John Adams to President of Congress, May 31, 1781

Amsterdam, 31 May 1781. RC in John Thaxter’s hand PCC, No. 84, III, f. 185–187>. printed : Wharton, ed., Dipl. Corr. Amer. Rev. description begins The Revolutionary Diplomatic Correspondence of the United States , ed. Francis Wharton, Washington, D.C., 1889; 6 vols. description ends , 4:463–464.

John Adams provided Congress with English translations of declarations by the cities of Dordrecht and Haarlem in support of Amsterdam’s declaration of 18 May to the States of Holland. Noting the lament of the deputies from Haarlem at the silence of the other towns represented in the States of Holland, Adams ended his letter with “hearty Wishes that this dumb Spirit may be soon cast out.”