22 August 1850

Phelps, Samuel Shethar, 1793-1855

Autograph letter signed

Title: to unknown

Docketed with blue ink. Possibly to J. H. Barrett (refer to GLC03678.01). Discusses the Compromise of 1850 (the Pearce Act) in detail. Phelps offers his opinion on the act, which related to the extension of slavery in territories acquired by the Mexican American War: "... this country is and will remain a desert and neither slavery or population will ever exist there." Phelps voted for the Compromise of 1850 because, "there was danger that the govt. itself might be dissolved if these questions about slavery were not disposed of... It was not violence that I apprehended but the... silent…

GLC03678.02

9 September 1786

Washington, George, 1732-1799

Autograph letter signed

Title: to John Francis Mercer

Washington replies to a letter from Mercer, noting that he would have replied sooner, but he had a fever. Expresses his plan to never enslaved another person again, and his wish that slavery be abolished by "slow, sure & imperceptible degrees." Discusses financial matters, mentioning a debt he owes Governor George Clinton of New York, which was supposed to have been repaid within twelve months of "the Peace" (1783). For what remains of the loan, Washington is paying seven percent interest. Mentions another, higher debt he owes to an unspecified individual, and that repayment of this…

GLC03705

1839-1844

Jones, William, fl. 1823-1860

Manuscript document signed

Title: [Plantation Book]

Plantation account book of William Jones, the owner of a cotton plantation in the vicinity of Jonesville, Liberty County, Georgia, near Savannah. Also mentions planting rice, but cotton appears to be the main staple of the plantation. Gives a nearly day-by-day account of the operation of his plantation. The book was kept as a record of planting, harvests, weather, preparation of ground, allocation of slave labor, crop yields, prices realized, and other agricultural matters. Provides extremely little on Jones's personal life. No systematic listing of slaves on the plantation is provided, but…

GLC03703

21 September 1838

Adams, John Quincy, 1767-1848

Autograph letter signed

Title: to editor of Quincy Patriot

Written as Member of Congress. A report to his constituents regarding petitions made concerning the right to petition and its suppression through the Gag Rule, abolishing slavery in the District of Columbia and the slave trade in the US, his opposition to the admission of Texas, a condemnation of the "fraudulent" Treaty of New Echota which removed the Cherokee Indians and a bill for suppressing duelling between representatives. Pages are stained.

GLC03707

19 May 1831

Clay, Henry, 1777-1852

Autograph letter signed

Title: to John Switzer

Written from Ashland, Clay's estate, to Switzer at Union Bridge, Frederick County, Maryland. Replying to a request from Switzer, Senator Clay discusses his opinions on colonization and slavery. Refers Switzer to an address he gave to the Colonization Society of Kentucky in 1829. Argues for leaving the decision of emancipation up to individual states. Attests that slavery can only be justified in America by necessity, if at all, and that Congress has no power to establish a system of emancipation.

GLC03725

27 June 1864

Cochran, S.C., fl. 1864

Autograph letter signed

Title: to William M. Stone

Cochran writes to Major Stone at Mobile, Alabama. Draws Stone's attention to the case of James L. Godbold, "who before the passage of the last Exemption Act applied for exemption from military service under the 20 negro law, & paid $500." Notes that Godbold has not received exemption, and deserves a refund of the $500 he paid. Requests Godbold's receipt, which was previously sent to Stone. Also mentions the "meat-law." Contains a Confederate stamp.

GLC03740

February 14, 1820

Tyler, John, 1790-1862

Autograph letter signed

Title: to Spencer Roane

Written by Tyler as Republican Congressman from Virginia to Roane as Chief Justice of the Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals. Writes to Roane about issues surrounding the Missouri Compromise debates. Tyler was concerned with Northern arguments that claimed Congress could restrict slavery in the Territories through their Constitutional powers. Says he is worried "about the nature of the power which is attempted to be exercised by Congress[.] you and myself cannot fail to agree in pronouncing it a bold and daring assumption - warranted neither by the constitution or the principles of justice."…

GLC03670

1862-1863

Baker, T. Otis, 1844-1910

Header Record

Title: [Collection of T. Otis Baker, B company, 10th regiment, Mississippi, infantry] [Decimalized .01- .03]

Lieutenant T. Otis Baker served in Co. B, 10th Mississippi Infantry, C.S.A. The diary covers 9 October 1862 -2 August 1863. Diary is primarily written in pencil and has some touch-ups. In addition to the diary, this collection includes one photograph and one calling card. The diary contains entries for the period 24 June-14 July 1863, covering Rosecrans' Tullahoma campaign and its aftermath.

