A lone American diplomat as France falls to pieces


"Envoy to the Terror: Gouverneur Morris & the French Revolution"
by Melanie Randolph Miller

WSKG Radio’s OFF THE PAGE
Tues., May 17 at 1 & 7pm

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Gouverneur Morris was a Founding Father.  He was born in 1752 in what is now The Bronx – the section is still called Morrisania.  He was intellectually precocious, well trained in the law, active in business and a man of great wit and perception.  If his friend Thomas Jefferson is revered for writing, “We hold these truths to be self evident: that all men are created equal…”, Morris should be remembered for “…in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence…”.  Morris was a signatory to the U.S. Constitution, penned much of its language and was the most frequent speaker at the Constitutional Convention.  He had already written the first Constitution of the State of New York.

Morris was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives (while a resident of Pennsylvania) and later served as United States Senator from New York.  He was also one of the commissioners who oversaw construction of the Erie Canal.

But the most exciting, and historically significant, event of his life was his tenure as the United States minister to France from 1792 to 1794.  The position of envoy to “America’s first ally” had previously been filled by Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Jefferson.  But it fell to Gouverneur Morris to be on the scene during the bloodiest days of the French Revolution.  He was a witness to the hunger, rioting and killing that became known as the Reign of Terror, and when the monarchy was overthrown he helped King Louis XVI flee to safety.

France had supported the American colonies in the war against England and the French, often inspired by the American example, would soon rise up to establish a republic based on principles of liberté, egalité, fraternité.  Morris was by then deeply involved in French political life – he was at one point the only foreign diplomat left in Paris – and he didn’t think the Revolution was a good idea.  In his view, France was “not yet fitted by education and habit for the enjoyment of freedom.”

Gouverneur Morris’s dissenting views, alleged misconduct and attacks by his political enemies led to dismissal as the U.S. minister to France, and that experience has hung over his reputation for the past 211 years.  He has not received an abundance of attention from historians (though one notable exception is an 1888 biography by Theodore Roosevelt) but now a new book by Melanie Randolph Miller of Ithaca, Envoy to the Terror: Gouverneur Morris and the French Revolution seeks to make up for the deficiency, and restore the reputation.

Dr. Miller has a background in both technology and the law, earning a degree in aeronautical engineering from MIT and then studying law at Berkeley.  For several years she specialized in international law as an attorney for the Federal Aviation Administration.  She holds a Ph.D. in history from George Washington University and has taught at Ithaca College.

She joins Bill Jaker on OFF THE PAGE during a week when WSKG and the Public Radio Exchange will invite listeners to “Think Global” and look into American foreign policy and the nation’s role in the world.

To join in the discussion or make a comment, call during the liver broadcast to 1-888/359-9754 or send an e-mail to  WSKG.Radio@Gmail.com.

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