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Bayly, Thomas Henry : Slavery in the Territories. Speech of Hon. T. H. Bayly, of Virginia, in the House of Representatives, May 16, 1848, In Committee of the Whole on the state of the Union on the Bill making appropriation for the payment of navy pensions for the year ending 30th June, 1849

Printed at the Congressional Globe Office, Washington, D.C.

Original publisher's beige paper wrappers. Text printed in black ink. No date, circa 1848. 5 3/4" x 9." Fifteen pages, complete. Pages are clean and intact except for light age toning, small spots of foxing throughout, two small indentations limited to top edge first two leaves, and slight chipping and splitting along spine. A Very Good copy. A speech that was originally delivered before the United States House of Representatives on May 16, 1848 by Thomas Henry Bayly (1810-1856), an American lawyer, judge, and politician. He served as a U.S. Representative from Virginia from 1844-1856. He was a Democrat. Most of Bayly's speech is about constitutional law and his interpretation of it in determining whether or not Congress can decide if slavery can be banned in U.S. territories. In this speech, Bayly argues that Congress does not have the ability to legislate in U.S. territories regarding those territories' domestic affairs. This discussion was especially relevant in relation to the question of whether the recently acquired territories of California and New Mexico would be designated as free or slave. Bayly uses in-depth arguments in his interpretation of constitutional law. He dissects the verbiage of many different provisions and clauses in the Constitution to back his argument that Congress has a very limited ability to legislate in U.S. territories. He comes to the much-debated subject of slavery and argues that it is not for Congress to decide if slavery will be permitted or banned in any U.S. territory. He is adamant that such actions by Congress would be unconstitutional and adds further that it violates the American people's right to self-governance. He acknowledges that territories are technically different from states but considers the principles guiding states' rights to be transferable to those of U.S. territories. Among the numerous topics Bayly addresses are the Missouri Compromise, the Wilmot Proviso (which he views as overturning the Missouri Compromise and an abuse of Legislative and Executive power; he believes the question of slavery in territories should be decided by the courts), Oregon and slavery (the question of slavery in Oregon is not so concerning to Bayly because it lies northward of the parallel designated by the Missouri Compromise and argues that its climate and geography are not suited to plantation economies), and the 1787 Ordinance (Northwest Ordinance).. Book. Book Condition: Very Good. Binding: Soft cover

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