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LS as secretary of state, signed “Th: Jefferson,” one page, 8 x 10, May 28, 1790. Addressed from New York, a letter to Thomas Mifflin, “The President of Pennsylvania,” in full: “I have the honor to send you herein inclosed, two copies duly authenticated of the Act for the Government of the territory of the United States south of the River Ohio; also of the Act to continue in force the Act passed at the last session of Congress entitled ‘An Act to Regulate Processes in the Courts of the United States;’ Also of the act to provide for mitigating or remitting the forfeitures and penalties accruing under the revenue Laws in certain cases therein mentioned; also of the Act to prescribe the mode in which the public Acts, Records, and Judicial proceedings in each state shall be authenticated, so as to take effect in every other state; and of being with sentiments of the most perfect respect.” In fine condition, with a few small expert professional repairs.
A historically fascinating letter from Jefferson two months into his role as the nation’s original secretary of state. Sent from New York City, then the U.S. capital, the letter forwards four pieces of legislation, the first of which mentions “Territory of the United States South of the Ohio River,” a region that would ultimately become the state of Tennessee (1796). Passed by Congress two days earlier on May 26, 1790, the Southwest Ordinance provided a government framework for the territory south of the Ohio River, which included present-day Tennessee. Similar to that of the Northwest Ordinance of 1787, the act created a territorial governor, a secretary, and three judges to administer the territory, and it laid out a process for the eventual admission of new states from the territory. Unlike the Northwest Ordinance, the Southwest Ordinance allowed slavery to continue in the territory.
Jefferson letters from New York are not common, given the brevity of his stay in the first Federal capital, which lasted only from his arrival in March 1790 until he departed for Monticello in September. He lived in three different locations, complaining to his daughter Martha in words that New Yorkers down the ages could echo: ‘I find it difficult to procure a tolerable house here.’ He finally settled at 57 Maiden Lane, where he entertained Alexander Hamilton in June, a month after writing this letter. Out of that famous dinner emerged the deal that would become the Residence Act of 1790, which was signed into law by President George Washington on July 16, 1790, and provided for a national capital and permanent seat of government to be established at a site along the Potomac River.
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