Francis Preston Blair Sr. and Family, Extensive Archive Featuring Letter in which Blair Discusses Advice Given to John Critte

About Auction

Live

American History, Featuring the Property of N...

By Cowan's Auctions

Jun 9, 2017 - Jun 10, 2017

Set Reminder 2017-06-09 10:00:00 2017-06-10 10:00:00 America/New_York Bidsquare Bidsquare : American History, Featuring the Property of N. Flayderman & Co. https://www.bidsquare.com/auctions/cowans/american-history-featuring-the-property-of-n-flayderman-co-2392
Cowan's Auctions dawnie@cowans.com

View Full Catalog (392)

• Lot Description

  Lot of 116+ items. The highlight of the archive is a 4pp letter dated December 21, 1860 from "Silver Spring," written by Francis Preston Blair Sr. to his son, Francis Preston Blair Jr., in which he discusses advising John J. Crittenden on the "Crittenden Compromise" as well as his attempts to find a place for his other son Montgomery in Lincoln's administration.

  Francis Preston Blair Sr. (1791-1876) was a well-respected figure in Washington politics. His speech impediment kept him from running for office, but his adept management of The Washington Globe made him a vital part of the Democratic Party’s success in the 1830s and 1840s. His service to the party earned him a position on President Andrew Jackson’s “Kitchen Cabinet,” and allowed him to continue to advise other presidents including Abraham Lincoln. He is credited with helping form the original Republican Party. Lincoln said that, "The Blairs have to an unusual degree the spirit of clan. Their family is a close corporation. Frank is their hope and pride. They have a way of going with a rush for anything they undertake, especially have Montgomery and the Old Gentleman" (Mr. Lincoln's White House: Frank P. Blair Jr. (1821-1875), The Lehrman Institute).

  Demonstrating the power of Blair Sr.’s opinion, Kentucky Senator John J. Crittenden pulled aside Blair Sr. and asked the former Kentuckian for his advice days after proposing his failed Crittenden Compromise. In Blair Sr.'s December 21, 1860 letter to his son, he described the exchange with Crittenden. He told me he was ready to do anything in his power to stop the headlong course on which S. Carolina sought to involve the slave states & to give Lincoln an easy & prosperous administration, wrote Blair.

  I asked him to hunt up the law establishing the New Mexican Territory, & then pointed to the section giving power to its Legislature to make laws touching all proper subjects of local concern – such laws to be submitted to Congress & to become invalid if disapproved by that body… I told him I had proposed to Crittenden & King to meet Douglas’s new project by the old one of 1850. They assented to the idea of making our stand immoveably on the old Landmarks. Crittenden told me he would instantly modify his plan so as to base it on this suggestion. If he does & [missing paper] replacing the Missouri line limited at its old point on the west, & makes both compromises permanent in an amendment to the Constitution the effect would be to give the free states that part of Texas above 36.30 and around the Supreme Court’s Dred Scott principle, in all the territories by recognizing the supreme Legislative power of Congress over them.  

  Crittenden commended Blair Sr.’s suggestions and said they were in line with the political legacy left behind by Henry Clay. He immediately went to work on the revisions, but Blair Sr.’s suggestions did not stave off the war.

  In the same letter, Blair Sr. discusses his son Montgomery Blair's political prospects in Lincoln’s administration. Trumbull showed me a letter from Lincoln to Hamlin today, in which the latter says he means to tender [Mony.?] a place in his Cabinet – but will not commit himself, he wrote. This is a proper reservation. I mentioned it to your brother, who said he would be sorry(?) to take a place, if any circumstances should occur to change the favorable disposition now entertained. Montgomery denied the first appointment, but the following year he accepted a position in Lincoln’s cabinet as Postmaster General.

  The recipient of the letter, Francis Preston Blair Jr. (1821-1875) used his political influence to convince Missouri to stay with the Union rather than join the Confederacy. He also became a major general in the Union Army, commanding Sherman’s troops during his March to the Sea, which won him the respect of Sherman in addition to General Ulysses S. Grant. He enjoyed a successful political career and earned the Democratic nomination for Vice President in 1868, but lost the election due to his harsh criticisms of the dangers of African Americans rising to power. He suffered a debilitating stroke in 1873, but remained in politics until his death in 1875.   

  In addition to the letter, the lot includes: envelope with wax seals custom made for Andrew Jackson, given to Blair by Jackson in 1829 with a later letter of provenance from the family; an 1835 Missouri land grant to Antoine Granalin Hath signed by Peter G. Glover, accompanied by a newspaper clipping of an article speaking on political controversy involving Glover and Blair Sr.; CDV of Blair Jr. and his 1868 running mate Horatio Seymour; Francis Preston Blair Jr.’s calling card; woodcut print of Francis Preston Blair Jr. with his facsimile signature, 7 x 10 in.; illustrated campaign song sheet for Seymour and Blair; printed portrait of Blair; 1872 subscription list for the Congressional Globe Office in Washington, DC; pamphlet entitled Personal Recollections of Some of Missouri’s Eminent Statesmen and Lawyers delivered by Charles P. Johnson, 1903; 5 letters from well-known chemist Andrew A. Blair, ca 1873-1883; cabinet card of Andrew A. Blair, his brother, and their African American nurse; 12 letters from Appoline Blair, wife of Francis Preston Blair, Jr. and a copy of the Blair family crest; 5 CDVs of different family members; a clean half plate daguerreotype of two women identified as Appoline Alexander/Alexandria(?) Blair and Ester(?) Biddle; a booklet entitled Blair House Past and Present: An Account of Its Life and Times in the City of Washington; two booklets entitled Annals of Silver Springs by Gist Blair; 8 letters from Gist Blair; 10 miscellaneous family letters; a stock share for the American Systematic Benefice Society; Stephens College report card for Emily Blair; two etchings of Emily Blair; plus approx. 55 papers, letters, and documents pertaining to the Blair family lineage. 

  Condition

  Most of the items are in very good condition. Letters have typical folds and some toning of the paper. The Crittenden Compromise letter has some brittle folds and a small portion missing from the brittle fold. 
• Shipping Info

  • SHIPPING. At the request of the buyer, Cowan's will authorize the shipment of purchased items. Shipments usually occur within two weeks after payment has been received. Shipment is generally made via UPS Ground service. Unless buyer gives special instructions, the shipping method shall be at the sole discretion of Cowan's Auctions, Inc.. Cowan's is in no way responsible for the acts or omissions of independent handlers, packers or shippers of purchased items or for any loss, damage or delay from the packing or shipping of any property.

• Buyer's Premium

  • Hammer Price	Premium (%)
    $0	28.00
    $250,001	23.00
    $3,000,001	15.00