GLC03134

8 June 1803

Jefferson, Thomas, 1743-1826

Autograph letter signed

Title: to James Oldham

Discusses construction materials and methods used at Monticello. Suggests that it would be better to use riven pine slabs than linen. Includes a drawing of six parallel lines to show how the boards can be laid out. Mentions that if Oldham needs more help than just Lewis (a slave), contact Mr. Gabriel Lilly, who will do the job for less money than Mr. John Perry, who charges one dollar a day.

GLC03897

24 December 1823

Adams, John Quincy, 1767-1848

Letter signed

Title: [Instructions to James Brown, Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary to France]

Written by Quincy Adams as Secretary of State to Brown as American Ambassador to France. Lists 14 items he included with instructions, including: a commission for his post, a letter of credence to King Louis XVIII, full powers for negotiating commerce and navigation issues, a cypher to send coded messages, a letter of credit to the banks in Amsterdam to carry out his duties and draw his salary, various legal books, a passport, full powers to negotiate an end to slave trade, and a letter for Albert Gallatin, who he was replacing in France. Spells out salary and expense issues in detail and…

GLC03922

29 June 1854

Young, Brigham, 1801-1877

Letter signed

Title: to Thomas L. Kane

Young writes to Colonel Kane, an abolitionist and friend. Praises his acquaintance with Kane, and Kane's knowledge of the Mormon people. Thanks Kane for his assistance in a legal case, the "May case," noting "...it is no remedy at all, to put a man to death unjustly, and then punish his executioners, but actually makes matters worse." Remarks that President Franklin Pierce has not acted regarding the case, but Young doesn't think the prisoner will be hanged. Thinks Congress should spend more time developing the railroad than deliberating the slavery question: "Whether the principle [of…

GLC03888

1897-1916

Mosby, John S., 1833-1916

Header Record

Title: to Sam Chapman re: letters on slavery, the war, Lincoln, Grant, Lee, Stuart [decimalized]

A collection of letters from John Singleton Mosby, of Warrenton, Virginia, to Samuel Chapman of Covington, Virginia, most written on stationery of the Department of Justice. (Other recipients are noted in the inventory.) The letters discuss the Civil War, Reconstruction and American attempts to reevaluate the war, its causes and actors. Many of these letters are written while Mosby served as an Assistant Attorney for the Department of Justice (1904-1910). Mosby's letters demonstrate his conciliatory attitude towards the North. He supported President Grant's legacy of reconstruction, and…

GLC03921

1 November 1841

Garrard, Theophilus T., 1812-1902

Autograph document signed

Title: [Document regarding Garrard's debt to Daniel Garrard]

Cites the details of several sums Theophilus owes Daniel Garrard (one of Theophilus's brothers and his father were named Daniel). As surety, Theophilus conveys the right, title, and interest of a tract of land in Clay County, Kentucky, to Daniel (the land is known as "the saltworks tract"). Also presents Daniel with "the Abner Baker place," crops, farm animals, and slaves (including Andy, Bill, and George) until the debt is paid.

GLC03996

6 August 1802

Leclrec, Charles, 1772-1802

Autograph letter signed

Title: to General Donatien Marie Joseph de Vimeur, vicomte de Rochambeau [in French]

Dated 18 Thermidor, year ten. Written during the Haitian Revolution (1791-1804). Leclerc, French commander at Haiti, informs Rochambeau that General Antoine Richepanse has reestablished slavery in Guadeloupe, and there are slight signs of unrest. Predicts that the insurrection is in its final stage. Advises using examples of severity to inspire terror. Written on Armee de Saint-Domingue stationery. LeClerc died of Yellow Fever in November 1802; Rochambeau was his successor.

GLC04032

February 21, 1783

Paca, William, 1740-1799

Autograph letter

Title: to George Washington

Written by Paca, a signer of the Declaration of Independence, as Governor of Maryland to General Washington. Signature has been clipped and added. Says there is reason to believe the British crown has prohibited offensive operations on the continent. Claims that if that is true, it has been violated by armed vessels in the Chesapeake. Says a party under Wheland landed and plundered the town of Benedict, Maryland. Mentions that Colonel Plater's negroes were plundered. Wants Washington to know about these violations so he can bring them up in any future negotiations with British officers.

GLC03937

16 December 1856

Sumner, Charles, 1811-1874

Autograph letter signed

Title: to Silas Ketchum

Senator Sumner informs Ketchum, "Of course, I cannot identify the child to which you refer. There was a little girl quite white, a slave in Washington, whose freedom was purchased through my agency, & afterwards sent to Boston, where I presume she now is. She was sometimes called Ida May, & was about 10 years of age." In a post script, writes, "Of course, the proslavery democratic papers deny everything that tells against Slavery. They deny the wrongs of Kansas!"

