Robert R. Livingston Letter cover

Robert Livingston, U. S. Minister to France, writing from Paris at midnight to Secretary of State, James Madison in Washington. Livingston reports on his attempts to negotiate a purchase of New Orleans and its environs from the French government, his frustration with Talleyrand's evasions, and on the significant private conversation he had just had with finance minister Barbé-Marbois, who confirmed the willingness of Napoleon Bonaparte, First Consul of France, to sell not only New Orleans, but the entire Louisiana territory to the United States. Livingston acknowledges that such a purchase far exceeds his instructions, but proceeds to argue its merits and informs Madison that he (Livingston) and James Monroe will see the First Consul later that morning to present an opening offer. Portions of the letter are written in a numeric code, and have been decoded in another hand.