As America celebrates its 249th birthday on July 4, a unique piece of American history from one of the founding fathers will hit the auction block.
This is the first time the letter has been made available for purchase since 1982.
Written on Dec. 31, 1783, and addressed to Benjamin Harrison, then the governor of Virginia and a fellow signer of the Declaration of Independence, the letter addresses a number of topics. Jefferson muses on the spread of democracy across the world and the political fate of the Treaty of Paris, which formally ended the war between the U.S. and Great Britain.
Jefferson also expresses concerns that the Treaty of Paris might not be ratified by Congress in time for it to be sent back to Britain and made official.
“We have yet but seven states, and no more certain prospects of nine than at any time heretofore. We hope that the letters sent to the absent states will bring them forward,” he writes.
(Harrison, in a follow-up note that is not part of the auction, would write back to calm his fears that the treaty would pass.)
“This letter speaks to us today on many levels,” said Nathan Raab, president of the Raab Collection and author of The Hunt for History. “We can see the power and inspiration of Jefferson’s pen, as he can begin to reflect on the success of his work and the American Revolution and witness democratic ideals spreading worldwide.”