GLC03980

May 4, 1757

Livingston, Philip, 1716-1778

Document signed

Title: [Witnessing 200 pound bond for manumission of slave]

Legal document for the posting of a bond for the manumission of the slave Ann. Signed as witnesses by the Aldermen and Justices of the Peace for the City and County of New York: John Cruger, Simon Johnson, Francis Gilpin, Philip Livingston (the Declaration of Independence signer), Leonard Lispenard, and William Coventry. Ann was previously owned by Eve Scurlock, a tavern keeper, who had recently died. Her will freed Ann. John Vanduersen, a cordswain, and Peter Burger, a cooper, paid the bond necessary to manumit her. Posting a bond was a condition of freedom for slaves after the revolt in…

GLC03943

30 April 1864

Murdock, A.C., fl. 1864

Document signed

Title: [North Carolina arrest warrant for slave stealing food]

Partially printed. Murdock signs as Justice of the Peace for an unspecified county in North Carolina on an order for the arrest of Herbert Jackson, a slave. On the oath of Betsy Lott, it is declared that Jackson, a slave owned by [Ty Whited or Whitehead], obtained bacon from another slave. Apparently, "stole a bit of curd bacon" was previously struck and replaced with "bought and received one piece of bacon from Nelson, a slave in the service of Julia Minor." Other details of the purchase are also struck. On verso, Murdock signs several statements. In one statement, Murdock appears to…

GLC03961

5 September 1799

Stoddert, Benjamin, 1751-1813

Printed document signed

Title: to Captain Lever

Stoddert, Secretary of the Navy, signs a circular outlining an Act of Congress passed 22 March 1794, "to prohibit the carrying on the Slave Trade from the United States to any foreign place or country..." The Act orders that no United States citizen or resident shall fit or prepare a ship for the purpose of engaging in the slave trade. In the same vein, no citizen is allowed to use a ship to procure inhabitants of a foreign country for sale in the slave trade abroad. Instructs Lever to inform the Department of the Navy of all vessels engaged in the slave trade.

GLC03964

15 November 1768

Blair, John, 1687-1771

Document signed

Title: [Announcement of amendment to law on slave trials for capital crimes]

Partially printed document signed by Blair as President of the Virginia Council and Commander in Chief of the colony to the justices of the peace of Buckingham County. Transmits amendments made to "An Act directing the Trial of Slaves committing Capital Crimes, and for the more effectual punishing Conspiracies and Insurrections of them, and for the better Government of Negroes, Mulattoes, and Indians, bound or free." Says the governor, and temporarily in Virginia the Commander in Chief, has the power to issue commissions of oyer and terminer to justices of each county empowering them "from…

GLC03970

1641-1862

Header Record

Title: Collection of important printed treaties [decimalized]

GLC03985

1844

Book

Title: Instructions for...naval officers employed in...suppression of...slave trade

Volume contains 27 treaties with foreign powers for the suppression of the slave trade. Published for use by British naval captains.

GLC03985.01

1713

Great Britain. Treaties.

Pamphlet

Title: The Assiento...for allowing to...Great Britain the liberty of importing negroes

Printed by John Baskett. Missing 1/3 permission leaf. The Assiento Treaty between England and Spain. Spain granted England an official monopoly to supply enslaved people from Africa to the Spanish New World. Signed on 25 March 1713.

GLC03985.05

7 November 1848

Russell, William Hepburn, 1812-1872

Manuscript document signed

Title: [Emancipation of Hiram, an enslaved man]

One document dated November 7, 1848. Pertains to the emancipation of Hiram, a 32-year-old enslaved man. His height, weight and facial scar is described. Signatures included Samuel Sawyer, William Morrison, and William H. Russell, James H. Bullard and James H. Graham as witnesses. Louis W. Smallwood, circuit court clerk for Lafayette County, dated the document December 27, 1848. Accompanied by a check, related to William H. Russell (GLC04128.02).

GLC04128.01

1821

Adams, John Quincy, 1767-1848

Book signed

Title: Report upon weights and measures.

An attempt to synthesize history, philosophy and physics into a coherent whole that illuminates the nature of human relations. Recommends the adoption of the metric system, as a blessing that will lead to "the improvement of the physical, moral and intellectual condition of man upon earth," by making stronger the "links of sympathy between the inhabitants of the most distant regions." Points to international suppression of the slave trade as a precedent for an international effort to standardize weights and measures. First edition. Inscribed by Adams to diplomat and politician Jonathan…

GLC04045