{"product_id":"1840-john-quincy-adams-accepts-presidency-of-the-newly-formed-harvard-alumni-association-foundational-1840-letter-to-supreme-court-justice-joseph-story","title":"1840 John Quincy Adams Accepts Presidency of the Newly Formed Harvard Alumni Association — Foundational 1840 Letter to Supreme Court Justice Joseph Story","description":"\u003cp class=\"PDq2pG_selectionAnchorContainer\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eWilliam Minot. Autograph letter signed “W. Minot,” Boston, August 20, 1840, addressed to United States Supreme Court Justice Joseph Story.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"PDq2pG_selectionAnchor\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eA remarkable foundational document relating to the creation of the Harvard Alumni Association, written only six days before the organization was established on Commencement Day, August 26, 1840.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eBoston attorney and Harvard graduate William Minot writes Justice Joseph Story concerning the proposed “association of the Alumni of H. College.” Minot reports the especially significant news that former President \u003cstrong\u003eJohn Quincy Adams “has consented to be a candidate for the Presidency”\u003c\/strong\u003e of the organization.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe committee’s plan called for a president, two vice presidents, seven directors and a secretary. Minot explains that the association was intended to unite Harvard’s alumni and encourage their participation in the affairs and public exercises of the College. Because little time remained before the forthcoming meeting, the committee had prepared a proposed slate of officers.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThat distinguished slate, recorded in the letter, includes former President \u003cstrong\u003eJohn Quincy Adams\u003c\/strong\u003e, Supreme Court Justice \u003cstrong\u003eJoseph Story\u003c\/strong\u003e, statesman and educator \u003cstrong\u003eEdward Everett\u003c\/strong\u003e, noted scholar \u003cstrong\u003eJohn Pickering\u003c\/strong\u003e, constitutional attorney \u003cstrong\u003eHorace Binney\u003c\/strong\u003e, New York financier and congressman \u003cstrong\u003eJames G. King\u003c\/strong\u003e, federal judge and former senator \u003cstrong\u003ePeleg Sprague\u003c\/strong\u003e, and future Supreme Court Justice \u003cstrong\u003eBenjamin R. Curtis\u003c\/strong\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe Harvard Alumni Association was formally established on August 26, 1840, with John Quincy Adams as its first president. This letter therefore captures the organization at the precise moment of its formation and documents Adams’s acceptance of its leadership.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMinot concludes by respectfully requesting Story’s presence:\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cblockquote\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e“If any changes occur to you in the list of Directors, will you have the kindness to suggest them to me.”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/blockquote\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eOne large folded manuscript sheet with integral address panel, Boston postal cancellation, red “PAID” handstamp and blind-embossed stationer’s marks. Original mailing folds, creasing, marginal wear and remnants of the original paper seal; writing remains clear and legible.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAn exceptional early Harvard institutional document connecting a former president of the United States, a sitting Supreme Court justice and the founding of what became the Harvard Alumni Association.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMore info...\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"PDq2pG_selectionAnchorContainer\"\u003eThe letter was written only \u003cstrong\u003esix days before the association was formally established on Harvard’s Commencement Day, August 26, 1840\u003c\/strong\u003e. Harvard’s own history confirms that John Quincy Adams was recruited as the organization’s first president and accepted despite reservations about his ability to perform the office.\u003cspan class=\"PDq2pG_selectionAnchor\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eParticularly important content\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMinot informs Story that:\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eA committee had prepared a plan for an association of Harvard alumni.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eFormer President John Quincy Adams had consented to become a candidate for president.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe proposed organization would include a president, two vice presidents, seven directors and a secretary.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe organization was intended to unite Harvard alumni and encourage “public exhibition.”\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eBecause little time remained before the forthcoming meeting, the committee had prepared a proposed slate of officers.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe proposed names written in the letter include:\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eJohn Quincy Adams — President\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eJoseph Story\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eEdward Everett — Vice President\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eJohn Pickering\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eHorace Binney\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eJames G. King of New York\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003cstrong\u003ePeleg Sprague\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eBenjamin R. Curtis\u003c\/strong\u003e, apparently proposed as secretary\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eSeveral additional names requiring closer comparison with the association’s original records\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThese names are \u003cstrong\u003enot individual signatures\u003c\/strong\u003e. They form a proposed slate written in Minot’s hand. The only certain autograph signature on the document is \u003cstrong\u003eWilliam Minot’s “W. Minot.”\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe Harvard Alumni Association was indeed instituted in 1840, and John Quincy Adams became its first president. Its first official meeting was held in Boston on April 26, 1841, chaired by Adams and attended by a Supreme Court justice—almost certainly Joseph Story.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWilliam Minot was a Harvard graduate of 1802 and a prominent Boston attorney. His surviving papers are held by the Massachusetts Historical Society.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch2\u003ePhysical description and condition\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eOne large folded sheet, manuscript on one side with integral address panel, dated Boston, August 20, 1840. Addressed to “Hon. Joseph Story, Cambridge, Mass.” Red Boston postal cancellation and “PAID” handstamp; blind-embossed stationer’s device visible in two corners.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eCondition is good for an actively mailed 1840 manuscript: original mailing folds, generalized creasing, marginal wear, small edge separations and an old paper-seal remnant. Writing remains legible and the postal markings are attractive. Exact dimensions should be inserted.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Signature Documents LLC","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":52743473824026,"sku":null,"price":5993.0,"currency_code":"CAD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/2221\/0931\/files\/IMG_2594.jpg?v=1787745237","url":"https:\/\/www.thearchiveauthority.com\/en-ca\/products\/1840-john-quincy-adams-accepts-presidency-of-the-newly-formed-harvard-alumni-association-foundational-1840-letter-to-supreme-court-justice-joseph-story","provider":"Signature Documents LLC","version":"1.0","type":"link"}