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Turner, Thomas Johnston : The War with Mexico. Speech of Hon. T. J. Turner, of Illinois, in the House of Representatives, April 6, 1848

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." Seven pages, complete. Pages are clean and intact overall but have significant foxing, light age toning, a few chips in lower corners of fore-edge (not affecting text), and some chipping and splitting along spine. A Good copy. A speech about the Mexican-American War that was originally delivered before the United States House of Representatives on April 6, 1848 by Thomas Johnston Turner (1815-1874), an American lawyer and politician. He served as a U.S. Representative from Illinois from 1847-1851. He was a Democrat. In this speech, Turner voices his support for President James K. Polk and the U.S. involvement in the Mexican-American War. He disagrees with the general Whig sentiment that the war was "unconstitutionally" and "unnecessarily" brought by Polk. However, Turner focuses more on the subject of the recent acquisitions of California and New Mexico which directly resulted from the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo. Turner uses various arguments to justify his view that these acquisitions were rightfully claimed by the U.S. The Whigs, on the other hand, adamantly opposed the land acquisitions from Mexico. In response, Turner likens the Whigs to the by-gone Federalists who, at the time, had opposed the new land acquired from the Louisiana Purchase. Turner argues that the Louisiana Purchase set a precedent that justified the acquisitions of California and New Mexico. He then addresses the treatment of the Mexican people residing in California and New Mexico. He likens them to the various Indigenous tribes on the East Coast who were conquered by the settlers of the Thirteen Colonies and insinuates that if the Whigs take no issue with the Eastern states, then they should not be opposed to the admittance of Californian and New Mexico. Turner's overarching belief is that white American settlers have the right to conquer Indigenous Peoples, and in this case, Mexican people, because he perceives them to be "savage." He states, "And I regard it as no less our right than our duty, to go on extending liberty and law over the provinces now occupied by those who are unable or unwilling to govern themselves." In regarding the Mexican territories, Turner contends that "the question no longer is, how much we shall take from Mexico, but how much shall we give back to her, provided she will make peace ... she has exhausted her means by internal broils and in the prosecution of the war; she is therefore wholly unable to satisfy our demands in any other way than by parting with a portion of her territory." Turner has the opinion that the ends justified the means. He refers to other territories on the East Coast and South which, when they were conquered, have now provided ample grounds for the "progress of civilization." He points out how noted politicians to come from these states as well as the overall economic prosperity of the U.S. The rest of Turner's speech is his vindication of Polk's behavior regarding the president's lack of transparency about correspondence between him and U.S. Minister John Slidell. Polk's and Slidell's correspondence had been released by then, and Turner argues that it shows that Polk had only sent Slidell to Mexico to negotiate peace and never had designs on the entirety of Mexico.. Book. Book Condition: Good. Binding: Soft cover

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