The Papers of William Short

The Papers of William Short is a born-digital documentary edition focusing on William Short (1759-1849), who was a knowledgeable and successful U.S. fiscal agent and diplomat in Europe, an enterprising businessman and philanthropist, and an early advocate of alternatives to slavery in the United States. This publication aims to bring to light this native Virginian, who lived 17 years in Europe and then almost half a century in Philadelphia, and who throughout his life, showed his capability to navigate confidently and with vision the choppy waters of an Atlantic world in full convulsion and reconfiguration, as well as an early United States in transformation and construction.

Rembrandt Peale (American, 1778–1860), Portrait of William Short (1759–1849), 1806, oil on canvas, Muscarelle Museum of Art at the College of William & Mary; Gift of Mary Churchill Short, Fanny Short Butler, and William Short.

Short Papers staff collected the major part of his papers and correspondence: the Université Paris Est-Créteil (UPEC) financed the purchase of the complete microfilmed collection of the Short Papers held in the Manuscript Division of the Library of Congress (LOC), the Association française d’études américaines funded a two-month research grant at the LOC to collect Short correspondence in other collections, and thanks to a fellowship from the International Center for Jefferson Studies at Monticello, we also gathered items there. In addition, we have obtained all the Short correspondence held in the Archivo histórico nacional (Madrid), the Archivo de Indias (Sevilla), the Archives diplomatiques (Paris), and the Nationaal Archief (The Hague). In the United States, we have collected documents from the Southern Historical Collection at the University of North Carolina, the College of William and Mary Libraries, as well as from the American Philosophical Society, the Historical Society of Pennsylvania, the Library Company of Philadelphia, and the Rosenbach Museum, the Small Library at University of Virginia, and the Filson Historical Society in Louisville, Ky. The corpus of the William Short papers in possession of the project amounts to approximately 12,000 documents spanning the years 1782 to 1853. This ten-year project, which started in fall 2022, will complete the full editorial treatment and publication of approximately 3,000 documents and the calendaring of the other 9,000. The edition will comprise the transcriptions of Short’s incoming and outgoing correspondence, and the translations to English of his letters in French and Spanish.

William Short was part of that second generation of early national Americans, who contributed actively to the shaping and development of the fledging American Union, as it passionately debated the future of its politics, economy, territory, and society. Hence, by making Short’s papers available to scholars and the general public, this digital publication contributes to re-evaluating key topics in the history of international relations, diplomacy, economy, politics, and finances of the late 18th century United States and Europe, notably France. It likewise highlights Short’s correspondence about slavery, colonization, and a proposed Black tenancy project. Finally, Short’s letter exchanges with his business partners, and his business papers, are untapped resources for early 19th century U.S. history of business, communications, finances, and entrepreneurship in the Early American Republic, in particular from 1810 through to 1848. In sum, Short’s long and active life makes him a key observer and, above all, a deeply involved actor of those transformative years.

The Papers of William Short is hosted by the Institute for Southern Studies at the University of South Carolina, sponsored by the Université Paris Est-Créteil (France) and funded by the National Historical Publications and Records Commission. The project has partnered with the Center for Digital Editing at the University of Virginia.

College of Arts and Sciences

The Papers of William Short

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