Reagan, John H.

TO THE VOTERS OF THE 1st CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT/ [followed by dense text, printed in five columns on both sides of a single sheet].

Palestine, Texas: July 9th, 1859. Printed broadsheet, 23 1/2 x 17 3/4 inches, the title in a single small (3/8 inch) display type. This political circular prints Judge Reagan's response to election-campaign disagreements with his opponent Judge William B. Ochiltree (1811-1867). The two were candidates for Congress from Texas's First Congressional District. Ochiltree apparently made claims in a circular of his own that Reagan supported re-opening the slave trade, that he had denounced states rights and filibustering, having supported the arrest of William Walker and his men, had voted both for the appropriation that would have paid for returning the "cargo" of the slave ship Echo to Africa and against the pension bill for War of 1812 veterans, as well as other issues. Reagan's defense of his positions on various issues given here are reasoned and relatively free of campaign vitriol. A short paragraph, signed in type by B. Graham and W.G.W. Jowers, follows the text and attests that the two candidates have agreed to correct the record in their campaign literature regarding Ochiltree's claims that Reagan was "appealing to anti-slavery sentiment in the northern counties." The incumbent, Reagan (1818-1905; U.S. House of Representatives, 1857-1861 and 1875-1887, U.S. Senator, 1887-1891, Postmaster General of the C.S.A., 1861-1865), won re-election handily; during the Civil War he served as Postmaster General of the Confederate States, and, after the war, he played a large role in helping Texas regain admission to the Union. Winkler 1202 (Texas-Austin only): "Appended to the circular is a statement by B. Graham and W.G.W. Jowers, dated July 14, 1859, to the effect that that amicable relations had been established between John H. Reagan and W.B. Ochiltree." Apparently not recorded on OCLC. One archival repair at the center, affecting a few words, some printing imperfections, but a very good copy of a rare ante-bellum Texas political broadsheet. Folded. (#6219). Item #57847

Price: $4,500.00