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Preferred Citation

Samuel Taggart Letters, 1814-1817, Accession # 10964, Special Collections Dept., University of Virginia Library, Charlottesville, Va.

Acquisition Information

These letters were purchased from Bart Auerbach, Ltd. of New York, by the Library on June 21, 1990

Scope and Content Information

This collection consists of seven letters from Samuel Taggart (1754-1825), a Federalist member of the United States House of Representatives from Massachusetts, 1803-1817, and a Presbyterian minister, to the Rev. Jedidiah Morse (1761-1826), a Congregationalist minister, founder and editor of The Panoplist, "father of American geography," and author of a report concerning the conditions of the Indian nations (1822) made to the Secretary of War. The letters are chiefly concerned with Congressional activities and the War of 1812.

In a letter of March 5, 1814, Taggart discusses the loan bill which would allow the Federal Government to pay the war expenses for the coming year, "I think moneylenders have not the greatest encouragement as no adequate funds are pledged even for the payment of the interest." He mentions the desire of Congress for peace with Great Britain, "They have been frustrated in all their plans of the invasion of Canada. They have been happily disappointed in all their calculations on events in Europe. The idea of finally crushing the British nation is pretty much given up." He also discusses the difficulty in funding the war, the balance of trade going against the South which resented the flow of its money into Northern coffers, the pressure of the war taxes and embargo on the economy and the political ambitions of Samuel Dexter (1761- 1816) for the governorship of Massachusetts.

On October 20, 1814, he writes concerning the lack of progress towards peace by the Commissioners at Ghent, his anger against those who plunged the nation into an unnecessary and ruinous war without the preparation or the means to carry it out, refers to the report by Secretary of the Treasury George W. Campbell concerning the nation's bankruptcy and outlines the system of taxation presented to Congress by the chairman of the Ways and Means Committee, promises a copy of the instructions given to the American Commissioners in Ghent that are public knowledge, expresses his fears concerning a possible mutiny by the army, criticizes the awarding of medals for the costly victories at Plattsburg and Lake Champlain, describes the resolution to enpower the Library Committee to purchase Mr. Thomas Jefferson's library of about ten thousand volumes to replace those burnt by the British for about forty or fifty thousand dollars, includes a disparaging remark about President Madison's lack of courage, mentions the ruins of the city and the plundering of its buildings largely by criminal elements of Washington taking advantage of the confusion, and shares his amazement at the abandonment of Washington to the enemy without a fight.

His November 28, 1814, letter discusses the National Bank Bill, the Whiskey Tax Bill, and two conscription bills, one for the militia and one for the regular army, both of which he opposes due to the bankruptcy of the Treasury. He relates his anticipation and hopes for the meeting of the Hartford Convention called by the Massachusetts Legislature but states his belief that the Union is not yet in danger of dissolution. He also names several states that are predominantly Federalist.

Taggart describes the political successes of the Federalist Party in North Carolina, the impressive speech of Daniel Webster for the minority view of the [Giles ?] Conscript Militia Bill, and the "monstrous doctrine" of the Secretary of War James Monroe (December 14, 1814).

He notes the postponement of discussion concerning the Militia Bill by the Senate until March because of some of its more radical proposals, the ardent debate over the National Bank Bill, news of the British attack on New Orleans, and the epidemic among troops at Richmond and Norfolk (December 29, 1814).

He relates the opening of Congress, the move from the patent office to a new temporary headquarters for Congress until the Capitol building could be repaired, the excellence of Madison's [State of the Union] speech, described as the best presidental communication since Thomas Jefferson's Inaugural, various proposals to deal with the national debt, the mention of an Unitarian controversy, involving the writings of William Ellery Channing (1780-1842), Dr. [Samuel ?] Worcester (1770-1821), and Mr. Wardlaw (December 12, 1815).

The last letter, February 22, 1817, mentions several petitions from New Englanders in opposition to the transportation of mail on the Sabbath, the postponement of the repeal of internal taxes and a reduction in the army, news of religious revivals in various areas of the country, and his plans to retire from the House of Representatives.