John Tyler letter, February 12, 1820

John Tyler in 1835

Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division

Historical Society of Washington D.C.

Location: Historical Society of Washington D.C.
Background: John Tyler (1790-1862), a Representative and a Senator from Virginia, a Vice President and 10th President of the United States (1841-1845).
Contents: John Tyler writes from Washington, D.C., where he is serving in the House of Representatives. His letter is addressed to William Selden and discusses the Missouri Compromise and the territorial question.
“Our property in our slaves is as full and complete as that in our plantation utensils and with equal semblance of propriety might it be contended that we should not carry with us into the western forests an axe or an hoe.”