Footnote’s “Rev War” Collection
Jan 6th, 2008 by sharbrough
Congressional Correspondence
Footnote’s catalog says, “The letters in this publication are useful for understanding the basis of international law in the United States. They include instructions sent to US ministers and consuls abroad from 1785 to 1790, sent by John Jay, Secretary of Foreign Affairs; Thomas Jefferson, Secretary of State; and others.”
Link to Footnote’s Description: Foreign Letters of the Department of State [link].
Size Factor. 474 pages. You can do it.
Interesting spotlight.Be the first person to spotlight something cool in these letters. Can you believe that all of our bazillions of customers have passed over this great opportunity?
Cool Factor. The inimitable Craig R Scott (who I claim as a cousin, though we can’t prove it yet) wrote the description for the catalog. Craig includes an example – a letter from John Jay to Thomas Barclay, informing him that Mr Franklin is coming home and Mr Jefferson is going to pinch hit in Paris. Well, that’s not verbatim, but it’s the basic message – along with a discussion of shipping rates.
State Department Domestic Correspondence
Link to Footnote’s Description: Domestic Letters of the Department of State [link]
Size Factor. 180,000 pages of miscellaneous correspondence. That’s like 200 Harry Potter books long.
Interesting spotlight. John Jay congratulates the birth of the Duke of Normandy [link]
Cool Factor. The US had some great diplomats in this time (1784-1906), and the performance they delivered in the role of initial diplomat has impact on the State Department to this day.
Department of Disappointments. We’d like it if the letters were cataloged so one could identify the sender and recipient.
Constitutional Amendments
In 1971, the 26th Amendment lowered the voting age to 18. The thinking at the time was, “Hey, if we’re old enough to be drafted and sent to Viet-Nam, aren’t we old enough to vote?” It doesn’t say it on Footnote, but in 1972, many Texas college students between the ages of 18-21 voted in their first presidential election, including your loyal correspondent.
Link to Footnote’s Description: [link]
Size Factor. 9932 pages.
Cool Factor. There are a series of letters between Tom Adams, the Secretary of State of Florida, and James Rhoads, the Archivist of the US, concerning Florida’s ratification of the 19th Amendment. First Adams writes that Florida has approved the amendment in state legislature. Then Rhoads writes that they need to know the date, in order to “complete their records.” Then Adams sends a copy of the resolution, showing the date. You have to keep the paperwork straight, right? It should be noted that the 19th Amendment gives women the vote, often referred to as “women’s suffrage.” It should be noted that the amendment did pass and was ratified, and while women do have the vote, the amendment did not end all suffering by women. A government can only do so much.
Department of Disappointments. The browse has descriptions that are truncated, so it’s not always clear at a glance what the amendments are about (such as “XIV. All persons born or naturalized in…” And it’s not a disappointment to me personally, but if you’re looking for the first ten amendments, they aren’t here. They’re the Bill of Rights, and they’re in the Papers of the Continental Congress.
[...] Elsewhere on this site you can find a description of the meeting where this topic was first discussed. It’s a story worth repeating because in my view, it was a fortunate accident. [link] [...]