The Territorial Slave Code Speech of Vice President Henry Wilson Argues Against the Constitutionality of Slavery 1860

Abolition, Henry Wilson

Pamphlet

Territorial Slave Code. The Honorable Henry Wilson of Massachusetts. Delivered in the Senate, January 25, 1860. Washington D.C: 1860. First edition. 16 pages 9" x 5.75" inches. Removed from a large volume. Henry Wilson, a Massachusetts senator and Vice President under Ulysses Grant, was an outspoken abolitionist. In this speech, Wilson argues against the constitutionality of slavery in response to Albert Gallatin Brown's speech arguing that slaves, as property, should be subject to the same protections in the territories as any other form of property. Wilson forcefully rejects this claim and identifies "Slave Power" as one of the great evils in the United States, asserting that it "holds the National Government, in all its departments, in absolute subjugation." Wilson gives a history of the government's conciliation to Slave Power but ends his speech with the challenge to "save those Territories to free labor, check the reopening slave traffic, and put the National Government in harmony with a progressive Christian civilization." The spine is somewhat chipped after being removed from its larger volume, and there is minor spotting on front and back covers, but overall this piece is in very good condition.

Item #17736

Price: $225.00