Gouverneur Morris played an important role in the American Revolution, made profound contributions to the Constitution (including writing its Preamble), and was the American minister to France during the height of the French Revolution. He began keeping a diary after arriving in France in 1789 and continued until his death in 1816. After he left France, he traveled through Europe until late 1798; returning to America, he was an early proponent of the Erie Canal and promoted the development of New York State. The diaries, written in language that is eloquent and often humorous, are a remarkable record of an extraordinary life.

This digital edition includes an updated version of a 1939 edition of Morris’s Paris diaries, the newly transcribed and annotated 1794–1798 diaries about his European travels, and the 1799–1816 diaries he kept in New York.