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ProQuest Information and Learning 300 North Zeeb Road, Ann Arbor, Ml 48106-1346 USA 800-521-0600 .® Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. NOTE TO USERS This reproduction is the best copy available. UMI' Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. NICHOLAS PHILIP TRIST Biography of a Disobedient Diplomat by Robert Arthur Brent A.B., M.A. A Dissertation Presented to the Graduate Faculty of the University of Virginia . in Candidacy for the Degree of 4 Doctor of Philosophy 1950 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. UMI Number: DP15028 UMI UMI Microform DP15028 Copyright 2007 by ProQuest Information and Learning Company. All rights reserved. This microform edition is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code. ProQuest Information and Learning Company 300 North Zeeb Road P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, Ml 48106-1346 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Table of Contents Preface. Chapter I- Youth and Education............ ......1 Chapter II- West Point, Louisiana, and Montlcello........... Chapter Ill-Master of Montlcello............... ....39 Chapter IV- Mr. Trist G-oevS to Washington....... Chapter V- Jackson’s Private Secretary..... Chapter VI- A Cuban Interlude.................. ....95 Chapter VII- Mr. Trist Goes Back to Washington.. Chapter VIII-Mr. Trist Encounters General Scott. ....135 Chapter IX- Failure of Negotiations.and Recall. ___162 Chapter X- Mr. Trist Disobeys an Order....... ___18U Chapter XI- Public Reaction to Treaty and Evaluation of Mission........ .... 212 Chapter XII-Mr. Trist»s Later Life, 1848-18?h. . Bibliography........ ........................... ___252 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. -i- Preface Nicholas Phili'o Trist was born at the dawn of the nine­ teenth century— a century that opened with the United States still struggling to make a permanent place for itself in the family of nations, and a century xfhich closed with the United States in the vanguard of the powerful states of the world. Trist was a part of that metamorphosis, While his own activities formed only a small part of the progress of his country, he did what .he thought best to further the interests of the American democracy, despite the personal consequences to himself. In Trist*s life are reflected many of the great e- vents that dominated the American national scene during the first half of the century. His exposure to the philosophies and political beliefs of Thomas Jefferson, followed later by intimate contact with Andrew Jackson, certainly played a major part in shaping his own ideals. When in later life he could reflect on the tragic per­ sonal aftermath of his Mexican mission in 18^7-A'8, he must have felt sure that Jefferson and Jackson would have approved of his act of disobedience, even though that act may have denied, to the United States a greater share of Mexican land. Nicholas Trist led a full, and at most times an in- Re produced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. in­ teresting life, and for that reason alone this has been a study which has not seemed without ooint. But when in addition one may reflect that it was by Trist*s hand that American title to Texas was guaranteed, and that California and the Southwest were gained for his country, his labors seem even more worthy of chronicling. Too, an understanding of Trist may lead to a greater under­ standing of our country during the period in which he lived. There have been some few sketches and articles on Trist, but these accounts have ignored many of the im­ portant collections of Trist letters. The forty-four volumes of Trist*s correspondence in the Library of Con­ gress, numbering about twenty thousand nieces have been worked over several times, and certainly form the start­ ing point from which any study of Trist must begin; but in addition to that collection there exist about eight thousand Trist letters in the University of Worth Carolina Library, and smaller numbers at the libraries of the Vir­ ginia Historical Society and the University of Virginia. These latter collections have not been used in other works on Trist, either published, or in progress. The writer is grateful for the assistance and friendly cooperation received from- the library staffs where re­ search was done, and for the leads pointed out by members of the history faculty at the University of Virginia. Drs. Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. -iii- Edward Younger and Thomas Perkins Abernethy have been of great assistance, and to Dr. Bernard Mayo, at whose suggestion this work was first started, and without whose constant heland guidance it would nover have been completed, thanks are inadequate to describe this writer’s gratitude. "• A B * - • ~ * • ^ • Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.