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Unique book of speeches made by members of the 29th Congress of the United States, leatherbound hardcover with marbled boards, 6 x 9, containing more than 60 clipped and affixed signatures inside, mostly taken from free franked covers. Most speeches pertain to the 'Three Million Bill,' the Mexican-American War, or the slavery question, focusing on the Wilmot Proviso—a proposal to ban slavery in territories acquired from Mexico. Signed and dated on the first free end page with the ownership signature of T. A. D. Fessenden, "Thomas A. D. Fessenden, 1847."
The list of signers is highlighted by Andrew Johnson (2), Hannibal Hamlin, Alexander H. Stephens, John C. Calhoun, David Wilmot, John A. Dix, James Seddon (2), and Robert Rhett.
Other signers include: Luther Severance (2), Solomon Foot, Robert C. Winthrop, George Ashmun, Charles Hudson (3), James Dixon, George O. Rathbun (2), Timothy Jenkins, Washington Hunt, Samuel Gordon, Erastus D. Culver, George Evans, Bradford R. Wood, Stephen Strong, Martin Grover, Preston King, William L. Dayton, James Pollock, Abraham R. McIlvaine, Charles J. Ingersoll, Richard Brodhead, Andrew Stewart, Moses McClean (2), William F. Giles, Edward Long, Thomas Perry, Shelton F. Leake, Thomas H. Bayly, John Pendleton, Henry Bedinger, Seaborn Jones, John M. Berrien, Franklin W. Bowdon, Henry W. Hilliard, Andrew Butler, Joseph A. Woodward, Alexander D. Sims, Robert W. Roberts, Jacob Thompson, John H. Harmanson, Milton Brown, Edwin H. Ewing, Frederick P. Stanton, John H. Crozier, and Meredith P. Gentry.
In very good condition, with rubbing and scuffing to boards, worn corners, and some staining to the textblock.
This extraordinary volume offers a vivid window into the political and sectional tensions of mid-19th-century America. It preserves speeches and signatures from legislators of the 29th Congress debating the Mexican-American War and the contentious Wilmot Proviso, which aimed to prohibit slavery in territories acquired from Mexico—an early flashpoint in the nation’s escalating crisis. The collection includes over sixty signatures representing prominent figures across the political spectrum: Andrew Johnson, later president; Hannibal Hamlin, future vice president under Lincoln; staunch pro-slavery advocates like John C. Calhoun and Robert Rhett; and David Wilmot, the Proviso’s author. The book not only documents the legislative battles that presaged the Civil War but also captures the personal imprint of key actors shaping the era’s political landscape.
