Item 49: Letter from James Buchanan to H[endrick]. B[radley]. Wright, 1841 May 22
Item — Box: 9, Folder: 49
Dates
- Created: 1841 May 22
Creator
- Buchanan, James, 1791-1868. (Person)
Disclaimer for Name and Subject Authorities
Some of the name and subject authority tags have been assigned by educated guessing and estimation of persons and subjects by region, age, profession, and familial relationships. They have been thoroughly researched by using primary and secondary sources available digitally, and named in each description, or in some cases linked directly to the person tag.
Access:
All series and subseries within this collection are open for research, with the exception of a few files within the Academia series that are restricted. The Academia series contains financial and sensitive institutional records from Wilkes College, and financial report records from Princeton University that will remain restricted for 80 years upon creation.
Extent
1 items
Language of Materials
From the Collection: English
Type of Material:
Letter.
Condition Note:
Good. Some minor stainage, folds, and a single unobtrusive tear present.
Measurements:
9 ⅝ in. x 7 ⅞ in. (closed); 15 ¾ in. x 9 ⅝ in. (open)
Description:
The following item depicts a letter dated May 22, 1841, written by James Buchanan, the 15the president of the United States to Hendrick Bradley Wright, a Democratic and Greenback member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Pennsylvania. In the letter, Buchanan is writing about concerns following the passing of the Relief Bill. He writes that he was shocked to find that Wright supported the passing of the bill, stating that he himself saw many reasons that it went against what Buchanan writes, is “hostile to the principles of Democracy.” Buchanan further critiques Wright’s previous letter, suggesting that Wright writes that he believes Buchanan will come to see the rightness in passing the bill. He states that he expects to be mocked for his position in vetoing the bill, but now that it is passed, there is nothing to be done than to see the outcomes. He concludes his letter, however, suggesting that he does not want these tensions to overcome their friendship.
The 1841 Relief Bill, or H. R. 17, passed the 26th Congress during 1839-1841, was a bill proposed and passed to aid those indebted to the United States.
The Pennsylvania House of Representatives’ website has a more detailed history of the 1841 Relief Bill, or H.R. 17. This bill, to quote, “authorized a $3.1 million loan to pay interest on public debt and was designed to prevent the failure of banks and increase state tax revenue. The bill was controversial at the time and initially vetoed … the House and Senate overrode the veto by a two-thirds vote in each chamber to approve the bill” (Pennsylvania House of Representatives).
There is a photostat of the letter created by Gilbert Stuart McClintock created by Gilbert Stuart himself, present in the McClintock Family Series II, 1.43F Item 43F: A Photostat by [Gilbert Stuart McClintock], [1958 June 24], of a Letter by James Buchanan to H[endrick] B[radley] Wright, 1841 May 22. In that collection, we see that he once offered this letter in order to broker a trade with Mary A. Benjamin, an autograph collector, for items that pertain to influential and presidential candidates of the Wilkes Barre, Northeastern Pennsylvanian region, of which McClintock expressed interest within her collection.
Location:
Lancaster, Pennsylvania
Transcription:
Lancaster 22 May 1841.
My dear sir
I have received yours of the 19th Instant & it will always afford me pleasure to comply with any of your requests.
I must confess that I was both astonished & disappointed at your vote in favor of the Relief Bill. I most sincerely regretted that you should have taken a course which appeared to me to be so hostile to the principles of Democracy & the best interests of the party; because I entertain towards you a warm personal regard. I never doubted the purity of your motives; but yet, I think you have committed a great mistake. But it is now over & cannot be recalled; and I hope it may not prejudice you hereafter. I have no doubt I shall be taunted with this Bill on the floor of the Senate; and I may then be compelled publickly (sic) [publicly] to express my opinion of it.
You say that I am undoubtedly well aware of the reasons why the course became imperative on the part of the Democrats who were forced to vote against the veto. I am not aware of any reasons for the course except what have been publickly (sic) [publicly] assigned; and I must candidly confess that they are far from being satisfactory to my mind: but one mistake ought never to destroy a man at your head & heart.
With sentiments of unabated friendship, I remain sincerely yours.
James Buchanan
H. B. Wright Esquire
Creator
- Buchanan, James, 1791-1868. (Person)
Repository Details
Part of the Wilkes University Archives Repository
Contact:
84 W South St.
Wilkes-Barre PA 18701 US
570-408-2000
570-408-7823 (Fax)
ask.archives@wilkes.edu
84 W South St.
Wilkes-Barre PA 18701 US
570-408-2000
570-408-7823 (Fax)
ask.archives@wilkes.edu