The papers of William Short (1759-1849) span the years 1778-1853. They include a large amount of material dated between 1785 and 1795, the years of Short’s diplomatic service in western Europe, as well as extensive documentation of his business activities after 1810. His papers consist chiefly of letters received, but there are also some copies of letters sent, 1785-1798, as well as various financial papers, including statements, receipts, checkbooks, and ledgers. Much of his correspondence while he was in Europe is with American diplomatic and political figures. There are also letters during this period from various European officials, chiefly in French or Spanish. The collection is organized in Bound Correspondence and Other Papers , Correspondence , Business Papers , Miscellany , and Oversize series.

In 1790 Alexander Hamilton entrusted Short with the negotiation and management of European loans to fund the public debt of the United States, and the two men conducted an extensive correspondence on the subject. Other topics in Short’s correspondence during his European years are conditions in Virginia under the Articles of Confederation, the events of the French Revolution, and incidents pertaining to American diplomatic relations with France and Spain. Short’s correspondence reveals the obstacles to the conduct of foreign relations resulting from the vagaries of trans-Atlantic communication in that era. While residing in Paris following his diplomatic service, and again following his abortive mission to Russia (the Senate refused to confirm the nomination of any minister to Saint Petersburg), Short established a wide circle of foreign friends, with whom he conducted a correspondence for many years thereafter, chiefly in French.

After his return to the United States in 1810, Short successfully pursued a career in investments that resulted eventually in a personal fortune of over one million dollars. He speculated in land in Ohio, Kentucky, and western New York and Virginia; he bought stock in canals, railroads, and banks; he held mortgages and loaned large sums at interest. His Dutch bankers speculated in American bonds on his account. These varied business activities required an extensive correspondence with his land agents (including his nephew, John Cleves Short), bankers, stockbrokers, and debtors. In addition to these letters, his business papers also include bills, accounts, financial statements, checkbooks, and ledgers. Short’s business papers provide considerable insight into the business practices and problems of an investor in the first half of the nineteenth century. They also include some information on Short’s moral and financial support of the program of the American Colonization Society.

A significant number of Short’s papers consist of his correspondence with Thomas Jefferson, who was, variously, his employer, adviser, and friend. Other correspondents of note include John Adams, James Madison, James Monroe (a classmate at William and Mary), Alexander Hamilton, Albert Gallatin, Don Diego de Gardoqui, Manuel de Godoy, the marquis de Lafayette, Alexis de Tocqueville, Michel-Guillaume St. Jean de Crévecoeur, Thomas Paine, William Carmichael, William Grayson, Fulwar Skipwith (his nephew), Gouverneur Morris, John Rutledge, Bushrod Washington, Nicholas Trist, Robert Fulton, Edmund Randolph, Thomas Pinckney, Issac Hull, and two Virginia friends, William Nelson and Merit Robinson. There are also a few letters from his nephew, Charles W. Short, a prominent botanist, and other members of his family.