Autograph Letter Signed (ALS) As President; To His Secretary of State "Hon: Lewis Cass" Regarding Warlike Resolutions

Washington DC, 1859. Very good. Strong, bold signature nearly 4" long on a note from the President to his Secretary of State, Lewis Cass, in the year leading up to the Civil War. 9.75" x 8", 1 pp. An ink spot touching one word at top third, two small, closed tears at fold and at the bottom of page, reinforce at rear left edge, likely from a stationary booklet.<br /> <br /> James Buchanan (1791-1868), was the 15th President of the U.S. from 1857 - 1861, during the build-up leading to the Civil War. Buchanan was the only U.S. president from Pennsylvania, and the only one to remain a lifelong bachelor. His political career ran through the U.S. Senate, Secretary of State, and Ambassador to Britain. Historians rank his presidency low on the scale as he failed to address the growing disparity between slave and non-slave states, leaving the impression that he supported the Southern States to choose their own course. During his tenure the Dred Scott decision gave the impression that the Federal government supported slavery and left the door open for secession. <br /> <br /> Lewis Cass (1782 - 1866) represented Michigan in the United States Senate and served in the Cabinets of two U.S. Presidents, Andrew Jackson and James Buchanan. He was also the 1848 Democratic presidential nominee. A slaveowner himself, he was a leading spokesman for the Doctrine of Popular Sovereignty, which held that the people in each territory should decide whether to permit slavery. "Tuesday Morning / My Dear Sir - I return your resolutions. They are of the right character. If I were disposed to make a suggestion, it would be not that they are too warlike: but that those to be referred to the Committees of Naval + Military Affairs point to directly to war. The Country + the world will understand their meaning without any very direct allusion. But they are very good as they stand. from your friend / very respectfully /s/ James Buchanan