Beschreibung:

MONROE, James, President . Autograph letter signed ("James Monroe") as President to Lord Holland, Washington, D.C., 6 November 1824. 1 full page, 4to, 247 x 202mm. (9.11/16 x 8in.), integral blank . Fine. PRESIDENT MONROE ALLUDES TO THE RESENTMENT CAUSED IN ENGLAND BY LAFAYETTE'S TRIUMPHAL VISIT TO AMERICA A letter written a few days after the election of his successor, John Quincy Adams. In 1823-24, with the fiftieth anniversary of the American Revolution approaching, the elderly Marquis de Lafayette had been persuaded to re-visit the nation whose independence he had helped secure. In conservative circles in Britain, however, the tumultuous outpouring of republican sentiments which took place in every city visited by the old man were viewed with great alarm, for Lafayette was seen as the epitome of French radicalism. Monroe, supplying a letter of introduction for a young man bound for England, takes the occasion to reassure Lord Holland. "May I increase the obligations which you have conferred on me, by your attention to many of my countrymen, whom I have introduced to your acquaintance by requesting its extension to the very respectable young man Mr. Lynch...On the state of public affairs, in our nation, and indeed in this hemisphere, he can give you the most correct information. To him therefore I refer you respecting the motive which has procured to General Lafayette the reception which has attracted the attention of Europe. I find that an improper impression has been made in England, in some circles. It has proceeded altogether from a sacred regard to the principles of our revolution, and the services which he rendered it. On this subject, and on every other, he will give you all the information which you may desire..." Monroe's reference to the "affairs in this hemisphere" is also noteworthy, for the formulation of the Monroe Doctrine, a year earlier (in which John Quincy Adams played a key role) originated the concept of the distinct hemispheres in global political thought.