Lot 730

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Description:

JAMES BUCHANAN
(1791-1868) Fifteenth President of the United States whose hands-off attitude toward states rights directly contributed to the start of the Civil War. Superb content A.L.S. 'James Buchanan' with integral holograph address leaf, 4pp. 4to., St. Petersburg, Mar. 3, 1833. While serving as Andrew Jackson's ambassador to Russia, Buchanan writes to his staunch political supporter, Henry Buehler (1804-1859), director of the Harrisburg and Lancaster Railroad in Harrisburg, Pa. Buchanan modestly denies any overt political ambitions, while also setting forth his unvarnished opinion of Russians and their tsar. In part: '...I feel grateful to you for your kind wishes for my political promotion; though I am not disposed to have much faith in your predictions, which were evidently dictated by the feelings of friendship...The public favors which I have enjoyed have been unsolicited by myself, and I accepted the station I now occupy only after the re-iterated solicitations of General Jackson. If opportunities of serving my country in office should present themselves, I shall not decline them; if not I shall never seek them...I feel sensible I enjoy less popularity in my home native state than as many others throughout the Union. I shall never hold any office which depends upon a warm, decided & general movement in my favor of the party in Pennsylvania to which I belong. Still I beg you to believe that this is not the language of disappointment or chagrin, Far from it...No American can travel through Europe without becoming still more attached to his native land & those Institutions under which it has flourished. It is only with us that a man can feel from his birth that he is equal to his fellow man. It is perhaps true that no people in Europe are prepared for Republican Institutions. This is what their statesmen contend. But what a compliment to us does this admission imply! In Russia, the great mass of the people are semi-barbarians & slaves wholly unfit for self-government. It is fortunate for them that they have such an Emperor as their present Sovereign; but the curse of despotism is that his son may be as great a tyrant as his father has been. Nicholas mingles freely with his people, is plain, yet dignified in his manners, possesses much energy & ability & is almost adored by his subjects. He receives full credit for all the good that is done; whilst all the evil is charged to the account of his ministers. His private character, as well as that of the Empress is without a single blemish & their example has already done much to reform the manners of a Court which but a few years ago was as dissolute as it was splendid. Such is the character of a sovereign at home, who is believed by many in our country to be a tyrant. That his proceedings towards Poland cannot be justified is certain, and that every liberal man throughout the world desired & ought to have desired the independence of that ancient & gallant nation is equally true: but yet it cannot be denied that the French & English Newspapers have given a false color to his conduct in regard to that country after the attempted revolution. You can have no conception of how bitterly the Russians hate the Poles...very jealous of the favors which they say had been bestowed by the Emperor on Poland at their expense. The last news from Constantinople renders it almost certain that peace will speedily be concluded between the Sultan and the Pasha of Egypt under the mediation of Russia...I have received much kindness among this strange and peculiar people. Indeed, I might almost say they have distinguished me in this respect. Still I feel that I shall not be truly happy until I again see my native country. The principal object of my mission has now been accomplished & I entertain the strongest hopes that I may be permitted to return home after spending two years in St. Petersburg from the time of my arrival & possibly sooner...'. The Polish November Insurrection against Russian rule had been crushed two years earlier, leaving Poles under a cruel and overbearing Russian yoke. As for Buchanan, he would have his wish, returning to the U.S. after 18 months of service as ambassador. In a matter of months, he would be nominated to run for the U.S. Senate...and would be elected, holding office for almost eleven years. Some condition issues: the letter was dampened at some point, and ink has spread along several folds obscuring parts of some words in the text. There are folds and also a one-inch seal tear which cost a word or two, but the letter is otherwise boldly penned and signed and generally in good to very good condition.

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January 19, 2024 10:00 AM EST
Chesapeake City, MD, US

Alexander Historical Auctions LLC

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$0 $99 $10
$100 $499 $20
$500 $999 $50
$1,000 $1,999 $100
$2,000 $4,999 $250
$5,000 $9,999 $500
$10,000 $19,999 $1,000
$20,000 $49,999 $2,500
$50,000 $99,999 $5,000
$100,000 $999,999 $10,000
$1,000,000 $1,999,999 $50,000
$2,000,000 + $100,000