Details
ADAMS, John Quincy. Letter signed ("John Quincy Adams") as Secretary of State, with 8-word autograph correction, [TO PRESIDENT JAMES MONROE], "Department of State," [Washington, D.C.], 24 December 1818. 1 page, 4to (9 13/16 x 7 15/16 in.), integral blank, minor staining on left margin.
THE EXECUTION OF ARBUTHNOT AND AMBRISTER: PRELUDE TO THE ADAMS-ÓNIS TREATY
A notable letter by which Secretary of State Adams submits key documents and correspondence relating to affairs in Spanish Florida in prepartion for the negotiation of the Adams-Onis, or Transcontinental Treaty. As the power of Spain steadily decreased in the 19th century, the Spanish Government found it increasingly difficult to maintain their once flourishing American empire. Control over the colony of Florida proved particularly difficult. Seminole Indians mounted devastating raids across the border, then retired to the Spanish territory, while fugitive slaves sought sanctuary within the Spanish colony. When Andrew Jackson was given a directive by President Monroe to address the problem, he exceeded his orders by invading Florida, destroying Seminole villages, overthrowing the Spanish Governor and summarily executing two British diplomats, Alexander Arbuthnot and Robert Ambrister, who he claimed were agents-provocateur. Only a government denial of responsibility for Jackson's actions prevented conflict with England. John Quincy Adams, arguing that it was Spain's innate lack of control over the region which led to the incidents calling for American response, pressured the Spanish Minister to sell the burdensome colony to the United States.
Here, Adams submits the Florida correspondence to President Monroe: "The Secretary of State...[requests] the President to lay before the House copies of the correspondance...relative to the Seminole War and the execution of Arbuthnot and Ambrister, and also copies of the correspondence between the Government of the United States and Andrew Jackson on the subject of the destruction of the Chehaw Village, and the conduct of Captain Wright upon that occasion, together with copies of the correspondence...with Governor [William] Rabun of Georgia..."
By February 20, 1819, Adams concluded the Transcontinental Treaty with Spanish ambassador Luis de Ónis y Gonzales. The treaty, ratified in February 1821, not only provided for the cession of East Florida, but granted the United States extensive new territories stretching to the Pacific. The historic agreement, writes biographer Paul Nagel "pushed aside many of the barriers blocking America's march toward continental power" (Nagel, John Quincy Adams, p. 249).
THE EXECUTION OF ARBUTHNOT AND AMBRISTER: PRELUDE TO THE ADAMS-ÓNIS TREATY
A notable letter by which Secretary of State Adams submits key documents and correspondence relating to affairs in Spanish Florida in prepartion for the negotiation of the Adams-Onis, or Transcontinental Treaty. As the power of Spain steadily decreased in the 19th century, the Spanish Government found it increasingly difficult to maintain their once flourishing American empire. Control over the colony of Florida proved particularly difficult. Seminole Indians mounted devastating raids across the border, then retired to the Spanish territory, while fugitive slaves sought sanctuary within the Spanish colony. When Andrew Jackson was given a directive by President Monroe to address the problem, he exceeded his orders by invading Florida, destroying Seminole villages, overthrowing the Spanish Governor and summarily executing two British diplomats, Alexander Arbuthnot and Robert Ambrister, who he claimed were agents-provocateur. Only a government denial of responsibility for Jackson's actions prevented conflict with England. John Quincy Adams, arguing that it was Spain's innate lack of control over the region which led to the incidents calling for American response, pressured the Spanish Minister to sell the burdensome colony to the United States.
Here, Adams submits the Florida correspondence to President Monroe: "The Secretary of State...[requests] the President to lay before the House copies of the correspondance...relative to the Seminole War and the execution of Arbuthnot and Ambrister, and also copies of the correspondence between the Government of the United States and Andrew Jackson on the subject of the destruction of the Chehaw Village, and the conduct of Captain Wright upon that occasion, together with copies of the correspondence...with Governor [William] Rabun of Georgia..."
By February 20, 1819, Adams concluded the Transcontinental Treaty with Spanish ambassador Luis de Ónis y Gonzales. The treaty, ratified in February 1821, not only provided for the cession of East Florida, but granted the United States extensive new territories stretching to the Pacific. The historic agreement, writes biographer Paul Nagel "pushed aside many of the barriers blocking America's march toward continental power" (Nagel, John Quincy Adams, p. 249).