Madison, James, 1751-1836 to Edmund Pendleton re: waiting foreign dispatches on peace talks; selling slave
Order a pdf of this item here.
Gilder Lehrman Collection #: GLC06757 Author/Creator: Madison, James, 1751-1836 Place Written: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Type: Autograph letter signed Date: 1782/08/06 Pagination: 1 p. : docket Height: 24.8 cm, Width: 19.7 cm Order a Copy
Awaiting news of peace talks and personal advice regarding impossibility of selling a slave. Madison notes that while European newspapers "teem with paragraphs relative to pacific negotiations" but past British policy "should always restrain our hopes of peace from circumscribing our preparations for war." In July 1782 the Earl of Sherlburne took over the ministry and in early August he agreed to enter formal negotiations with the Americans. Madison also talks about selling a slave: "Upon recollection, it will be impossible to dispose of the slave in this state[,] there being a legal institution ag[ain]st it. Even his coming into [Philadelphia] will operate as a manumission, unless the case of runaway ... [is] provided...." Pendleton had earlier asked Madison's help in helping locate a runaway slave of Pendleton's nephew and, if found, to either lodge him in jail or sell him for 100 pounds or more. See Madison Papers 5: 27 and EP's letter to JM 29 July 1782 (4: 442-3). Madison also is responding here to the unexpected Pennsylvania abolition act of 1780, which suddenly raised deep legal issues of comity.
Citation Guidelines for Online Resources
The copyright law of the United States (title 17, United States Code) governs the making of photocopies or other reproductions of copyrighted material. Under certain conditions specified in the law, libraries and archives are authorized to furnish a photocopy or other reproduction. One of these specific conditions is that the photocopy or reproduction is not to be “used for any purpose other than private study, scholarship, or research.” If a user makes a request for, or later uses, a photocopy or reproduction for purposes in excess of “fair use,” that user may be liable for copyright infringement. This institution reserves the right to refuse to accept a copying order if, in its judgment, fulfillment of the order would involve violation of copyright law.