Daniel Clark Jr. was born in Ireland in 1766. Twenty years later the young man traveled to New Orleans, then a Spanish possession, at the behest of an uncle. Clark rapidly became a success as a merchant in the Spanish province because of his ability to speak French and Spanish as well as his connections in the Governor's office. Within a few years the Irishman had established himself as one of the wealthiest and most influential men in the city of New Orleans In addition to his mercantile activities Clark also began to represent the interests of the American community in New Orleans. By the mid-1790s he was serving as unofficial vice-consul for the United States, a position which had become official by the end of the decade. As vice-consul Clark succeeded in persuading the Spanish to lower the duty on American goods traveling through Louisiana and also in reestablishing a place of deposit for those articles When the United States began to show interest in purchasing New Orleans from its new owners, the French, Clark sent valuable information to Washington. He reported on a wide variety of topics including the economic life of the region as well as the attitude of French and Spanish officials in the Crescent City Clark believed he should have been properly rewarded by the government for his services and when William C. C. Claiborne was named governor in his stead the Irishman became his implacable foe. Clark now moved away from the Americans to side with the Creoles in the struggle for political control of Louisiana A few years later he became involved in Aaron Burr's efforts to separate the southwest from the United States. Clark was probably not deeply involved in the conspiracy, but it proved to be the most controversial period of his life. The association with Burr ruined Clark politically. By 1810 he had substantially withdrawn from public life. Clark died in August of 1813, leaving behind a daughter, Myra, who would become famous in her own right and a reputation as an enigmatic figure that has survived until the present day / acase@tulane.edu
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:TULANE/oai:http://digitallibrary.tulane.edu/:tulane_27489 |
| Date | January 1984 |
| Contributors | Wohl, Michael Stephen (Author) |
| Publisher | Tulane University |
| Source Sets | Tulane University |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Rights | Access requires a license to the Dissertations and Theses (ProQuest) database., Copyright is in accordance with U.S. Copyright law |
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