Jun 16

Jun 16 Embarrassing An Ambassador - Thomas Jefferson and the Merry Affair

When British Ambassador Anthony Merry and his wife, Elizabeth, came to the United States, the Jefferson Administration insulted their honor on several occasions.

Anthony Merry

When Anthony Merry took his seat as the British Ambassador to the United States in 1802, he assumed he would be received with the same pomp that was allotted in other courts around the world.

Unfortunately for him, this was not the case.

President Thomas Jefferson was following a policy that he called ‘pell mell’. The idea was to be a ‘man of the people’ by dressing like the common person.

Truthfully, it seems the more accurate description of Jefferson’s attire was slovenly.

The ‘pell mell’ movement led to several shots at Anthony Merry’s pride.

Insult #1

When Merry arrived at the Capitol, he was quickly called on to meet with the President.

Anthony dressed in his finest attire and was shocked to see Jefferson enter in a bathrobe and slippers.

Furthermore, while Merry was giving his customary speech to the President, Jefferson just flipped his slippers up and down on his foot.

Thomas had decided to push his ‘pell mell’ ideology to the limit in this situation because he had a particular distaste for the British, which he would continue to take out on Merry.

Insult #2

Soon, Merry was invited to dine with Jefferson a few days later, he was shocked to find that the French Ambassador was present.

With Britain and France at war, a meal between these two parties was (and still is) a big no-no.

Furthermore, it was customary for the wife of an Ambassador to be escorted by the host of the party to her seat.

Jefferson instead led Dolly Madison to her spot at the table, while James Madison took the arm of Elizabeth Merry (pictured above).

Insult #3

Before long, the Merry’s were again invited to a dinner, this time at the Madison residence.

This time, when dinner was served, no one came to escort Mrs. Merry!

They were forced to walk in together and made a bit of a scene demanding that they sit closer to the head of the table.

Fallout

Although Anthony wrote to Britain to complain about the situation, an official response was slow.

The Merry’s decided to boycott all social events as a way to show their anger (without starting a war). They even got the Spanish Ambassador to join them.

Eventually, this pseudo-hazing stopped and everything blew over. The Merry’s even began throwing events of their own.

There was some fallout, however, as Merry assisted former Vice-President Aaron Burr with his treasonous attempt to separate Louisiana from the US to start a new nation.

Furthermore, Merry’s correspondence during his four year stay helped lead to the War of 1812 and may have even made that engagement longer than it had to be.

Want to read about other AFFAIRS OF THE AMERICAN FOUNDING?

Great! Check out these articles:

James Baron and the Chesapeake-Leopold Affair

Thomas Cushing and the Hutchinson Letters Affair

Revenge Hanging - Joshua Huddy and the Charles Asgill Affair

Do you want to read more about Merry’s performance as Ambassador in Washington, D.C.?

If so, check out ‘Anthony Merry Revisited.’

Pick up a copy through the Amazon affiliate link below…