Morris, Gouverneur (1752-1816) to Henry Knox
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Gilder Lehrman Collection #: GLC02437.01963 Author/Creator: Morris, Gouverneur (1752-1816) Place Written: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Type: Autograph letter signed Date: 28 February 1783 Pagination: 2 p. ; 23.3 x 19.2 cm. Order a Copy
Written by Morris as Assistant Secretary of Finance to Major General Knox. References Knox's letter sent by General Lincoln. Is sending copies of Robert Morris's letter of resignation (not included here). Says this news should not be unexpected. Says he has three more months of "hopeless Slavery to encounter in this Office." Knox expressed a desire to help, but Morris says he does not know how he could use him. Mocks Congress, saying "It is not in them to conceive great nor to pursue just Ideas. Nature sparing in good Gifts has been prodigal of Littleness to them. And fortune has placed them in the Attitude of all others most calculated to display their Deformities." Hopes "the Guardian Genius of America" will intervene and rectify the situation, but says there is a "Callosity of Soul about them which must be seen to be conceived of."
Signer of the U.S. Constitution.
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