THE VOTES AND SPEECHES OF MARTIN VAN BUREN, ON THE SUBJECTS OF THE RIGHT OF SUFFRAGE, THE QUALIFICATIONS OF COLOURED PERSONS TO VOTE, AND THE APPOINTMENT OF JUSTICES OF THE PEACE

Albany: Printed by Thurlow Weed, 1840. 24pp. Disbound without wrappers, bit of minor corner wear, else Very Good.

This pamphlet was printed in response to an inquiry from Greer W. Davis of Cape Girardeau, Missouri. A prominent and long-lived member of the Missouri Bar, Davis was "the last of the territorial lawyers," working up to his death in 1878. [III Houck, A History of Missouri 24, 32-33. Chicago: 1908].
Deciding whether to support Van Buren's re-election to the presidency, he asks New York's Secretary of State for Van Buren's voting record in the 1821 New York Constitutional Convention. If he favored "universal suffrage, elections of justices of the peace by the people, and opposed to free negroes voting," then Davis can support Van Buren with a clear conscience. "I live in that part of Missouri where Van Buren principles prevail, and it is my desire to procure that kind of testimony that cannot be refuted." The Journal excerpts printed here provide insight into the early Van Buren, who would acquire a reputation for unprincipled expediency. Van Buren failed Davis's test: he opposed unrestricted universal suffrage; supported a motion to remove the requirement that voters be 'white', but with property qualification for nonwhite citizens; and he opposed direct election of justices of the peace. Summaries of his remarks at the Convention are included.
FIRST EDITION. AI 40-6700 [5]. Sabin 98425. Not in Wise & Cronin or LCP.