On the Virginia Peace Resolutions - photo 1
On the Virginia Peace Resolutions - photo 2
On the Virginia Peace Resolutions - photo 3
On the Virginia Peace Resolutions - photo 4

On the Virginia Peace Resolutions

Lot 143
17.01.2024 11:00UTC -05:00
Classic
Starting price
$ 80 000
AuctioneerCHRISTIE'S
Event locationUSA, New York
Archive
The auction is completed. No bids can be placed anymore.
Archive
ID 1119251
Lot 143 | On the Virginia Peace Resolutions
Estimate value
$ 80 000 – 120 000
On the Virginia Peace Resolutions

James Buchanan, 28 January 1861

BUCHANAN, James. (1791-1868); GLOSSBRENNER, Adam John (1810-1889). Autograph manuscript, [Washington, 28 January 1861].



Eight pages, most 345 x 212mm, with a smaller leaf, 250 x 202mm & 120 x 210mm, in ink and some pencil (occasional toning and dustsoiling). Seven pages in the hand of Buchanan and one in the hand of Glossbrenner, his private secretary.



An optimistic Buchanan praises the Virginia Peace Resolutions calling for a peace conference in Washington. A hopeful message delivered in the wake of Virginia's proposal of staging a peace conference, while cautioning that the executive lacked the power to agree to any resolutions, noting that only Congress held such power: "I confess I hail this movement on the part of Virginia with great satisfaction. From the past history of this ancient and renowned Commonwealth, we have the fullest assurance that what she has undertaken she will accomplish, if it can be done by able, enlightened, and persevering efforts. It is highly gratifying to know that other patriotic States have appointed, and are appointing, commissioners to meet those of Virginia in council. When assembled, they will constitute a body entitled, in an eminent degree, to the confidence of the country . . . . However strong may be my desire to enter into such an agreement, I am convinced that I do not possess the power. Congress, and Congress alone, under the war-making power, can exercise the discretion of agreeing to abstain ‘from any and all acts calculated to produce a collision of arms’ between this and any other Government"



The Virginia resolutions came on the heels of three failed attempts at a compromise to prevent the breakup of the Union. The first, the Crittenden Plan, was presented in December and consisted of a series of conditional amendments including an extension of the Missouri Compromise line to run to the Pacific—a position that was rejected by a Congressional committee of 33 (representing each state)—in part because it violated the Republican position of not extending slavery further west. A modified version was proposed at the close of the year, but it was rejected by Congress on 4 January. Later the same month, the same committee drafted a constitutional amendment protecting slavery where it existed and allowing New Mexico to join the Union as a slave state. The fourth attempt at compromise came from Virginia, who had not yet seceded from the Union, and was presented by former President John Tyler to hold a peace conference in Washington that convened at the Willard Hotel on 4 February 1861. Unfortunately, none of the deep south states, most of whom had already seceded, attended the conference which met for three weeks. With only representatives from the upper South and many far western states absent, the conference proved a flawed effort at compromise, but it ended the resolution that proposed a connotational amendment that would protect slavery where it existed and allow the extension of slavery below the Missouri Compromise Line. The conferences resolution was rejected in the Senate by a large margin and never came to a vote in the House. Congress did approve the Corwin Amendment which protected slavery where it already existed—a position that even Lincoln believed was settled law under the Constitution—but embraced as a last-ditch effort at sectional compromise. Published in John Basset More, ed., The Works of James Buchanan. Philadelphia & London: J. B. Lippincott Company, 1910. Vol. 11, pp. 116-118.

Address of auction CHRISTIE'S
20 Rockefeller Plaza
10020 New York
USA
Preview
12.01.2024 10:00 – 17:00
13.01.2024 10:00 – 17:00
14.01.2024 13:00 – 17:00
15.01.2024 13:00 – 17:00
16.01.2024 10:00 – 17:00
Phone +1 212 636 2000
Fax +1 212 636 4930
Email
4FQ.AYGKAGLUQ@FO3G@
Conditions of purchaseConditions of purchase
Shipping Postal service
Courier service
pickup by yourself
Payment methods Wire Transfer
Business hoursBusiness hours
Mo 09:30 – 17:00   
Tu 09:30 – 17:00   
We 09:30 – 17:00   
Th 09:30 – 17:00   
Fr 09:30 – 17:00   
Sa closed
Su closed

More from Creator

Resolving to defend Fort Sumter
Resolving to defend Fort Sumter
$80 000
Denouncing secession and warning of the calamity of civil war
Denouncing secession and warning of the calamity of civil war
$120 000
Securing the capital for Lincoln's inauguration
Securing the capital for Lincoln's inauguration
$150 000
Refusing to surrender Fort Sumter
Refusing to surrender Fort Sumter
$80 000

Related terms

Frequently asked questions

First of all, you should register to be able to purchase at auction. After confirming your email address, enter your personal information in your user profile, such as your first name, last name, and mail address. Choose a lot from the upcoming auction and the maximum amount you want to place on it. After confirmation of your choice, we will send your application by e-mail to the appropriate auction house. If the auction house accepts a request, it will participate in the auction. You can view the current status of a bid at any time in your personal account in the "Bids" section.
Auctions are performed by auction houses and each of the auction houses describes their terms of auction. You can see the texts in the section "Auction information".
The results of the auction are published within a few days after the end of the auction. In the top menu of the site, find the tab "Auctions". Click on it and you will be on the auction catalog page, where you can easily find the category "Results". After opening it, select the desired auction from the list, enter and view the current status of the interested lot.
The information about the auction winners is confidential. The auction winner will receive a direct notification from the auction house responsible with instructions for further action: an invoice for payment and the manner in which the goods will be received.
Each of the auction houses has its own payment policy for the won lots. All auction houses accept bank transfers, most of them accept credit card payments. In the near future you will find detailed information for each case in the section "Auction information" on the page of the auction catalog and the lot.
Shipment of the won lot depends on its size. Small items can be delivered by post. Larger lots are sent by courier. Employees of the auction houses will offer you a wide range to choose from.
No. The archive serves as a reference for the study of auction prices, photographs and descriptions of works of art.
?>