To Thomas Jefferson from Peregrine Fitzhugh
20 June 1797
This letter is written from Fitzhugh to Jefferson. You will notice that Fitzhugh’s style in this letter is businesslike and to the point as opposed to his often very flowery language and being very circumspect.
Historical Background for this letter
Col. Fitzhugh still lives in Ann Arundel, Maryland, and resided there until he moved to Geneva, N.Y., in 1799.
This letter is all about politics. The first part of this letter goes on to talk about the war in 1797 that is raging between England and France for dominance of Europe. Fitzhugh like many farmers in the United States at that time, wants to stay neutral in the conflict so that it does not affect their commerce based on trading with both sides. He is very concerned that many in Congress are taking a decidedly anti-France attitude.
The next part begins discussing how the Federal Government is going to insure that the States pay their taxes to the Federal Government in a more timely fashion.
The remainder of the letter is talking about Logan and Cresop. This discussion requires some historical background that many people today do not have. A good discussion of the historical events behind this discussion can be found on wikipedia:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Logan_(Iroquois_leader)
You can click on the letter below to read the letter:
http://founders.archives.gov/?q=Author%3A%22Fitzhugh%2C%20Peregrine%22&s=1111311111&r=7
