of John McDonogh Chiefly concerning the Louisiana Purchase and The Liberian Colonization Edited by James T. Edwards, D. D., LL. D. Printed by Boys of McDonogh School 1898. Checked- May913 N. Y. TRIBUNE INTRODUCTION. Although extracts have been made from two or three of the letters which follow, it is believed that none of them, with one exception, has heretofore been published in full. They afford aid in forming a just estimate of the mental abilities and moral traits of John McDonogh. He was no ordinary man, but cast in an original mold, singularly self-centered, and masterful, but withal something of a dreamer. Even to this day somewhat of mystery surrounds his character, and for a long time during his life he was misunderstood and misjudged. Born in Baltimore December 29, 1779 of that Scotch-Irish stock which has furnished a forceful element of our population wherever found, he always displayed the combination of practical good sense and imagination which are characteristic of that race. He died in McDonoghville, La., October 26, 1850. His parents were highly respectable people in good circumstances. Shortly after reaching his majority he went to New Orleans, and from that time forward was almost entirely deprived of the companionship of his immediate relatives, and he never knew the love of wife and children. Under a calm, somewhat stern exterior burned a quenchless enthusiasm for the attainment of certain noble ends to which he devoted all the energies of his being. To secure these he deemed it necessary that his plans should be matured in secret, and this was the chief reason why his conduct was misunderstood. Two of these great objects were, first, a far-reaching plan of education, and second, the liberation of his slaves; the former of these was not known until after his death, and the latter was locked in his own heart and the hearts of his bondmen for many years. Solitary and alone he wrought out his projects for the completion of his lofty purposes. It must not be supposed, however, that in the meantime he did not prominently participate in the activities that pertained to his station as a man of wealth. He was constantly interested in the education of youth, and displayed a fair degree of liberality towards the benevolences of his time, but his posthumous fame for good works far surpasses his reputation for philanthropy during his lifetime. The success of his educational scheme is now well known and need not here be dwelt upon, except to say that he left a fortune which finally yielded nearly a million dollars to each of the cities New Orleans and Baltimore. These sums have been devoted to the improvement of youth, particularly of the deserving poor. The letters in this pamphlet relate especially, however, to two other objects which greatly enlisted his interest; namely, the settlement of the great questions growing out of the Louisiana Purchase, and the colonization of the colored man in Liberia. McDonogh was an ardent patriot; he fought for his coun |