Speech Of Hon. R. W. Roberts, Of Mississippi, On The Slavery Question And Mexican War. Delivered In The House Of Representatives, February 4, 1847

HON R. W. ROBERTS

Publication: Printed at the office of Blair and Rives, 1847, Washington

First edition. Printed wrappers, 7 pp., double column. Name of "Hon. Luther Severance" written in ink at the top of title page. The speech puts forward Roberts' position that if land is obtained as a result of the Mexican War, slavery should be allowed as part of the South, contrary to the position of the Abolitionists. Robert W. Roberts (1784-1865), a lawyer and judge, finally settled in Scott County, Mississippi where he also ran a plantation and was a slave owner. He was a Circuit Judge of that county (1830-1838); a member of the Mississippi state House of Representatives (1838-1844); and served as a Congressman from 1843-1847. To help prove his point about the legitimacy of allowing slavery in land acquired from Mexico, he cites Mexican pro-slavery law, although the term peonage was used instead of slavery. He used that law to argue that the area of slavery would not be enlarged by the acquisition of Mexican territory because it already existed in Mexico, albeit under a different name. He also claimed that slaves in the Southern states enjoyed more advantages than did the peons in Mexico. The former owner of the pamphlet whose name is on the title page, the Hon. Luther Severance (1797-1855), was a U.S. Representative to Congress from Maine (1843-1847). He was vice president of the Whig National Convention in 1848 and later served as U.S. Commissioner to Hawaii. Interesting speech concerning the topic of slavery in Texas more than a decade prior to the Civil War. Minor toning and foxing throughout, overall in very good condition.