To Thomas Jefferson from James Madison, 4 December 1803
From James Madison
[4 Dec. 1803]
A few alterations are suggested on the supposition that it may be best to present the transaction, as a disavowal of war &1 a conformation of peace, rather than as a pacification which might involve the necessary idea of Treaty—I take for granted that Mr Smith will have an oppy. of expressing his opinion as to the graduation of praise to the Officers—
As so many names are mentioned, & it is known that Lear was concerned in the affair, & may not be known that he was unofficially there—might it not be well to throw in a clause alluding to his presence, & the aid of his Zealous & judicious counsels—This however for consideration.
RC (DLC); undated; in Madison’s hand; addressed: “The President”; endorsed by TJ as a letter of 4 Dec. 1803 received from the State Department on the same day and “Marocco message of Dec. 5. 03.” Recorded in SJL as an undated letter received from the State Department on 4 Dec. 1803 with notation “Marocco message.”
alterations are suggested: Madison’s suggestions related to a draft version, no longer extant, of TJ’s message to both houses of Congress of 5 Dec.; see also Robert Smith’s comments, below at 4 Dec.
conformation of peace: Captain John Rodgers of the frigate New York arrived in Washington on 2 Dec., bringing news of the restoration of peace between the United States and Morocco (Baltimore Federal Gazette, 5 Dec. 1803; National Intelligencer, 5 Dec. 1803). The papers he carried presumably included Mawlay Sulayman’s letter to TJ of 11 Oct. and dispatches to James Madison from James Simpson of 15 and 17 Oct., Edward Preble of 15 Oct., and Tobias Lear of 18 Oct. (, Sec. of State Ser., 5:532-4, 536-9, 540-9). In addition, Rodgers probably carried Preble’s lengthy report to Robert Smith, dated 5 to 17 Oct., providing a comprehensive account of the negotiations with Sulayman as well as U.S. naval activities at Tangier, Gibraltar, and along the Moroccan coast (RC in DLC; , 3:139-43). For details on the negotiations and reaffirmation of peace, see Vol. 41:509-10n. TJ’s papers also contain a list captioned “Naval force of Tunis furnished by Capt Rogers. 1803.” As captain of the John Adams, Rodgers had visited Tunis in late February 1803 as part of an unsuccessful negotiation with the bey. At the principal Tunisian naval base at Porto Farina, Rodgers identified a new 32-gun frigate “about the size of the John Adams”; six xebecs of 18 to 24 guns; two polacre-rigged ships of 16 guns; six galleys armed with two guns in the bow and swivels; two gunboats; and one “Frigate built ship pierced for 30. guns, but not capable of being made seaworthy.” At La Goulette, he counted 20 to 25 gunboats. In addition, Rodgers noted that Tunis also had three xebecs and two galleys at sea (MS in DLC: TJ Papers, 232:41537, undated, entirely in TJ’s hand; John H. Schroeder, Commodore John Rodgers: Paragon of the Early American Navy [Gainesville, Fla., 2006], 32; Kenneth J. Perkins, Historical Dictionary of Tunisia [Metuchen, N.J., 1989], 55).
Tobias lear, the recently appointed American consul general at Algiers, participated only unofficially in the Morocco negotiations, since his supervisory authority over American consuls in North Africa extended only to those at Tunis and Tripoli (Vol. 41:50, 508-10).
1. Preceding four words and ampersand interlined.