Robert R. Livingston (1746–1813) diplomat
Robert Livingston was born in New York City on November 27, 1746, the scion of an influential colonial family with roots dating to the 17th century. Raised in an aristocratic environment, Livingston was well educated privately and graduated from Kings College (now Columbia University) in 1765. He was admitted to the bar three years later and commenced a lucrative business in concert with his partner, John Jay. At that time, the first rumblings of revolution were manifested against such British policies as the Stamp Act. Livingston urged caution, but once hostilities finally commenced in 1775 he reluctantly endorsed independence as a necessary evil. That year, Livingston attended the Second Continental Congress as a New York delegate, where he was appointed to serve with the committee drafting the Declaration of Independence. Returning to New York, he subsequently took an active role in drafting the New York constitution of 1777 and was rewarded with an appointment as chancellor of the Court of Chancellory. Livingston resumed his seat in Congress two years later, and after independence he functioned as secretary for foreign affairs. In 1788 he attended the constitutional convention in Philadelphia as a delegate, and the following year Livingston administered the oath of office to the new president, George Washington, in the temporary capital of New York City.
Though conservative by nature and nominally a Federalist, Livingston felt increasingly at odds with the faction headed by Alexander HAMILTON and its promotion of the Jay Treaty, which he felt sold out to Great Britain. In concert with Thomas Jefferson’s newly emerging Democratic Republican Party, Livingston was strongly disposed to support the French Revolution. This made him a pariah in conservative circles, but in 1801 the new president, Jefferson, appointed him minister to France. It was in this capacity that Livingston made indelible contributions to the United States by successfully negotiating the purchase of the Louisiana Territory from First Consul Napoleon Bonaparte in 1803. This virtually doubled the size of the young republic and, by dint of acquiring New Orleans, facilitated internal trade via the Mississippi River. It proved one of the greatest diplomatic coups in history and a crucial step in the economic viability of the young nation. Livingston remained in Paris two more years before returning home to his estate at Clermont, New York, to engage in scientific farming. He was especially interested in the breeding of Merino sheep and penned several noted tracts on that subject and on agricultural progress in general.
Livingston’s reputation as a leading economic figure in American history dates to 1797, when he became actively involved in steam navigation. The nascent technology seemed promising but had proved untenable after many failed experiments at building a viable steamship. It was not until 1802 that he agreed to underwrite noted inventor Robert FULTON in a similar endeavor. Many years of trial and error lapsed before the steamship Clermont finally made its historic passage up the Hudson River in 1807. This voyage ushered in the age of steam navigation in America, along with the rise of monopolies to control its employment. Livingston never obtained the national celebrity of Fulton, but his extensive backing proved instrumental to their mutual success. He then used his political leverage to acquire a monopoly for shipping on both the Hudson and Mississippi Rivers. But despite the promise of profit, the limitations of the new steam technology remained legion and failed to produce the windfall anticipated, although the practice of states granting steamship monopolies was vanquished by the U.S. Supreme Court in 1824. By the time Livingston died at his estate at Clermont on February 26, 1813, his varied, farranging, and multifaceted career in politics, diplomacy, and science had proved of considerable importance to the young republic. He also provided an undeniable impetus to the commercial applications of steam technology, which successfully matured a few decades after his passing.
Further reading
- Brandt, Clare. An American Aristocracy: The Livingstons. Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday, 1986.
- Dangerfield, George. Chancellor Robert R. Livingston of New York, 1746–1813. New York: Harcourt, Brace, 1960.
- Wiles, Richard C., and Andrea K. Zimmermann, eds. The Livingston Legacy: Three Centuries of American History. Annandale-on-Hudson, N.Y.: Bard College, 1987.
John C. Fredriksen
