Details
MADISON, JAMES, 1751-1836, President. Letter signed ("James Madison") as President, TO NAPOLEON I ("His Imperial amd Royal Majesty, the Emperor of the French, King of Italy and Protector of the Confederation of the Rhine"), Countersigned by Secretary of State Robert Smith, Washington, D.C., 15 March 1809. 1 page, large folio, 400 x 260mm. (15 1/4 x 10 1/4 in.), four words slightly smudged, central fold strenghthened from verso, tiny perforations at corners.
PRESIDENT MADISON SENDS CONGRATULATIONS TO NAPOLEON
A letter of state written in a bold calligraphic hand and dated just eleven days after Madison's inauguration. The new President congratulates Napoleon on the marriage of his son: "I have received your Imperial Royal Majesty's Letter of the 7th February announcing the marriage of your much loved son the Prince Eugene Napoleon and the Princess Auguste Amelie of Bavaria which was celebrated at Munich on the 14th of the preceding January...[W]e pray your Majesty to receive our cordial congratulations on this occasion, which we fervently hope may promote both the happiness of Your Majesty and Your Imperial family; and...we pray god to have you, Great and Good Friend, always in his holy keeping..."
Madison had been secretary of state under Jefferson when Napoleon became Emperor, and had worked with Jefferson to initiate and complete the complex diplomacy by which the Louisiana Purchase was accomplished in 1803. He had strongly supported Jefferson's Embargo Act, which imposed commercial sanctions against France and Great Britain (with limited success) for failing to respect the neutrality of American merchant vessels. In his Inaugural Address, delivered on March 4, he had reiterated America's neutrality with respect to the warring nations of Europe.
PRESIDENT MADISON SENDS CONGRATULATIONS TO NAPOLEON
A letter of state written in a bold calligraphic hand and dated just eleven days after Madison's inauguration. The new President congratulates Napoleon on the marriage of his son: "I have received your Imperial Royal Majesty's Letter of the 7th February announcing the marriage of your much loved son the Prince Eugene Napoleon and the Princess Auguste Amelie of Bavaria which was celebrated at Munich on the 14th of the preceding January...[W]e pray your Majesty to receive our cordial congratulations on this occasion, which we fervently hope may promote both the happiness of Your Majesty and Your Imperial family; and...we pray god to have you, Great and Good Friend, always in his holy keeping..."
Madison had been secretary of state under Jefferson when Napoleon became Emperor, and had worked with Jefferson to initiate and complete the complex diplomacy by which the Louisiana Purchase was accomplished in 1803. He had strongly supported Jefferson's Embargo Act, which imposed commercial sanctions against France and Great Britain (with limited success) for failing to respect the neutrality of American merchant vessels. In his Inaugural Address, delivered on March 4, he had reiterated America's neutrality with respect to the warring nations of Europe.