This volume is a manuscript of a Portuguese translation of Robert Goodloe Harper's treatise Observations on the Dispute Between the United States and France (1797). The 280-page translation is entitled Reflexoens sobre a questão entre os Estados Unides ea França, and was created in London in 1798. The volume, which was popular on both sides of the Atlantic and received several reprintings, is pro-British and anti-French. It warns against the dangers of French radical revolutionaries and implies that France does not consider America a sovereign nation. It also outlines America's strengths in a potential war with France.
The Clements Library has several published editions of Harper's English version of Observations on the Dispute Between the United States and France.
The Portuguese translation was published in London in 1798.
Early South Carolina congress member Robert Goodloe Harper (1765-1825), son of Jesse Harper and Diana Goodloe, was born near Fredericksburg, Virginia, and grew up in North Carolina. At age 15, Harper joined a volunteer cavalry corps and fought in the Revolutionary War. After the war, Harper continued his education and graduated from the College of New Jersey (now Princeton University) in 1785. He was admitted to the South Carolina bar in 1786 and was practicing in Charleston by 1789. He served in the State House of Representatives from 1790-1795, and was elected by South Carolina to the 3rd, 4th, 5th, and 6th United States House of Representatives as a Federalist (February 1795 to March 1801). Harper was an influential congress member and acted as chairman of the Committee on Ways and Means (5th and 6th congresses). While in the House, he was also interested in western land policies and was considered one of the most knowledgeable House members on foreign affairs. In the late 1790s, however, he became intensely xenophobic and vocally anti-French. His 1797 Observations on the Dispute Between the United States and France warned against the influence of French radicalism in America. The volume was popular enough to have multiple printings and was distributed in Europe and Great Britain. His xenophobia later manifested itself in his participation with the American Colonization Society, in which he had a leadership role in 1816.
After his tenure in the House, Harper moved to Baltimore, where he continued his law practice. He fought in the War of 1812 and attained the rank of major general. He served in the Maryland State Senate and was elected to the United States Senate for the term beginning March 4, 1815, and served until December 1816, when he resigned. Harper remained active after his political career, traveling through Europe and hosting European dignitaries in Baltimore. He died there in 1825.
