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| Field name | Value |
|---|---|
| Collection Reference Number | GLC03587.22 |
| From Archive Folder | Collection of letters to John Cripps, General Gadsden's Secretary |
| Title | James Gadsden to John Cripps |
| Date | 1 November 1856 |
| Author | Gadsden, James (1788-1858) |
| Recipient | Cripps, John S. |
| Document Type | Correspondence |
| Content Description | Upset with his Secretary because he has not returned to Mexico to surrender their posts. Adds that Mrs. Monk (Cripps' mother) is beside herself and that he has offered to be her protector in Mexico and will not abandon her. Writes that he has had to deal with his personal business on his own and reports having to wrestle his furniture away from Mr. Baranda, who Gadsden claims was trying to rob him. Discusses the process of surrendering documents and the sale of his possessions. Discusses learning of his wife's death on 8 October, just after he had sent her a letter describing how liberating it was to be free of government work. Actual place written is illegible. Imprint in upper left corner reads "[illegible] Mayor, MGB, en Mexico." |
| Subjects | Government and Civics Politics Diplomacy Latin and South America Global History and Civics Women's History Finance Home Furnishings Death Marriage American Statesmen |
| People | Gadsden, James (1788-1858) Cripps, John S. (fl. 1820-1875) |
| Place written | Mexico |
| Theme | Government & Politics; The Mexican War |
| Sub-collection | The Gilder Lehrman Collection, 1493-1859 |
| Additional Information | Gadsden was a railroad promoter and advocated a Southern rail system, the purpose of which would be to control the trade of the South and the West, thereby freeing those regions from their dependency on the North. To further this end he promoted Southern commercial conventions, and at a convention in 1845 he boldly urged the construction of a railroad to the Pacific. In 1853, when Jefferson Davis was Secretary of War in Pierce's cabinet, Gadsden was appointed minister to Mexico to negotiate for territory along the border. The result was the Gadsden Purchase. He was recalled in 1856 for exceeding his instructions. Cripps was General Gadsden's Secretary and a sawyer by profession. |
| Copyright | The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History |
| Module | Settlement, Commerce, Revolution and Reform: 1493-1859 |