They "Stoop to Conquer;" or, “The English Swindle” - 1858

"They "Stoop to Conquer;" or, The English Swindle" -- Speech of Senator Wade, of Ohio. Delivered in the Senate of the United States, April 27, 1858 dealt with the Congressional debates about the admission of Kansas to the Union as a slave or non-slave State. One of the key issues was the resolution of the Constitution of Kansas; i.e. there were two such Constitutions submitted – the Topeka Constitution, which was ant-slavery in nature, and the Lecompton Constitution, which favored slavery. Mr. Wade speaks to this issue in this speech.

The speech is contained in an eight page double-columned booklet whose pages are unopened. The booklet is approximately 6 x 9 ½ inches. The pages are somewhat tanned, but the text is clear and easy to read. There is some chipping on the outer edges of the pages.. The overall condition of the item is good.

The illustration accompanying this description shows the first page of the document.

Benjamin Franklin "Bluff" Wade (October 27, 1800 – March 2, 1878) was a U.S. lawyer and United States Senator. In the Senate, he was associated with the Radical Republicans of that time. After the decline of the Whigs' power, Wade joined the Republican Party, and in 1851 he was elected by his legislature to the United States Senate. There, he associated with such eventual Radical Republicans as Thaddeus Stevens and Charles Sumner. He fought against the controversial Fugitive Slave Act and the Kansas-Nebraska Act. He was one of the most radical politicians in America at that time, supporting women's suffrage, trade union rights, and equality for African-Americans. He was also critical of capitalism.