This is part of a series, written by Jim Zeender, devoted to letters written by the Founding Fathers in their own words and often in their own hand. Jim is the Senior Registrar in the Exhibits Division. “It is impossible to increase taxes, disastrous to keep on borrowing, and inadequate to merely to cut expense.” This … Continue reading Jefferson in Paris: The Constitution, Part I
This is part of a series, written by Jim Zeender, devoted to letters written by the Founding Fathers in their own words and often in their own hand. Jim is a senior registrar in Exhibits. Shortly after the diplomatic break between John Adams and Count de Vergennes, Adams left for Amsterdam. Once there, he worked … Continue reading In their own words: Franklin, Adams, and Vergennes make peace (IId)
In the last post, we brought the Adams-Vergennes story up to their abrupt break in late July 1780. Adams departed for the Netherlands, where he hoped to raise additional funds for the United States war effort and make the United States less dependent on France. Meanwhile, Vergennes appealed to Franklin and through Franklin to Congress, … Continue reading In their own words: Adams, Franklin, and Vergennes (part IIc)
John Adams arrived in Paris arrived to find Benjamin Franklin being showered with attention (Ben Franklin at the Court of Versailles, ARC 518217) This is part of a series, written by Jim Zeender, devoted to letters written by the Founding Fathers in their own words and often in their own hand. Jim is a senior … Continue reading In their own words: Franklin, Adams, and Vergennes (part IIb)
This post is part of a series, written by Jim Zeender, devoted to letters written by the Founding Fathers in their own words and often in their own hand. Jim is a senior registrar in Exhibits. On July 14, 1789, the U.S. Ambassador to France, Thomas Jefferson, was a witness to the events of a … Continue reading In their own words: Thomas Jefferson and the Storming of the Bastille
Americans love Paris. They even ended the Revolutionary War by writing and signing the Treaty of Paris in that city on September 3, 1783. War brought other Americans to Paris. Almost 150 years later, it was home to Gertrude Stein, Ezra Pound, James Joyce, and Ernest Hemingway. Hemingway's experience in Paris was colored by war. He arrived … Continue reading Hemingway, JFK! What else do I have to say?!
