Alexander Hamilton And John Laurens Letters

Alexander Hamilton And John Laurens Letters – With time fading fast, I won’t miss my shot at highlighting a few notable items from the SCHS holdings that relate to the story behind it. Inspired by the 2004 Ron Cherno biography

, the Lin-Manuel Miranda-penned musical traces the turbulent life of the “Ten Dollar Founding Father,” while also starring some of the most treasured characters in our collection, including George Washington, Thomas Jefferson and the Marquis de Lafayette. . In fact, the society’s flagship Henry Laurens Papers contain dozens of letters written between 1777 and 1781 by “America’s favorite war Frenchman,” ranging from a proposed expedition to Canada in 1778 to French soldiers serving Congress.

Alexander Hamilton And John Laurens Letters

For the musical’s narrator (and Hamilton’s nemesis) Aaron Burr, SCHS contains several items on the hotly contested presidential election of 1800, creating an electoral bond between Jefferson and Burr and providing a major turning point in the second act. For example, in a letter dated December 12, 1800, Elizur Goodrich informed Timothy Pitkin that even though the electors for Jefferson and Burr in South Carolina had been chosen by thirteen, “it would have been easy for Jefferson to make a union. and [Charles Coatsworth] Pinkie ” The birth of Burr’s daughter in 1883 is the inspiration for a moving ballad.

John Laurens And Hamilton: A Closer Look, Part 1

The first act, but Theodosia Burr Alston made her mark in South Carolina history when she famously disappeared aboard the miscreant ship.

In December 1812, a few weeks after her husband became the state’s forty-fourth governor Interesting secondary material on his life and mysterious disappearance can be found in the Alston-Pringle-Frost Papers and in a vertical file dedicated to him.

Fans, the letter will be written by the future Treasury Secretary himself, John Lawrence, who plays a major role in the show as Hamilton’s best friend. Born in 1754 in Charleston, Lawrence was the eldest son of Henry Lawrence and Eleanor Ball, and in his short life served as a Revolutionary War officer, a member of the South Carolina House of Representatives, and a special minister to France. Notably, he was a strong opponent of slavery and even offered to free slaves in exchange for military service. Lawrence’s papers at the SCHS include a misprinted letter from January 1780 (wrongly dated 1779) in which Hamilton discusses Lawrence’s (unsuccessful) recommendation to Congress that a British ship that had departed New York be appointed Secretary of State to the United States at Versailles before discussing Lawrence’s (unsuccessful) recommendation to Congress. :

I wrote enclosed and closed Some ruffian hands have used it in the way you see I don’t have time to copy it I will pick up the story where I left it

The Fate Of Major Andre: A Letter From Alexander Hamilton To John Laurens

Another reason for believing the destination is that Governor Martin and other refugees from Georgia, South and North Carolina are said to have sailed. You will have a busy time; Treat yourself. We still hope that some late violent winds will blow them on their way No other military news

Believe me, my Dr. Laurence, I am not insensitive to recommend to your friends a particular commission about the first sign of your affection. Yet your partiality may lead you to surpass my worthiness, which too partiality will endear you to me; And the whole world will allow that your struggles and hardships on this occasion are worthy of the envy of men I’m glad you put this into the work you did, because I hope it will eventually get you hired If it had fallen to my lot, I would have been satisfied with such a distinction but I should feel all your shame

Of these I have no rehens Not one of the four on the nomination paper would stand a better chance than me; And yet my vanity tells me they are not liked by all But I am a stranger in this country I have no property here, no connection If I have talent and integrity, (as you say I have) these are considered very illusory titles in this enlightened day, when others are more solidly supported; And if it had not been for your example, I should have been inclined to consider the composition of a certain body, supposing that three-fourths of them were mortal enemies from the first, and three-fourths of the other fourth a laudable contempt for the latter.

In closing the letter, Hamilton noted that he was forbidden to seek field command (thus providing “the only detailed evidence” he was doing at the time.

Powerful Anti Slavery Argument Likely By John Laurens

I have strongly requested leave to go south It cannot be denied; But arguments have been used to dissuade me from it, which have given my opinion a law which may have little weight in my judgment. I am angry and displeased but I submit In short Laurence I hate everything in this world but you and a very few honest fellows and my bright wishes are not as soon as possible. It is a weakness; But I feel that I am not fit for this earthly country

All the Lords embrace you The General sends his love Write to him as often as you can

Part of the Society’s Discrete Manuscript Collection and dated February 4, 1781, Hamilton wrote to Lawrence about the movements and activities of the British and Continental armies in South Carolina, Virginia, and Pennsylvania, as well as his father’s proposal. The father-in-law, Philip Schuyler, called for “a solid convention to give Congress sufficient power to call up the resources of the nation … for the support of the war.” Hamilton then concluded with an assurance to his friend that it was “more impossible to desire your health security happiness and success” than his. Tragically, Lawrence was killed at the Battle of Combebee River on August 27, 1782, eighteen months after the letter was written, but this South Carolina story is now familiar to 21st-century audiences. The hit musical Hamilton at the Durham Performing Arts Center means Alexander Hamilton, Aaron Burr and other personalities from the musical are getting some attention on campus, in the press and in our reading rooms. We’re always excited to share our collections, especially when they involve a musical whose soundtrack is steeped in history and questions how historical narratives are constructed.

Want to grab a letter from Hamilton or Burr and read it? These collections are available in our reading room and are open to all, so come and visit us

Alexander Hamilton Papers: Speeches And Writings File, 1778 1804; 1778, Dec. 24 ,

In November 1791, Hamilton, then Secretary of the Treasury, wrote to Abisha Thomas and James Taylor, Treasury Agents for North Carolina, seeking to ascertain whether North Carolina had issued its own certificate of debt in exchange for the United States. This may seem like one of the more technical provisions of the Fund Act of 1790 (which Jefferson complains is “too bad a page for any man to understand”) in the musical, but it deals with an important part of Hamilton’s finances. Plans for the New Nation: The Concept of the Federal Government Debt by the States During the Revolutionary War. The heated debate surrounding Hamilton’s economic vision for America was imagined as a rap battle in Hamilton’s “Cabinet Battle #1”. ” Hamilton, of course, was able to gain congressional support for his financial system, thanks to his agreement with Thomas Jefferson and James Madison in the Compromise of 1790.

The letter was probably written by a clerk (Hamilton was a busy man!), but it bears his signature just below “Your Obed.” Servant. ” This was a common closure for letters among elite men in the eighteenth century Burr and Hamilton both used it (if not consciously) during the characters’ heated exchange that led to their duet, earning a prominent place in the musical.

The collection also includes a newspaper clipping of an unpublished letter from Hamilton to Elizabeth Schuyler about the Benedict Arnold relationship and the death of Major John Andre.

In this letter, we see Burr’s side expressed only musically Here he is not Hamilton’s political enemy, but a devoted husband trying to relieve his wife Theodosia of her “grievous malady.” Theodosia and Aaron Burr’s relationship only gets two lines in the musical, but as noted, Theodosia was married to a British officer when Burr courted her during the war. Theodosia and Aaron married in 1782 after Theodosia’s first husband died. Burse’s marriage was built on love, friendship and intellectual respect for each other

Alexander Hamilton’s Professed Love For John Laurens In His 1779 Correspondence