Lee’s note with its enclosure of the moniteur was likely the first correspondence concerning the imperial government of france to reach the Jefferson administration. The issue of 19 May printed the proclamation of Napoleon Bonaparte as emperor, which had occurred the previous day. The issue of 20 May printed the constitution for the new government. Divided into 16 sections or “titres,” the document did not alter many of the state structures that had governed France under the Consulate. Other than styling Napoleon the Emperor of the French, its most significant change was to create a line of succession, with Joseph and Louis Bonaparte declared first and second in line in the event that their brother did not have a legitimate son. It also paved the way for the reinstitution of a nobility and placed reorganized police institutions under greater central control. TJ had anticipated the move and doubtless read news of it before receiving Lee’s communication. A preliminary decision to have Bonaparte proclaimed emperor began appearing in American newspapers early in July, and the official change was reported near the end of that month (Georges Lefebvre, Napoleon, from 18 Brumaire to Tilsit, 1799-1807, trans. Henry F. Stockhold [New York, 1969], 182-5; Philip Dwyer, Citizen Emperor: Napoleon in Power [London, 2013], 124-8, 140-1; New Bedford Columbian Courier, 6 July; National Intelligencer, 25 July; New-York Evening Post, 26 and 28 July; Vol. 38:19).