John Quincy Adams, later President of the United States, acted as Chief Plenipotentiary of the American delegation negotiating the Treaty of Ghent, and ending the War of 1812. Levett Harris was the American Consul (later the Charge d'Affaires) in Russia at this time. Adams's letters containing observations on the course of the negotiations, mediated by the Emperor Alexander, to Levett Harris are included in this collection. Harris, when later seeking appointment as Minister to Russia, was accused of having used his previous office corruptly for his personal gain. The collection also includes a statement in Harris' hand of his defense against this charge.
W. D. Lewis, an American merchant residing in Russia during Harris' time there, returned to the U.S. in 1819 and made the accusation. S. F. Bemis describes the charge in his J. Q. Adams and the Foundations of American Foreign Policy : "The American Consul at St. Petersburg, Levett Harris, made a fortune . . . by clearing doubtful...(see more)