Letter of Francis P. Blair, Esq. to the Republican Association of Washington, DC December 1, 1855

The issue of slavery in the territories and the admission of Kansas to the Union contributed to the Letter of Francis P. Blair, Esq. To the Republican Association of Washington, DC – December 1, 1855. Mr. Blair was outspoken in his objection to the expansion of slavery to new areas, and his views, and letter, were welcomed by the Republicans. At the following Republican Association meeting on December 10, 1855, two resolutions derived from this letter were adopted. They read:

Resolved. That the thanks of this Association be presented to Francis P. Blair, Esq., for his able and highly satisfactory letter, showing that the present Administration has departed entirely from the Jeffersonian principles relative to the government of the Territories of the United States and has become but little better than a working model of John C. Calhoun's Nullification and Disunion doctrines.

Resolved. That a copy of the letter and resolutions be offered to the city papers for publication, and be issued in pamphlet form for general circulation, to strengthen the hands of Republicans, to unite all discordant opinions, and induce good men of all parties to use their influence to bring this Government back to its original principles of Freedom, and to stand upon the issues therein presented, in the next Presidential election.

This document is the pamphlet referred to in the second resolution. It is an eight page booklet, without covers, that measures approximately 5 ¾ x 9 inches. The pamphlet is a first edition, as published in 1855 by the Republican Association of Washington, DC and printed by Buell & Blanchard, Printers. The pages are tanned with some foxing, but the text is clear and easily read. Some pages are semi-detached. The pamphlet is in good condition.

The illustration accompanying this description shows the first page of the pamphlet.

Francis Preston Blair, Sr. (April 12, 1791 – October 18, 1876) was an American journalist and politician. In 1830, having become an ardent follower of Andrew Jackson, he was made editor of the Washington Globe, the recognized organ of the Jackson party. In this capacity, and as a member of Jackson's "Kitchen Cabinet", he long exerted a powerful influence; the Globe was the administration organ until 1841, and the chief Democratic organ until 1845; Blair ceased to be its editor in 1849. During his time in Washington serving Jackson, Blair acquired in 1836 what later became known as Blair House. Even though he held slaves, Blair became convinced after the Mexican War that slavery should not be extended beyond where it was currently allowed. In 1848, he actively supported Martin van Buren, the Free Soil candidate, for presidency, and in 1852 he supported Franklin Pierce, but soon afterwards helped to organize the new Republican Party, and presided at its preliminary convention at Pittsburgh, PA in February 1856. He was influential in securing the nomination of John C. Fremont at the June 1856 convention. At the 1860 convention he initially supported the nomination of Edward Bates as president. When it was clear that Bates would not be nominated, Blair supported the nomination of Abraham Lincoln. [Wikipedia]