Arbena, Joseph L. "Politics or Principle? Rufus King and the Opposition to Slavery, 1785-1825." Essex Institute Historical Collections 101 (January 1965): 56-77.
KING, Rufus
1755–1827
Biography
KING, Rufus, (half brother of Cyrus King and father of John Alsop King and James Gore King), a Delegate from Massachusetts and a Senator from New York; born in Scarboro, Maine (then a district of Massachusetts), March 24, 1755; attended Dummer Academy, Byfield, Mass., and graduated from Harvard College in 1777; served in the Revolutionary War; studied law; admitted to the bar and commenced practice in Newburyport in 1780; delegate to the Massachusetts General Court 1783-1785; Member of the Continental Congress from Massachusetts 1784-1787; delegate to the Federal Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia in 1787 and one of the signers of the Constitution; delegate to the State convention in 1788 which ratified the Constitution; moved to New York City in 1788; member, New York assembly; elected to the United States Senate in 1789; reelected in 1795 and served from July 16, 1789, until May 1796, when he resigned to become United States Minister to Great Britain; Minister to Great Britain 1796-1803; unsuccessful Federalist candidate for Vice President of the United States in 1804; again elected as a Federalist to the United States Senate in 1813; reelected in 1819 and served from March 4, 1813, to March 3, 1825; chairman, Committee on Roads and Canals (Sixteenth Congress), Committee on Foreign Relations (Seventeenth Congress); unsuccessful candidate for Governor of New York in 1816 and for President of the United States in 1816; again United States Minister to Great Britain 1825-1826; died in Jamaica, Long Island, N.Y., April 29, 1827; interment in the churchyard of Grace Church.
View Record in the Biographical Directory of the U.S. Congress
[ Top ]External Research Collections
Alabama Department of Archives and History
Montgomery, AL
Papers:
In Walker family papers, 1798-1833.
American Philosophical Society Library
Philadelphia, PA
Papers:
In Richard Dale papers, 1780-1845.
Boston Public Library
Boston, MA
Papers:
17 items.
Cincinnati Historical Society
Cincinnati, OH
Papers:
In King family papers, 1796-1803. 51 items on international politics and diplomacy, Franco-American relations, and arms purchases. Finding aid.
Columbia University
Rare Book and Manuscript Library
New York, NY
Papers:
1784-1787. 19 items. Letters to Dr. Daniel Kilham concerning personal affairs and matters of contemporary diplomacy and politics including peace treaty with England, the Barbary powers, Spanish remonstrance against U.S. navigation of the Mississippi, and Mr. Adams' reception at British court.
Additional Papers:
In Cyrus King papers, [ca.1791]-1817; and John Jay papers, 1668-[ca.1862] (permission to use certain items required).
Connecticut Historical Society
Hartford, CT
Papers:
98 items (1782-1822) in various collections, chiefly correspondence with Oliver Wolcott, Jr. Finding aid.
Cornell University Libraries
Rare Books and Manuscript
Collections
Ithaca, NY
Papers:
Portrait in Washington Irving's Life of George Washington, Volume XIV, Miscellany, 1784-1860; and correspondence in John Quincy Adams papers, 1796-1848 (bulk 1820-1848).
Hartford Seminary Foundation
Hartford, CT
Papers:
1 item (September 20, 1789) in Thompson's collection.
Harvard University
Houghton Library
Cambridge, MA
Papers:
10 letters (1785-1787) from King to John Lowell in Lowell family papers, 1640-1894. Finding aid.
Henry E. Huntington Library
San Marino, CA
Papers:
1782-1830. 599 items. Diplomatic correspondence during his ministry at the Court of St. James. Finding aid.
Historical Society of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, PA
Papers:
In Joel Roberts Poinsett papers, 1785-1851.
Huguenot Historical Society
New York, NY
Papers:
In DeBois family papers, [ca. 1716-1927].
Indiana University
Lilly Library
Bloomington, IN
Papers:
1815-1863. 94 items. Letters to and from King. After 1827, letters are primarily those of his widow written to her mother.
Library of Congress
Manuscript Division
Washington, DC
Papers:
1784-1822. 30 items. Also correspondence in Alexander Hamilton papers, 1708-1963, and United States Constitution papers, 1787-1944.
