Background
William was born on September 30, 1759 at "Spring Garden, " Surry County, Virginia, United States, the son of William Short, a well-to-do planter, and his wife Elizabeth, daughter of Sir William Skipwith.
William was born on September 30, 1759 at "Spring Garden, " Surry County, Virginia, United States, the son of William Short, a well-to-do planter, and his wife Elizabeth, daughter of Sir William Skipwith.
Short was graduated in 1779 at the College of William and Mary, where he had been one of the founders of Phi Beta Kappa and was president of that society from December 1778 to January 1781.
In 1783-84 he was a member of the Executive Council of Virginia, then followed Jefferson on his mission to France. Soon after his arrival in Paris, he was sent by Jefferson, Adams, and Franklin to arrange with the Prussian envoy at The Hague for a commercial treaty between Prussia and the United States. Upon the successful conclusion of this business he returned to Paris, where he acted as Jefferson's private secretary and later as secretary of legation.
Upon Jefferson's return to America in 1789, Short became charge d'affaires, and during the next two years was busy attempting to negotiate a commercial treaty with France, handling the business of American loans in Amsterdam, and sending full reports to Jay and Jefferson on the political developments in France.
After Jefferson became secretary of state, Short nursed every hope of being appointed to succeed him as minister to France, but despite the weight of Jefferson's influence, the post went to Gouverneur Morris, early in 1792, and Short reluctantly accepted appointment as minister at The Hague.
In February 1793 he went from The Hague to Madrid as joint commissioner with William Carmichael to negotiate a treaty concerning boundaries, navigation, and commercial privileges in regard to Florida and the Mississippi, and after Carmichael's recall in the spring of 1794, he was made minister resident with sole power to carry on the negotiations. Just as success was about to crown his labors, Thomas Pinckney was sent to Spain as envoy extraordinary and commissioner plenipotentiary to conclude the treaty. Short continued to handle affairs until Pinckney's arrival and then loyally cooperated with him in securing the treaty which bears Pinckney's name, signed October 27, 1795.
Leaving Spain, he lived in Paris until 1802, when he returned to the United States. In March 1809 he was destined to receive one more rebuff. Commissioned by Jefferson in the previous August as minister to Russia, he had proceeded as far as Paris when he received word that a hostile Senate had rejected his appointment, declaring a permanent minister to Russia unnecessary.
Short remained in France until 1810, when he returned to America, settling in Philadelphia, and for the remainder of his life devoted himself to his private affairs. He had made profitable investments through the Dutch bankers with whom he had become acquainted in Amsterdam, and had made extensive purchases of land in Kentucky and northern New York. During the next years he built up a large fortune, but he never again interested himself in public office.
Short was both an opponent of slavery and a believer in the natural equality of the races. He advocated freeing slaves in America, giving them farmland and access to education, and supported racial intermarriage.
Of a sensitive, appealing personality, with the easy charm of the South in his manner and a perfect command of the French language, he achieved an enviable position in the highest circles of French society.
Quotes from others about the person
Jefferson referred to Short as his "adoptive son. "
He loved the Duchesse Rosalie de la Rochefoucauld, but she was not willing to leave France to marry him, she had actually married an older, wealthy relative instead.