Young, Brigham, 1801-1877 to Thomas L. Kane
Order a pdf of this item here.
Gilder Lehrman Collection #: GLC03888 Author/Creator: Young, Brigham, 1801-1877 Place Written: Salt Lake City, Utah Type: Letter signed Date: 29 June 1854 Pagination: 3 p. : Height: 25 cm, Width: 19.6 cm Order a Copy
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 slavery] be right or wrong it seems a very inappropriate time and wholly unnecessary to introduce it at the present, for it is bound to disturb... the quiet of the community, or country. Discusses local Native Americans: "... if we do not have compassion upon the poor Indians who will? We have ever pursued this policy towards them, to feed and cloth them, and then if they presumed upon our forbearance to become ugly, saucy, and hostile beyond endurance, we have been compelled to chastise them, yet we have never lost sight of this policy to conciliate them as soon as possible, and act strictly on the defensive."
Citation Guidelines for Online Resources
The copyright law of the United States (title 17, United States Code) governs the making of photocopies or other reproductions of copyrighted material. Under certain conditions specified in the law, libraries and archives are authorized to furnish a photocopy or other reproduction. One of these specific conditions is that the photocopy or reproduction is not to be “used for any purpose other than private study, scholarship, or research.” If a user makes a request for, or later uses, a photocopy or reproduction for purposes in excess of “fair use,” that user may be liable for copyright infringement. This institution reserves the right to refuse to accept a copying order if, in its judgment, fulfillment of the order would involve violation of copyright law.