[Southern Rights]:

THE ADDRESS OF SOUTHERN DELEGATES IN CONGRESS, TO THEIR CONSTITUENTS.

[Washington: 1849]. 15, [1 blank] pp. Disbound and lightly foxed, Good+.

An early attempt, after the close of the Mexican War and just before Zachary Taylor's inauguration, to organize the South with a single pro-slavery voice. Drafted initially by John C. Calhoun, the Address was deemed by some Southern congressman "too drastic" [Potter] and modified accordingly.
As finally issued, it is an articulate, dignified assertion of the South's complaint that the North had breached the original constitutional bargain to protect slavery. It was signed by only 48 of the 121 southern congressmen, hopes of unity shattered by Southern Whigs, who refused to sign because their incoming President, a Louisiana slave-holding Whig, was expected to resolve in the South's favor the divisive issues arising from the Mexican Cession. Never were predictions more inaccurate, for Taylor would bluntly advocate immediate statehood for California and New Mexico, which would have resulted in anti-slavery constitutions for those States.
FIRST EDITION. Sabin 88335. Potter, Impending Crisis 85. Item #26837

Price: $350.00