Morris, Robert (1734-1806) to Sylvanus Bourne
High-resolution images are available to schools and libraries via subscription to American History, 1493-1943. Check to see if your school or library already has a subscription. Or click here for more information. You may also order a pdf of the image from us here.
Gilder Lehrman Collection #: GLC01773 Author/Creator: Morris, Robert (1734-1806) Place Written: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Type: Autograph letter signed Date: 30 March 1795 Pagination: 9 p. ; 24 x 18 cm. Order a Copy
Delineates his plan to make a fortune selling, settling, and improving six million acres of American frontier land to be purchased by men and women in America and Europe seeking a new place to settle. Stresses the amount of money that shareholders can make by investing in this opportunity. Notes that "Every State in the Union is filling up faster than the most knowing people suppose." Addressed to Bourne in Amsterdam.
Signer of the U.S. Constitution.
Morris formed the North American Land Company in 1795 but the company collapsed under heavy land speculations and Morris was put in debtors' jail. Bourne was commissioned vice-consul to the Netherlands in 1794.
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.