BLCUNT PAPERS
1783-1834 •
January 20, 1972j,
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' P.C. Mf. 3 (Appendix)
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23
The program was screened on December 7, 1971, -in
the Coolidge Auditorium of the Library of Congress
for an audience of several hundred. A reception,
sponsored by ihe American Society of Composers,
Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP) followed (LC Infor¬
mation Bulletin, December 16, 1971, pp. 709-711).
Library Receives Blount Papers
Mrs. R. Wicks Stephens II, of Sherman Oaks, Calif.,
• has given the Library a significant collection of manu¬
scripts pertaining to the career of William Blount
(1749-1800), -the political leader who played .an
; important role 'in the early history ; of Tennessee.
Blount served early in his career in both the North
: Carolina House of Commons and its Senate, as a dele¬
gate to Ihe Congress, and as a member of the Federal
Constitutional Convention. In 1789, North Carolina
ceded to the United States her claim to the trans-
montane lands, and in 1790, Blount was appointed
"Governor of the Territory South of the Ohio Rivbr,”
which carried with it appointment as Superintendent
of Indian Affairs for the Southern Department. Upon
the creation of the State of Tennessee in 1 796,
Blount served as its first Senator, but was expelled
from the Senate in 1797 on the charge of plotting to
aid the British to gain control of Spanish Florida and
Louisiana (the “Blount Conspiracy"). His impeach¬
ment was later dismissed and he returned to Tennes¬
see, serving in the State Senate as' speaker until his
death. j • ;
i The material in Mrs. Stephens’ gift falls into; four
j distinct categories. The first group Includes material
* dating from 1783 to 1790. and consists mainly of
payroll lists and muster rolls frtjn) North Carolina
militia units, documents which are illustrative 6f the
State’s attempts to control its western frontier and its
; Indian neighbors prior to the cession to the United
’.States.
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* ;
! The second and largest group includes material
relating to Blount’s dual appointment as territorial
Governor and as Superintendent
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of Indian Affairs
(1790-96) /such as military commissions, Blount’s
oaths of illegiance, correspondence, musjcf rolls,
accounts, and an extremely rarfc broadside of March’
12. 1792, 'announcing the action ,;of the North Caro-,
lina legislature in determining [he boundary lines
between that State and Virginia. The 26 items of;
correspondence include letters' from such figures as:
John Steele, Benjamin Hawkirjs,' and James 'Robcrt-
son-by far the most interesting of which; arc five ,
letters written between August 8, 1790 and April 24, i
1792. by;’ Senator Hawkins to Blount. Sincc'Hawkins i,
had acted as Commissioner to the Cherokees ( 1 785),
and had successfully concluded the treaty of Hope-
well, defining the boundaries of the Cherokees, his
straightforward advice to Governor Blount is perti¬
nent and pointed. The following is an excerpt from
his letter dated March 10, 1791:
... If you should but[?J attempt so enormous a grasp in
the present situation of affairs as ali the lands on the North
side of Ihe Tennessee, you will rouse the resentment of the
Cherokees, give serious alarm to the Chickasawa and just
cause of suspicion to the Creeks and Choctaws, a part of
these lands are considered as a sort of common property
among the hunters of alt these nations. - - - They will suppose
you arc favoring the great land companies who are aspiring to
the possession of all their lands, and why do lhis when in my
Opinion no possible advantage can result from it? . . . The
Indians I am sure have received your invitation to treat with
them, wilh gladness and will come confiding in the promises
of Ihe federal government to see justice done them, and they
will call upon you to remove all intruders on their
rights. -- - You are of the opinion that the Indians have been
generally the agressors since 1785. When you shall have
examined thoroughly this matter, I suspect ^ou will change
this opinion
The third group of material in Mrs. Stephens’ gift
dales from 1799 to 1823, and is mainly correspond¬
ence indicative of Blount’s continued political influ¬
ence in Tennessee after his expulsion from the
Federal Congress.
The fourth consists of four letters by Andrew Jack-
son. The two most important are Jackson’s letter to
Blount of February 29, 1796, and his letter to Pleas¬
ant M. Miller of June 9, 1823. The 1796 letter dates
from the early part of Jackson’s career and is, there¬
fore, very rare. The topics include land speculation,
the views of citizens of Tennessee on their Constitu¬
tional Convention, and a remarkable, comment on
permitting the judicial branch of government to
become involved in politics. The 1823 letter may be
viewed against the background of the Presidential
campaign of 1824 (Jackson had been picked as Ten¬
nessee’s choice as early as 1822), and Jackson’s elec¬
tion to the Senate in 1823, replacing Colonel John
Williams. In this letter, Jackson refuses td be recon¬
ciled with Williams, who had voted (o cehsure Jack-
son in 1819 following the invasion of Florida.
Jackson goes into detail with regard to /this matter,
and also provides his own view of the(' presidential
question. \ ,
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! The two remaining Jackson letters, both addressed
