Salmon P. Chase

Salmon P. Chase Write About Free Soil Party and 1848 Election
ALS

A fine content autograph letter signed by Salmon P. Chase, two pages, approx. 8? x 10?, Cincinnati, Ohio, Sept. 9, 1847. Chase writes to his brother Edward, a lawyer in Lockport, New York, on integral address leaf letterhead regarding his attendance to the Free Soil and Liberty National Convention in Buffalo, 1848 as well as making political commentary. This letter bears one toned vertical fold on first page of text and toned mailing folds on verso, but is overall in very good to fine condition.

In his characteristically neat hand, Chase writes: ??Will you be at the Buffalo Convention? I shall try to be there though it is quite uncertain whether I shall be able to go or not. I see there is a strong disposition to nominate [John Parker] Hale and I suppose he is our ablest man, all things considered. But I am strongly of opinion that the nomination should be postponed til next spring. Let Hale go to the Senate this winter. Let him promulgate Liberty principles and bring forward Liberty measures. Let him say to the other parties ?Adopt these principles & measures & we are with you; fail to adopt them & we appeal to the people as an Independent party.? They would not listen to him?but some would be persuaded. The majority of both parties would, no doubt go their old way. Then let us nominate Hale next spring & with what moral force in could go before the people. All this great advantage we shall lose by nominating this fall, and I confess I see no compensating advantage whatever??.

The ?Free Soil? party advocated that there would be no new slave states or territories. In the 1848 election, former President Margin van Buren ran on the platform and came in third. John Parker Hale (1806-1873), a fierce anti-slavery politician from New Hampshire and the only Senator with an outward and divisive abolitionist platform, was elected to the Senate in 1846. Three years later, he would be joined by Chase and William H. Seward in the Senate.

Chase indeed attended the 1848 Buffalo convention and there helped draft the ?Free Soil? platform, as well as sought to persuade disaffected or undecided members of the two major parties, a commitment evinced in this fine letter.

This item comes with a Certificate from John Reznikoff, a premier authenticator for both major 3rd party authentication services, PSA and JSA (James Spence Authentications), as well as numerous auction houses.

WE PROVIDE IN-HOUSE SHIPPING WORLDWIDE!
8" x 10"