Marshall, John (1755-1835) to Rufus King
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Gilder Lehrman Collection #: GLC02539 Author/Creator: Marshall, John (1755-1835) Place Written: Washington, D. C. Type: Autograph letter signed Date: 20 September 1800 Pagination: 31 p. : address : docket ; 25.3 x 20.5 cm. Order a Copy
Marshall, Secretary of State, writes to King, Minister Plenipotentiary of the United States in England. Discusses violations of Jay's Treaty (concluded in 1794 between the United States and Great Britain), including impressment, debts, and seizure of goods during the Napoleonic Wars. States that "the aggressions, sometimes of one, & sometimes of another belligerent power, have forced us to contemplate, & to prepare for war, as a probably event." Declares that "The impressment of our seamen is an injury of very serious magnitude, which deeply affects the feelings & the honor of the nation."
The United States therefore require positively, that their seamen who are not British subjects, whether born in America, shall be exempt from impressments. The case of British subjects, whether naturalized or not, is more questionable; but the right even to impress them is denied.
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