Alexander Hill Everett (March 19, 1792 – June 28, 1847) was an American diplomat, politician, and
Boston
Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...
man of letters. Everett held diplomatic posts in the Netherlands, Spain, Cuba, and China. His translations of European literature, published in the ''
North American Review
The ''North American Review'' (NAR) was the first literary magazine in the United States. It was founded in Boston in 1815 by journalist Nathan Hale and others. It was published continuously until 1940, after which it was inactive until revived at ...
'', were influential for the
Transcendentalism
Transcendentalism is a philosophical movement that developed in the late 1820s and 1830s in New England. "Transcendentalism is an American literary, political, and philosophical movement of the early nineteenth century, centered around Ralph Wald ...
movement.
Biography
Everett was born in
Boston
Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...
,
Massachusetts
Massachusetts (Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut Massachusett_writing_systems.html" ;"title="nowiki/> məhswatʃəwiːsət.html" ;"title="Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət">Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət'' En ...
to Lucy Hill and Oliver Everett, who was at that time the minister of the
New South Church. The Everetts were a prominent Massachusetts family: through his father, Alexander was a descendant of
Richard Everett
Richard Everett (December 11, 1597 – July 3, 1682) emigrated from the English county of Essex. On July 15, 1636 he and a party of settlers bought land from Native American on the Connecticut River at Agawan – now Springfield, Massachusetts.
E ...
(1597 – 1682), one of the earliest settlers of
Dedham, Massachusetts.
Alexander's younger brother,
Edward Everett
Edward Everett (April 11, 1794 – January 15, 1865) was an American politician, Unitarian pastor, educator, diplomat, and orator from Massachusetts. Everett, as a Whig, served as U.S. representative, U.S. senator, the 15th governor of Mass ...
, would go on to serve as the 15th Governor of Massachusetts and Secretary of State. Alexander graduated from
Harvard College
Harvard College is the undergraduate college of Harvard University, an Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636, Harvard College is the original school of Harvard University, the oldest institution of higher lea ...
in 1806, the youngest and best in his class.
After leaving College he was an assistant teacher in
Phillips Exeter Academy for one year, then studied law in the office of
John Quincy Adams
John Quincy Adams (; July 11, 1767 – February 23, 1848) was an American statesman, diplomat, lawyer, and diarist who served as the sixth president of the United States, from 1825 to 1829. He previously served as the eighth United States ...
. In 1809 he accompanied Adams to
Russia
Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...
, where he lived for two years as Adam's personal secretary in the
legation.
At the close of the
War of 1812
The War of 1812 (18 June 1812 – 17 February 1815) was fought by the United States, United States of America and its Indigenous peoples of the Americas, indigenous allies against the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom ...
,
Governor of Massachusetts
The governor of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts is the chief executive officer of the government of Massachusetts. The governor is the head of the state cabinet and the commander-in-chief of the commonwealth's military forces.
Massachuset ...
William Eustis
William Eustis (June 10, 1753 – February 6, 1825) was an early American physician, politician, and statesman from Massachusetts. Trained in medicine, he served as a military surgeon during the American Revolutionary War, notably at the Bat ...
was appointed minister to the
Netherlands
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, and Everett accompanied him as secretary of legation, but after a year of service returned home.
On the retirement of Governor Eustis from the legation, however, Everett was appointed his successor, with the rank of chargé d'affaires to
The Hague
The Hague ( ; nl, Den Haag or ) is a city and municipality of the Netherlands, situated on the west coast facing the North Sea. The Hague is the country's administrative centre and its seat of government, and while the official capital o ...
, which post he held from 1818 till 1824.
Everett used his time to write a book on European affairs, published in 1821 as ''Europe; or, A General Survey of the Present Situation of the Principal Powers; with Conjectures on Their Future Prospects''. In it Everett described the Netherlands as "a decayed and decaying nation" whose creation had been an error and predicted that it would eventually disappear in the sea. After Adams became president in 1825, he appointed Everett
minister to Spain, from 1825–1829.
As ambassador to Spain, Everett maintained the United States' concern with Cuba as a nearby slaveholding colony. He wrote in November 1825 that it would be unacceptable for the island to become part of
newly independent Mexico or
Colombia, citing his feelings that
the island's black population was too large. For the same reasons, he also opposed Cuban independence.
After his service in Spain, he returned to Boston and obtained a controlling interest in ''
North American Review
The ''North American Review'' (NAR) was the first literary magazine in the United States. It was founded in Boston in 1815 by journalist Nathan Hale and others. It was published continuously until 1940, after which it was inactive until revived at ...