Massachusetts Historical Society
Boston, MA
Papers:
Ca. 160 items (1782-1825) in various collections.
Museum of the City of New York
New York, NY
Papers:
3 letters and portraits.
National Archives and Records Administration
Washington, DC
Papers:
1 item (February 8, 1791) in Department of State records.
New Jersey Historical Society
Newark, NJ
Papers:
Correspondence in Stevens family papers, 1663-1959.
New-York Historical Society
New York, NY
Papers:
1783-1825. 11 volumes. Letters, notes, accounts and miscellaneous items from his political and diplomatic career. Also correspondence, papers, and genealogical material in King family papers, 1754-1908. Ca. 650 items.
New York Society Library
New York, NY
Papers:
In Goodhue family papers, [ca. 1622-1895] (bulk 1770-1850); and Bowne family papers, 1794-[ca. 1933] (bulk 1794-1851).
New York State Library
Manuscripts and Special Collections
Albany, NY
Papers:
1786-1823. 8 items. 7 letters and a broadside (no date) of committee report to Congress concerning the Treasury. Also in Alexander Hamilton papers, 1760-1830, on 46 microfilm reels of originals at Library of Congress.
Oneida Historical Society
Utica, NY
Papers:
In Ostrom family papers, 1809-1843.
Peabody Essex Museum
Salem, MA
Papers:
In Samuel Holten papers, 1769-1816; and Society for Propagating the Gospel among the Indians and Others in North America records, 1791-1875.
Pierpont Morgan Library
New York, NY
Papers:
1787-1826. 70 items. 49 were written to his son, Frederic Gore King.
Queens Borough Public Library
Jamaica, NY
Papers:
1793-1823. 9 items. Includes letters from King to different individuals and a published engraving.
Franklin D. Roosevelt Library
Hyde Park, NY
Papers:
Correspondence in Peter Van Gaasbeek papers, 1773-1802.
Rosenbach Museum and Library
Philadelphia, PA
Papers:
In Timothy Pickering letters to George Washington, 1798-1799; and 1 letter (May 2, 1801) from John Quincy Adams.
Rutgers University Libraries
Special Collections and University
Archives
New Brunswick, NJ
Papers:
1 letter in Simeon DeWitt collection, 1778-1834.
Smithsonian Institution
National Museum of American History
Washington, DC
Papers:
1 item (no date) in Hull collection of letters regarding the Adams family.
Smithtown Library
Smithtown, NY
Papers:
1809. 1 letter. Concerns a turnpike from Brooklyn to Flatbush and Jamaica.
South Natick Historical, Natural History, and Library Society
South Natick, MA
Papers:
1 item (June 26, 1790) in Strong papers.
University of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, PA
Papers:
July 3, 1798. 1 item. Note to William V. Murray, American minister in The Hague.
University of Vermont
Bailey/Howe Library
Burlington, VT
Papers:
Correspondence in Ira Allen papers, 1730-1861. Finding aid.
University of Virginia
Alderman Library
Charlottesville, VA
Papers:
Correspondence in various collections. Finding aid.
Yale University Libraries
Manuscripts and Archives
New Haven, CT
Papers:
In Humphreys-Marvin-Olmstead collection, 1776-1867; and David Daggett papers, 1781-1851.
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Bibliography / Further Reading
Brush, Edward Hale. Rufus King and His Times. New York: N.L. Brown, 1926.
Egerton, Cecil Baker. "Rufus King and the Missouri Question: A Study in Political Mythology." Ph.D. dissertation, Claremont Graduate School, 1968.
Ernst, Robert. Rufus King, American Federalist. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1968.
___. "Rufus King, Slavery, and the Missouri Crisis." New-York Historical Society Quarterly 46 (October 1962): 357-82.
Hockett, Homer C. "Rufus King and the Missouri Compromise." Missouri Historical Review 2 (April 1908): 211-20.
King, Charles R., ed. The Life and Correspondence of Rufus King. 6 vols. 1894-1900. Reprint. New York: Da Capo Press, 1971.
Reeser, Robert E. "Rufus King and the Federalist Party." Ph.D. dissertation, University of California, Los Angeles, 1948.
Welch, Richard E., Jr. "Rufus King of Newburyport: The Formative Years (1767-1788)." Essex Institute Historical Collections 96 (October 1960): 241-76.