(1758 - 1831) Fifth President of the United States who negotiated the Louisiana Purchase and promulgated the Monroe Doctrine. Good content A.L.S. 'Jas. Monroe' in his last months as American Minister to France, 1p. 8vo., Paris, July 28, 1796. In full: 'Sir I send you according to yr request all the papers left in my hands concerning the affair of the family wch emigrated from Antwerp to America, & in whose behalf it was yr. wish I shod. attempt some thing here. I return you all the papers, because being possessed of others of the like import from the department of state, they are not necessary to assist me in any measure I may find occasion to take in behalf of that family; and because I do not perceive among them the particular paper to wch you allude & therefore conclude it never was among them, since it may have not been out of my hands I have returned it in the envelope in which I recd. them. I beg you to assure that family that I will render them all the service in my power, & that you will believe me with great respect & esteem yr. very humble servant, Jas. Monroe'. Only the slightest bit lightened, mentioned only for accuracy, else fine condition, very nicely double-matted with an engraving of Monroe, the entirety set into an attractive gilt wood frame and ready for display. Interestingly, citizenship during Monroe's presidency era was governed by the Naturalization Act of 1802, which amended earlier legislation. Under these laws, the path to citizenship was restricted exclusively to 'free white persons' of good moral character. In 1796, Belgian immigration to the United States primarily consisted of a small number of wealthy aristocrats and refugees fleeing the turmoil of the French Revolutionary Wars. Because Belgium did not yet exist as an independent nation, most of these immigrants from the Southern Netherlands registered as French or Austrian upon arrival.