Letters to the Earl of Shelburne, 1782-1783.

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Letters to the Earl of Shelburne, 1782-1783.

Manuscript copies of letters from Benjamin Vaughan to William Petty, the Earl of Shelburne, written from 31 July 1782 - 25 Jan. 1783. The letters were written to Shelburne, the prime minister of England, from Paris where Vaughan was sent to help negotiate peace at the end of the American Revolution. The letters primarily concern Vaughan's meetings with the American Commissioners in Paris, John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, and John Jay. Some of the letters are marked for publication.

1 narrow box.

Information

SNAC Resource ID: 7338984

Massachusetts Historical Society

Related Entities

There are 5 Entities related to this resource.

Jay, John, 1745-1829

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6hj7b4k (person)

John Jay (December 12, 1745 – May 17, 1829) was an American statesman, patriot, diplomat, Founding Father, abolitionist, negotiator, and signatory of the Treaty of Paris of 1783. He served as the second governor of New York and the first chief justice of the United States. He directed U.S. foreign policy for much of the 1780s and was an important leader of the Federalist Party after the ratification of the United States Constitution in 1788. Jay was born into a wealthy family of merchants and...

Franklin, Benjamin, 1706-1790

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6bs9j71 (person)

Benjamin Franklin FRS FRSA FRSE (January 17, 1706 [O.S. January 6, 1706] – April 17, 1790) was an American polymath who was active as a writer, scientist, inventor, statesman, diplomat, printer, publisher and political philosopher. Among the leading intellectuals of his time, Franklin was one of the Founding Fathers of the United States, a drafter and signer of the United States Declaration of Independence, and the first United States postmaster general. As a scientist, he was a major figure in ...

Shelburne, William Petty Fitzmaurice, 2nd Earl, 1737-1805

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6sv8dw7 (person)

British politician. Born William Fitzmaurice, assumed surname Petty in 1751, succeeded his father as Earl of Shelburne 1761, created Marquis of Lansdowne 1784. Worked in the House of Lords to repeal the Stamp Act and continued to pursue a conciliatory policy toward the American colonies, though opposed to their independence. He became prime minister in 1782, directed peace negotiations with the United States, France, and Spain, and resigned from office shortly thereafter. ...

Adams, John, 1735-1826

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w61h1b9v (person)

John Adams (1735-1826) was the second president of the United States, born in Braintree (now Quincy), Massachusetts. He served as defense counsel for British soldiers accused of Boston Massacre in 1770; as delegate to Continental Congress from 1774 to 1778; as member of committee charged with drafting Declaration of Independence in 1776; as congressional commissioner to France from 1778 to 1779; as minister to United Provinces in 1780; and negotiated a loan from Dutch bankers in 1782. Adams join...

Vaughan, Benjamin, 1751-1835

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w61h1b7z (person)

Benjamin Vaughan lived through all the vicissitudes of an enlightened life during the age of revolution. Born in Jamaica to Samuel Vaughan, a merchant and planter, and Sarah Hallowell, a native Bostonian, Vaughan was raised in London and educated at Cambridge and Lincoln's Inn. At university, he fell in with the coterie of Joseph Priestley, Benjamin Franklin, Jeremy Bentham, and William Petty, the Earl of Shelburne, and imbibed many of their unorthodox, perhaps radical political, s...