The Jefferson-Lemen Compact / The Relations of Thomas Jefferson and James Lemen in the Exclusion of Slavery from Illinois and Northern Territory with Related Documents 1781-1818

A historical study reconstructs the confidential collaboration between Thomas Jefferson and Rev. James Lemen and traces Lemen's role as an anti-slavery agent in the Illinois and Northwest Territory during the late 18th and early 19th centuries. It combines narrative chapters—sketching Lemen's life, his Baptist leadership, and the regional slavery conflicts under successive governors—with a broad documentary appendix of diaries, letters, family notes, and pioneer papers. The account examines legislative milestones such as the Ordinance of 1787, territorial disputes over slavery, church influence on emancipation efforts, and archival evidence used to interpret Lemen's influence on policy and public opinion.