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Collamer, Jacob : Speech of Mr. Collamer, of Vermont, on the Mexican War. Delivered in the House of Representatives of the U. S., February 1, 1848

Printed by J. & G. S. Gideon, Washington, D.C., 1848

Original publisher's beige paper wrappers. Text printed in black ink. 5 3/4" x 9." Fourteen pages, complete. Pages are very clean and intact overall except for light age toning, moderate foxing, and some chipping and splitting along spine. A Very Good copy. A speech originally delivered before the United States House of Representatives on February 1, 1848 by Jacob Collamer (1791-1865), an American lawyer, politician, judge, and military officer. He served as Associate Justice of the Vermont Supreme Court from 1833-1842, a U.S. Representative from Vermont from 1843-1849, Postmaster Genera during President Zachary Taylor's administration from 1849-1850, Judge of the Vermont Circuit Court from 1850-1854, and a U.S. Senator from Vermont from 1855-1865. He was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives as a Whig and later to the U.S. Senate as a Republican. Collamer was an ardent supporter of abolition and the Lincoln administration and opposed the annexation of Texas and the Mexican-American War. In this speech, Collamer addresses the Mexican-American War, its causes, and its outcomes. He begins by trying to extend an olive branch to his opponents while backing his own viewpoints. He states, "Now, a man may differ with me in opinion, on a question deeply interesting to our common country, and yet neither of us be an enemy of that country." He expresses his concern that too many of his fellow politicians are villifying their opponents on the grounds that they have differing views. Collamer proceeds to denounce the annexation of Texas, the U.S. march to the Rio Grande, and the U.S. going to war with Mexico. He discusses how Texas's annexation was forwarded with the extension of slavery in mind. Collamer also considers the aspect of "conquest" in the Mexican-American War to be ruinous to what he considers a shared ideal among both parties, "national prosperity." He says his critics confuse national prosperity with "national glory," the latter of which is founded upon military might. He points out that the U.S. is a nation built upon the principle of self-government and thus opposes any forcible land acquisition from Mexico to be hypocritically degrading to that principle. A few other extracts from Collamer's speech summarize his sentiment toward the war, "The propagation of republicanism by the sword is as gross an inconsistency as the propagation of religion in that way. ... Liberty or religion forced upon a people, ceases to be either liberty or religion. ... the Constitution declares, 'to establish justice, to insure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defence [sic], promote the general welfare, and to secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our prosperity.' ... how much might have been done for this country and this people, had our action been confined to the purposes declared in the Constitution, and had all the money and effort expended in this war been devoted to our own affairs? ... we could indeed, by such course, have been made a happy, enlightened, and glorious nation.". Book. Book Condition: Very Good. Binding: Soft cover

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