Lot 74
Buchanan, James. Autograph letter signed ("James Buchanan") as Senator, 2 pages, 10 x 8 in., Senate Chamber, January 13 1842. A long political letter to John C. Plumer. He starts out by recommending the judgeship of Judge Rogers: "Although I do not anticipate any serious objections to his confirmation, yet my own feelings dictate I should communicate at least to one of my friends in the Senate my knowledge of his character both judicial & personal. I have been upon terms of the closest intimacy with him for almost thirty years & I have never known a more honest & honorable man nor a more sage & upright judge. One great purpose of limiting the judicial tenure to a term of years, a provision in the Constitution of which I highly approve, was to subject the character & conduct of the judge to the ordeal of public opinion; and if his conduct has been such as to merit & obtain the public approbation, that he should then be rewarded with a re-appointment…." He goes on to talk about the Exchequer Bill: "The Exchequer Bill alias the Government Bank is still under discussion. Mr. Benton is now making a powerful speech against it. In its present form, or anything like it, Congress will never adopt it. The task was assigned to me of making the opening speech against it. The subject was then new & the press was eager. The consequence was that my remarks appeared both in the Intelligencer & the Globe the next morning without having been submitted to my supervision. There were many mistakes in both reports. They were corrected by me & the speech as corrected was republished in the Globe & in pamphlet form. But when falsehood gets a start truth can rarely overtake it; & the first & incorrect version of my speech in the Globe has been republished all over the Country. The Democratic Party, at least in the Senate, were never more united or more harmonious…"
Buchanan served in many political capacities. He was a Pennsylvania Representative (1815-1816), a U.S. Representative (1821-1831), U.S. Minister to Russia (1832-1833), a U.S. Senator (1834-1845), Secretary of State under Polk (1845-1849), Minister to Great Britain (1853-1856), and President (1856-1860), during which he presided over the financial panic of 1857 and the lingering potential secession of the Southern states.
Estimated Value $1,200 - 1,500.
Christie's New York, Nov. 15, 2005, lot 75.
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| Realized $930 |
