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PBS 'Detectives' verify James Monroe letter
PBS show 'History Detectives' comes to Fredericksburg to investigate the authenticity of a letter penned by James Monroe
Date published: 5/31/2008
BY MEGAN WILLIAMS When historians from the PBS show "History Detectives" needed an expert on James Monroe, they came to Fredericksburg. That's where Dan Preston, editor of the papers of James Monroe at the University of Mary Washington, was called in by the show to examine a letter allegedly penned in 1802 by the future president. Yesterday at the James Monroe Museum in downtown Fredericksburg, Preston and Gwen Wright, one of the show's hosts and historians, filmed a new episode for the series' sixth season, which will air this summer. The story begins with a Florida woman who contacted the show months ago about confirming the authorship of a letter that had been passed down in her family. "We get thousands of people writing to the program looking for answers," Wright said. "But we only take on stories that we don't know the answer to." Preston was the man with the answers. Preston has been studying Monroe's works for 18 years, and has published two volumes of "The Papers of James Monroe." During the filming of the show, Preston compared letters proven to have been written by James Monroe with the letter being investigated. The somewhat messy handwriting, characteristic of the fifth president, along with the "JaS Monroe" abbreviated signature typical of the time, helped Preston confirm that the letter was indeed authentic. "It's obvious," Preston said. "The handwriting is his, the signature is his." The letter was written by Monroe when he was minister to Great Britain, to an unidentified recipient. Monroe was seeking compensation from Great Britain on behalf of a U.S. shipping company for the destruction of property, according to Meghan Budinger, assistant director of the James Monroe Museum. "It's interesting because it shows James Monroe was actively seeking to help American citizens," said Budinger. The museum, with the help of Preston, verified the authenticity of the letter before the shooting of the episode, which explained step by step the process they went through to confirm Monroe as the author. Two crewman and two producers worked with Preston and Wright yesterday as they shot sequences comparing the letters, blowing up the text on computer screens and deciphering the content. "As historians all know, you have facts that always collide and are contradictory, so this is to show how you work through it and come as close to answers as we can," Wright said. According to Preston, forged or fake documents are uncommon when investigating the validity of an author. More often, it is a question of whether the document is an original or a copy. This is the first time "History Detectives" has been to Fredericksburg for a show. The next stop is Newport, R.I., to continue the investigation of the letter's content. "I think it's great that they're here," Budinger said. "It's a great chance to show the entire country what we have here in Fredericksburg." Megan Williams:
Date published: 5/31/2008
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