained from primary sources, or when the author of the book cited was himself quoting primary authorities. In this respect the books most used were those of Henry Adams and Charles Gayarré. The writer wishes to thank all those librarians and archivists who made possible his search for materials. In particular, in this respect, does he owe much to the never-failing kindness of Mr. John C. Fitzpatrick of the Manuscript Division of the Library of Congress. Acknowledgments are also due to Professor Frederick J. Teggart of the University of California for suggestive criticism; and to Professor Herbert E. Bolton and the editorial committee of the University of California Press for the editing of the monograph. The writer's wife was especially helpful in the arduous task of copying manuscripts and in reading proof. Finally, the writer desires to express his appreciation of the kindly and scholarly assistance of Dr. Eugene Irving McCormac of the University of California, under whose guidance this study was made. EVERETT SOMERVILLE BROWN. WASHINGTON, D.C., December 18, 1918. X |