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1803-July-15

1803-July-15: French chargé d’affaires Pichon reported a tense meeting with James Madison regarding a formal letter sent by Dessalines to President Jefferson.

HT-DRUS-1941-000169

1803-July-15: French chargé d’affaires Pichon reported a tense meeting with James Madison regarding a formal letter sent by Dessalines to President Jefferson. Madison initially denied knowledge of the document, but eventually admitted that it contained language regarding the French government that was too inflammatory to repeat. In the letter, Dessalines announced that the people of Saint-Domingue had decided to “throw off the yoke of tyrants” and sought to renew official commerce. Madison confessed that the letter caused the U.S. government “great embarrassment” because it forced a choice between lucrative trade and diplomatic protocol. Despite the awkwardness, the American government refused to suppress the private merchants who were already rushing to trade with Dessalines’ forces.

Source  ·  HT-DRUS-1941-000169 Logan, 149 / Bates: HT-DRUS-1941-000169