Financier And The Finances Of The American Revolution. Volume I

P R E F A C E . THIS book contains a biography of ROBEI MTO RRIS and a financial history of the period of the American Revolution. Neither of these subjects has heretofore been made the object of thorough investigation. Early in this century, two biographies of hlorris were written, - one by Mease, the other by CValn and numerous short sketches of his career have since been published which simply rcpeat the coiltents of those two. The financial history of the Revolution is vcry obscure. TIic most important records of the financial administration bctmeen 1775 and 1781 are lost. Thc finances of the Continental Congress had no proper boundary. In one point of view, they seem ncver to have had any finances in another, the whole administration was financial. Ncither branch of the subjcct can be considered as ex-Eiaustively treated in thc present work. In the Inventory of Articles found in possession of Robert Morris, in his room, debtors apartment, Saturday, August rst, 1801, which is printed with the Account of his Property, is an enumeration showing that he had an enormor s inass of papers, letters, account-books, etc., covcring his life and business from I 775 to 1800. There were twenty-five lettcr iv Preface. books. These books and papers seer11 to have been scattercd but it is probable that a great many of them may still bc in existence. Rlorris kept a diary during his scr vice as Superintendent of Finance. It was used by Sparks, who published brief extracts from it. From the dcscril-tion of it by liomcs, it must bc cxtrcrncly intcrcsting and valuable. Sparks must have neglected his opportuility to scct11-C OSSCSS OI o I f it 2nd save it for thc prcsent owner, Gen. Ilieredith Rcad, oflaris, says that he bougllt it just in time to save it from thc paper-mill. As between my reader and myscli, I am callcd upoti to say that I made every possible effort to obtain the use of it for the prcscnt worlr, but that it ivas 11ot consistent with Gcncral Keads vieirs to grant niy rcquest. It will rcrnain for myself or another, at some fi ture time, to fill thc gaps and correct the errors which are now unavoidablc. My book will, I hope, show that it is worth while that this should bc done. I3csidcs searching the printcd material for information about hlorriss career, I llavc uscd all the unprintcd papcrs I could obtain. Of thesc, the most valuable are tllc col lection of Mr. G. L. Ford, thc Drcer Collection in the Library of the Pennsylvania Iiistorical Society, other letters and papers in the same library, and the rllanuscripts in the State Department. The Ford and Drecr Collections fit into cach other for the years 1795-1799 Thc fornler also contains a nun ber of letters written in 1785-1787, chicfly on co nnlercial affairs, but which 11al. e been very useful to mc, especially for Chapter XXV. Nr. Ford pllt thcnl at my disposal with a generosity for which I rnakc the warmest acktlorvlcdgmcnt. As to the other branch of the subject, the financial his tory of the Revolution, I have only reduced into accessible form the material vhichis nearest at hand. The careless statements and corltradictions of the authorities produce doubts and perplexities, which can only be finally resolved by an appeal to original authorities, which are very inaccessible. Much more rcrriains to be done, therefore, in the study of that subject, before we sball really have at our disposal the amount ofknorvledgc which may eve11 now bc recovcred...