NARA Collection fdr-nmmc — Collection fdr-nmmc

Original Exhibition Caption: This broadside announced that American shipowners had Congressional approval to act as privateers, with the legal authority to capture British vessels and cargoes and claim them as property. Measures like this were commonly employed by warring nations during the eighteenth century to weaken their enemies. John Jay (1745-1829) was a delegate to the First and Second Continental Congresses and held a number of important governmental and diplomatic posts during the early years of the American Republic. He served as the first Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court from 1789-1795.

Original Exhibition Caption: President Roosevelt prized this 1793 diplomatic commission, which bears the signatures of two American presidents- George Washington and Thomas Jefferson, who served as Washington's Secretary of State. The commission certifies that diplomat David Humphreys was empowered to serve as "Commissioner Plenipotentiary" for the United States and negotiate a peace treaty with the Dey of Algiers, who was staging pirate attacks on American merchant ships in the Mediterranean Sea.

Original Exhibition Caption: John Hancock was serving as President of the Continental Congress when he signed this April 23, 1776, document appointing colonial "agents for prizes" for Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia, and North Carolina. American privateers who seized British ships or goods would report to these agents, who could certify that they were legitimate claims as spoils of war and take a portion for the government. The remainder went to the privateer and his crew. An April 22, 1776, broadside authorized American shipowners to make these types of seizures.

Original Exhibition Caption: FDR was fascinated by John Paul Jones (1747-1792), the naval hero of the Revolutionary War who is considered the "father" of the United States Navy. Jones triumphed in a famous 1779 naval clash that pitted the outgunned USS Bonhomme Richard against the British frigate HMS Serapis. During the desperate battle, Jones is reputed to have shouted, "I have not yet begun to fight!" Roosevelt collected many items related to Jones, including portraits, prints, drawings, and manuscripts. During the early 1920s, he even wrote a treatment for a feature film that would be based on Jones's life. But his efforts to interest Hollywood in the project proved fruitless. In this letter to Silas Deane, an American diplomat in France, Jones discusses naval matters, including the possible exchange of a captured British warship (Ariel) for a different warship (Terpsicore). He also mentions his efforts to obtain the prize money for merchant ships he has captured.