'' (to which he had been an active contributor while his brother was editor) and shortly afterward succeeded
Jared Sparks
Jared Sparks (May 10, 1789 – March 14, 1866) was an American historian, educator, and Unitarian minister. He served as President of Harvard College from 1849 to 1853.
Biography
Born in Willington, Connecticut, Sparks studied in the common s ...
as principal editor.
The venture was not financially rewarding. Everett was elected a Fellow of the
American Academy of Arts and Sciences
The American Academy of Arts and Sciences (abbreviation: AAA&S) is one of the oldest learned societies in the United States. It was founded in 1780 during the American Revolution by John Adams, John Hancock, James Bowdoin, Andrew Oliver, a ...
in 1824 and the
American Philosophical Society
The American Philosophical Society (APS), founded in 1743 in Philadelphia, is a scholarly organization that promotes knowledge in the sciences and humanities through research, professional meetings, publications, library resources, and communit ...
in 1830.
Everett's government service was not yet over, though, and he sat in the legislature of Massachusetts from 1830 till 1835. His political fortunes in Massachusetts plummeted when, after serving in the state legislature, Everett switched parties from Whig to Democrat and was blamed for his brother Edward's loss in his bid for reelection as governor in 1839. In 1840 Everett served in
Cuba
Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...
as a Special Diplomatic Agent of the United States. While in Cuba he was appointed president of
Jefferson College,
Louisiana
Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is borde ...
, but was soon obliged by failing health to return to
New England
New England is a region comprising six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York (state), New York to the west and by the Can ...
.
On the return of
Caleb Cushing
Caleb Cushing (January 17, 1800 – January 2, 1879) was an American Democratic politician and diplomat who served as a Congressman from Massachusetts and Attorney General under President Franklin Pierce. He was an eager proponent of territor ...
from his mission to
China, Everett was appointed the next commissioner and sailed for
Canton on July 4, 1845. He was detained by illness at
Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the state of the same name, Brazil's third-most populous state, and the second-most populous city in Brazil, after São Paulo. Listed by the GaWC as a ...
, and returned home. In the summer of 1846 he made a second and more successful attempt to reach his destination, but died in Canton shortly after his arrival, on June 28, 1847. He was buried at the foreigners' cemetery on
Changzhou Island
Changzhou Island, formerly known in English as Dane or , is an island in the Pearl River Delta of China's Guangdong Province. It is now administered as part of Guangzhou's Huangpu District, although the historic Huangpu Island was nearby ...
, in
Guangzhou
Guangzhou (, ; ; or ; ), also known as Canton () and alternatively romanized as Kwongchow or Kwangchow, is the capital and largest city of Guangdong province in southern China. Located on the Pearl River about north-northwest of Hong Kon ...
,
China.
Major works
* ''Europe; or, A General Survey of the Present Situation of the Principal Powers; with Conjectures on Their Future Prospects''. Boston: Oliver Everett, Cummings and Hillard, 1822.
* ''New Ideas on Population: With Remarks on the Theories of Malthus and Godwin''. Boston: Cummings, Hilliard and Co., 1823; 2nd ed., 1826. Reprint. New York: Augustus M. Kelley, 1970.
* ''America: or, A General Survey of the Political Situation of the Several Powers of the Western Continent, with Conjectures on Their Future Prospects''. Philadelphia: H. C. Carey and I. Lea, 1827.
* ''
Strictures on Nullification''. Boston: Stimpson and Clapf, 1832.
* ''Critical and Miscellaneous Essays''. 2 vols. Boston: J. Monroe and Company, 1845-1846.
References
External links
*
*
Portrait of Alexander Hill Everettat the
American Antiquarian Society
The American Antiquarian Society (AAS), located in Worcester, Massachusetts, is both a learned society and a national research library of pre-twentieth-century American history and culture. Founded in 1812, it is the oldest historical society i ...
Alexander Hill Everett Papersat
Georgetown University Library
The Georgetown University Library is the library system of Georgetown University in Washington, D.C. The library's holdings now contain approximately 3.5 million volumes housed in seven university buildings across 11 separate collections.
Histo ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:Everett, Alexander H.
Ambassadors of the United States to Spain
1792 births
1847 deaths
Harvard College alumni
Phillips Exeter Academy faculty
19th century in Boston
Politicians from Boston
Ambassadors of the United States to China
19th-century American diplomats
Ambassadors of the United States to the Netherlands
Writers from Boston
Fellows of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences
19th-century American writers
19th-century American translators
American male non-fiction writers
American non-fiction writers
19th-century male writers