Converted to EAD3 : Encoded Archival Description (EAD), Version 3 : Release: 1.1.1 : Release Date: 2019-12-16. Validating against latest version of schema.
Contact information: http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.mss/mss.contact
Catalog Record: https://lccn.loc.gov/mm77039891
Collection material in English
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the LC Catalog. They are grouped by name of person or organization, by subject or location, and by occupation and listed alphabetically.
The papers of William Short, secretary to Thomas Jefferson, diplomat, and landowner, were purchased by the Library of Congress in 1898, 1910, and 1944.
The William Short Papers were processed and prepared for microfilming in 1977. The first two purchases were interfiled and bound chronologically in fifty-two volumes. The finding aid was revised in 2009.
A related collection of Short papers was acquired at the time of the 1944 purchase and is part of the Short-Harrison-Symmes Families collection in the Manuscript Division of the Library.
The status of copyright in the unpublished writings of William Short is governed by the Copyright Law of the United States (Title 17, U.S.C.).
The papers of William Short are open to research. Researchers are advised to contact the Manuscript Reading Room prior to visiting. Many collections are stored off-site and advance notice is needed to retrieve these items for research use.
A microfilm edition of these papers is available on thirty-two reels. Consult a reference librarian in the Manuscript Division concerning availability for purchase or interlibrary loan. To promote preservation of the originals, researchers are required to consult the microfilm edition.
Researchers wishing to cite this collection should include the following information: Container number, William Short Papers, Manuscript Division, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.
The papers of William Short (1759-1849) span the years 1778-1853. They include a large amount of material dated between 1785 and 1795, the years of Short’s diplomatic service in western Europe, as well as extensive documentation of his business activities after 1810. His papers consist chiefly of letters received, but there are also some copies of letters sent, 1785-1798, as well as various financial papers, including statements, receipts, checkbooks, and ledgers. Much of his correspondence while he was in Europe is with American diplomatic and political figures. There are also letters during this period from various European officials, chiefly in French or Spanish. The collection is organized in Bound Correspondence and Other Papers , Correspondence , Business Papers , Miscellany , and Oversize series.
In 1790 Alexander Hamilton entrusted Short with the negotiation and management of European loans to fund the public debt of the United States, and the two men conducted an extensive correspondence on the subject. Other topics in Short’s correspondence during his European years are conditions in Virginia under the Articles of Confederation, the events of the French Revolution, and incidents pertaining to American diplomatic relations with France and Spain. Short’s correspondence reveals the obstacles to the conduct of foreign relations resulting from the vagaries of trans-Atlantic communication in that era. While residing in Paris following his diplomatic service, and again following his abortive mission to Russia (the Senate refused to confirm the nomination of any minister to Saint Petersburg), Short established a wide circle of foreign friends, with whom he conducted a correspondence for many years thereafter, chiefly in French.
After his return to the United States in 1810, Short successfully pursued a career in investments that resulted eventually in a personal fortune of over one million dollars. He speculated in land in Ohio, Kentucky, and western New York and Virginia; he bought stock in canals, railroads, and banks; he held mortgages and loaned large sums at interest. His Dutch bankers speculated in American bonds on his account. These varied business activities required an extensive correspondence with his land agents (including his nephew, John Cleves Short), bankers, stockbrokers, and debtors. In addition to these letters, his business papers also include bills, accounts, financial statements, checkbooks, and ledgers. Short’s business papers provide considerable insight into the business practices and problems of an investor in the first half of the nineteenth century. They also include some information on Short’s moral and financial support of the program of the American Colonization Society.
A significant number of Short’s papers consist of his correspondence with Thomas Jefferson, who was, variously, his employer, adviser, and friend. Other correspondents of note include John Adams, James Madison, James Monroe (a classmate at William and Mary), Alexander Hamilton, Albert Gallatin, Don Diego de Gardoqui, Manuel de Godoy, the marquis de Lafayette, Alexis de Tocqueville, Michel-Guillaume St. Jean de Crévecoeur, Thomas Paine, William Carmichael, William Grayson, Fulwar Skipwith (his nephew), Gouverneur Morris, John Rutledge, Bushrod Washington, Nicholas Trist, Robert Fulton, Edmund Randolph, Thomas Pinckney, Issac Hull, and two Virginia friends, William Nelson and Merit Robinson. There are also a few letters from his nephew, Charles W. Short, a prominent botanist, and other members of his family.
This collection is arranged in five series:
Available on microfilm. Shelf no. 17,058
Official and general correspondence in bound volumes, including some copies of letters sent, and business papers and related material.
Arranged chronologically.
Official, general, business, and family correspondence.
Arranged chronologically.
Bills, accounts, receipts, and other financial papers. Arranged chronologically, followed by bankbooks, checkbooks, and ledgers
Arranged chronologically, followed by bankbooks, checkbooks, and ledgers
Short’s catalog of Thomas Jefferson’s library, list of Short’s library, and extracts of letters and other miscellany.
Arranged by type of material, followed by an oversize box containing Short’s college diploma, his diplomatic commissions, and a letter.
A report, maps, diplomas, diplomatic commission, and letter from Edward Everett.
Arranged and described according to the series, container, or folder from which the items were removed.
Oversize items were filmed in the location from which they were removed.