Ever asked someone the same question over and over and not gotten a satisfactory answer? Irritating, isn't it?

But that's what Robert R. Livingston was dealing with while on assignment in Paris. Even though things in France, the United States, Saint-Domingue, and beyond were heating up like oil in a skillet, Secretary of State James Madison was frustratingly unforthcoming with instructions for his French minister.

This letter from July 3rd, 1802, isn't the first (or last) that Livingston wrote to Madison in hopes of getting some clue as to what he was supposed to be doing to advance the American agenda in France, but it's definitely chock-full of informational tidbits and updates on goings-on in Paris (and some typos and run-on sentences, too).

Livingston may not have written as eloquently as Thomas Jefferson or as clearly as James Madison, but his passion for his job (and his country) is super evident nonetheless.

And, even though many people were eventually involved in turning the Louisiana Purchase dream into a reality, we feel pretty confident in saying that none of it would have been possible without the dedication of Robert R. Livingston.