Lot 829

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JAMES W. DENVER
(1817-1892) American politician, Commissioner of Indian Affairs and Governor of Kansas territory who restored order in the region. In his honor Denver, Co. was named. Extraordinary content, lengthy A.L.S. 9pp. legal folio, Sacramento, Jan. 26, 1861, to Gen. P. H. Harris, in which Denver predicts the commencement of the Civil War which would begin less than three months later. In small part: ‘…I proceed to give my views in regard to the troubles at present existing in the Southern states of our Union and the course which I think ought to be pursued to restore harmony to the country. About these matters I have no concealments, and if any thing I can say or do will contribute in any degree to the preservation of our government and restoration of good feeling in our hitherto prosperous and happy country, I shall always be ready to respond. That we are surrounded by dangers the most threatening our country has ever yet encountered no one will deny. So long as the government was in the hands of a great national party there could be no real danger, but when it became evident that power was to pass into the hands of a sectional party who entertained opinions hostile to what the other section of country believed to be their constitutional rights, it is not to be wondered at that the very foundations of the government are shaken…The political issues of the past year belong to the past…The Democracy have [sic] been divided in this state because they differed as to the policy that ought to be pressured in order to avoid…The question now presented is not what shall be our construction of the Constitution, but how shall we maintain the integrity of our Union? Two effect this, two modes present themselves. The one is to insist on the construction given by the Republican party as to the power of Congress over the Territories and the manner in which they shall be exercised, and by physical force compel the submission of the southern people; and the other is to amend the Constitution in such a manner as to define specifically the powers of Congress over the Territories and over the question of African slavery…All accounts agree…in representing the people of the South as being almost a unit in the questions now agitating the community. A resort to the sword would inevitably drive the border slaveholding states to take sides with the extreme Southern states which would at once and forever terminate the Confederacy. Suppose however those states should be conquered? We cannot compel the people…to elect members of Congress. We cannot compel them to hold offices under the Federal Government…How then are they to be governed?...Let us turn to the Federal Constitution itself…Are we of the present generation less patriotic than our forefathers? Can we not imitate their example of moderation, of concession, of magnanimity?...God forbid! Let us then meet together in a spirit of harmony as did our forefathers…and amend the constitution so as to meet the emergency…The Southern people (whether right or wrong it is not now necessary to inquire), think that their rights have been invaded by the people of the northern states by a misconstruction of the Constitution…let the northern people remove these causes of irritation and I have no doubt but the southern people would readily and patriotically respond…The more ultra of the Republican party I know strongly urge coercion and seem to forget that their own conduct in passing their Personal Liberty Bills…differs only in degree from the conduct of the people of the South…But I doubt not that there is a conservative element even in the Republican party strong enough and resolute enough to throw aside false philanthropy for the African race in order to preserve this Government for the white race…California occupies a position in the Union at this time that would very well justify her in presenting herself as a mediator, and she cannot in my opinion pursue any other course with safety…The great mass of the people are eminently conservative. They love their old homes, their old friends, they love their whole country. There are few among us who would regard with any kind of favor a proposition dismember the Union, and I apprehend there are not many who would be willing to have the state take part in a war in favor of the north against the south, or of the south against the north…'. WITH: an A.L. (unsigned) written in June 1861 after the outbreak of the hostilities which Denver predicted as the ‘bloody contest', adding: ‘…No matter how much he may condemn the fanaticism of the north…he cannot approve the rebellion of the South. They must be cast with the Constitution and the Flag of my country…All the troubles heretofore predicted loom up in still greater magnitude than at first, but the die is cast…'. Fine condition.

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

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Bid Increments
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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