ALS signed “Lafayette,” one page, 5.75 x 6, January 8, [no year]. Desirable handwritten letter to James Monroe, in part: "Promise me to inquire whether you have received a letter from me relative to the pecuniary business, of great moment to me, you had kindly undertaken to manage, and whether any answer from you on that subject has ever been sent to me, General Armstrong, or Mr. Parker? The affair itself and my situation respecting it are so well known to you that I have only to add my affectionate regards to Mr. and Mrs. Monroe and the expression of my old and everlasting friendship." He adds a postscript: "We are writing for the Agricultural Book two Vol. you Have promised to send to our friend Parker." In very good to fine condition, with trimmed edges, tack holes to the upper corners, and light show-through at the corners from old tape on the reverse.
In the aftermath of the French Revolution and Reign of Terror, Lafayette was financially ruined. Seeking to aid a hero of the American Revolution who had received no compensation during the war, the United States government—and Lafayette's own old friends—sought to support him, granting him both monetary funds and vast land grants in the newly purchased Louisiana Territory. He received a mortgage on some of these lands from Daniel Parker, and the property would eventually have to be sold to repay the debts. The matter was complicated by conflicting claims on some of the land, and dragged on for many years while Lafayette remained in France. He relied upon his influential American friends, Monroe included, to assist him in these matters. It was during Monroe's presidency that Lafayette made his triumphant farewell tour of the United States in 1824-1825.
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