[Maclure, William (comp)]:

TO THE PEOPLE OF THE UNITED STATES

      Philadelphia. 1807.. [2],2,[1],[4],[9]-145pp. including tables on ten folding leaves. In English and French. Modern half calf and marbled boards. Occasional foxing, else near fine. A comprehensive collection of tables, correspondence, and other documents pursuant to the Convention of April 1803 between France and the United States. The 1803 Convention, which is printed in the present volume, was the last of the three agreements of the Louisiana Purchase signed by Robert Livingston, James Monroe, and Barbe Marbois on April 30, 1803. Unlike the first two documents, which dealt explicitly with the cession of and payment for Louisiana, this convention follows upon the earlier Convention of 1800, providing for the compensation of American citizens whose ships and goods were seized by France during the Quasi-War of 1798-1800. The work details Americans claims as documented by a board of commissioners appointed in 1803 and follows their work through 1804. The introductory note printed on the title verso suggests some controversy involved in the process, or at least the return of tensions with France: "To satisfy rational enquiry - prevent misrepresentation and shew how far the late American Commissioners at Paris endeavored to execute what they considered their duties under the Convention of April 1803; the following statement of their transactions is respectfully submitted to an enlightened and discriminating Public without any observations or deductions, by A Member of the late Board." By 1807, when the volume was published, France had once again begun, along with the British, to challenge American neutrality on the seas with various abuses, helping lead to the Embargo Act of that year. Sabin and Shaw and Shoemaker attribute the compilation to William Maclure (1763-1840), the important Scottish-born geologist and co- founder of New Harmony, who served on the 1803 commission to Paris. SABIN 43556, 97944. SHAW & SHOEMAKER 12968.