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Manuscript/Mixed Material Letter, James Madison to Thomas Jefferson, partially written in cipher with translation by Jefferson, 23 May 1789.

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About this Item

Title

  • Letter, James Madison to Thomas Jefferson, partially written in cipher with translation by Jefferson, 23 May 1789.

Created / Published

  • 23 May 1789

Headings

  • -  Jefferson, Thomas (1743-1826)
  • -  Presidents
  • -  Congress
  • -  Legislators
  • -  Ciphers
  • -  Madison, James (1751-1836)
  • -  Manuscripts

Genre

  • Manuscripts

Notes

  • -  Reproduction number: A64 (color slide; page 1)
  • -  This letter of 23 May 1789 was written by James Madison (1751-1836), a member of the first Congress and later the fourth president of the United States, to Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826), also a future president who was then minister to France. Partially written in a code or cipher, which Jefferson had sent Madison on 11 May 1785, the decoded translation was interlined by Jefferson. In his letter, Madison reported on the opening of the new federal government and was particularly critical of efforts in the Senate to set an aristocratic tone in the legislature. Madison feared that such an approach would damage the new republican government. The Congress quickly moved on to more substantive issues, such as establishing the administrative departments and the judiciary.

Source Collection

  • James Madison Papers

Repository

  • Manuscript Division

Online Format

  • pdf
  • image

IIIF Presentation Manifest

Rights & Access

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Cite This Item

Citations are generated automatically from bibliographic data as a convenience, and may not be complete or accurate.

Chicago citation style:

Letter, James Madison to Thomas Jefferson, partially written in cipher with translation by Jefferson, 23 May. 23 May, 1789. Manuscript/Mixed Material. https://aj.sunback.homes/item/mcc.036/.

APA citation style:

(1789) Letter, James Madison to Thomas Jefferson, partially written in cipher with translation by Jefferson, 23 May. 23 May. [Manuscript/Mixed Material] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://aj.sunback.homes/item/mcc.036/.

MLA citation style:

Letter, James Madison to Thomas Jefferson, partially written in cipher with translation by Jefferson, 23 May. 23 May, 1789. Manuscript/Mixed Material. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <aj.sunback.homes/item/mcc.036/>.