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Henry Clay ALS Re Fugitive Slave Bill 1850

Currency:USD Category:Collectibles Start Price:1,000.00 USD Estimated At:0.00 USD
Henry Clay ALS Re Fugitive Slave Bill 1850
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Henry Clay autograph letter signed. Single page quarto datelined Ashland, Kentucky, 31 October 1850 to “E.H. Derby, Esq.” A month after his Compromise of 1850 becomes law, Henry Clay expresses hope that dissatisfaction with his Fugitive Slave Bill will cease. In full: “I received your favor, with a copy of your Review of the pamphlet of Mr. Garnett [sic], for which I thank you. I have attentively perused it, with pleasure. It successively expresses and refutes some of the errors of that pernicious pamphlet, and is a valuable contribution to the cause of truth and correct principles. I lament to see so much agitation and dissatisfaction at the North, I still hope that these demonstrations are the expiring efforts of the Abolitionists, and that the great mass of the Northern public are really desirous, as they have always professed to be, faithfully to enforce the Constitutional provision on that subject. A repeal of the law, or any modification of it which would render it less efficient, would, I apprehend, lead to the most mischievous consequences. / I am respectfully / Your obedt. Servant / H. Clay.” Because of the territory added to the U.S. as a result of the Mexican War, a dispute arose over where slavery would be allowed. There was talk of secession and on 29 January 1850, Clay presented a compromise. In September, a series of bills were passed by Congress; the most controversial of which - known collectively as the Compromise of 1850 - the Fugitive Slave Act. Signed into law by President Millard Fillmore on 18 September 1850, it required citizens to assist in the recovery of fugitive slaves, denying a fugitive’s right to a jury trial. Instead, cases would be handled by special commissioners who would be paid, if an alleged fugitive were released, $5.00, and $10.00 if returned to the claimant. The process of filing a claim was simplified. More federal officials were made responsible for enforcing the law. Even though the northern states could abolish slavery, which they did, they still could not avoid their Constitutional obligation to enforce the slave laws of the southern states. A fugitive slave carried with him the legal status of slavery, even into a territory which didn’t have slavery. It wasn’t until 1865 when this clause was superseded by the 13th Amendment which abolished slavery and involuntary servitude. As a result, the abolitionists detested the law and the Underground Railroad became more active. Many Northerners who had no opinion on slavery were appalled by the way the Blacks were being treated as a result of the Fugitive Slave Act and spoke publicly against it. Henry Clay, Daniel Webster and John C. Calhoun, called “The Great Triumvirate”, were certain that their compromise would permanently solve the slavery question, keeping the Union together. The Fugitive Slave Act worked to achieve the opposite. The “mischievous consequences” occurred a little over ten years later when South Carolina seceded from the Union. Clay was not around to see the consequences of the eventual failure of the Compromise of 1850. “The New York Times” 1852 obituary of Clay refers to his Compromise bill as “an imperishable monument of the attachment of its author to National unity and prosperity.” An incredible letter by Clay in which he foretells the dire consequences which ultimately lead to the Civil War. In fine condition.
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