American Historical Ephemera & Photography

2 1/3 pages, on bifolium, 7 1/8 x 9 1/2 in., creased along folds, with some ink transference and soiling. Addressed on integral leaf, docketed. 

In this letter to James Carey of Baltimore, Morris writes of a lawsuit being filed against him, asking Mr. Carey to hire a lawyer and serve as his bail. He writes, "The enclosed extract of a letter [not included here] from Geo Gale Esq to me...conveyed the first intimation I ever received of a suit having been instituted against me...they alledge that I am responsible in consequence of some letter of mine to Tench Tilghman or Tench Tilghman & Co for a claim of £300 to £400 value in public certificates..."

After explaining his perceived innocence in the matter, he asks for Carey's aid: "I request the favour of you to employ such able counsell as you think most capable of serving me in this business and that you will become Bail for me to this attachment & I hereby promise & bind myself to bear you harmless for so doing. The Lawyer you employ will examine into the case and give me the necessary information so that I may take steps to secure myself from injustice..." 

Robert Morris (1734-1806) is considered a Founding Father of the United States, having served as a member of the Second Continental Congress and having signed the Declaration of Independence, Articles of Confederation, and the United States Constitution. During 1781-1784 he served as Superintendent of Finance, giving him the unofficial title of "Financier of the Revolution." He would help set up the Bank of North America, but refused to take the position of Secretary of the Treasury. Thereafter, he served as a United States Senator from Pennsylvania. During and after his time in Congress, however, he made some poor speculations and went into debt, being confined to debtors' prison from 1798-1801.