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John Parker Hale correspondence, 1833-1856

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Summary

Creator:
Hale, John P. (John Parker), 1806-1873
Abstract:
The John Parker Hale correspondence is made up of 16 letters received by Hale, a New Hampshire lawyer and antislavery politician, between 1833 and 1856. The earliest 6 letters (March 19, 1833-August 13, 1840) concern his career as an attorney in Dover, New Hampshire, and his personal life. The final 10 letters (December 13, 1844-March 8, 1856) relate to Hale's outspoken opposition to slavery while serving in the United States Congress in the 1840s and 1850s. With the exception of Boston resident George W. F. Mellen, who wrote 4 letters between April and July 1848, each author contributed one letter.
Extent:
16 items
Language:
English
Authors:
Collection processed and finding aid created by Meg Hixon, May 2012

Background

Scope and Content:

The John Parker Hale correspondence is made up of 16 letters received by Hale, a New Hampshire lawyer and antislavery politician, between 1833 and 1856. The earliest 6 letters (1833-1840) concern his career as an attorney in Dover, New Hampshire, and his personal life; the final 10 letters (1844-1856) relate to Hale's outspoken opposition to slavery while serving in the United States Congress in the 1840s and 1850s. With the exception of Boston resident George W. F. Mellen, who wrote 4 letters between April and July 1848, each author contributed 1 letter.

Hale received 6 letters from different writers in Massachusetts and New Hampshire between March 19, 1833, and August 13, 1840, pertaining to legal issues and to aspects of the authors' everyday lives, including the deaths of family members and an attempt to gain a political appointment as "carrier of the electoral vote" (August 13, 1840). The remaining 10 letters (December 13, 1844, and March 8, 1856), often written in depth, relate to the authors' opinions on slavery and to the impact of that issue on contemporary United States politics, such as the role of states' rights in national governance, the potential effect of abolition on the country's existence, and the significance of having a slaveholding president and slaveholding members of Congress. Others mentioned the moral and religious aspects of slavery in addition to providing political arguments. Many commended Hale for his antislavery speeches. Most of the political letters are dated 1848. In a letter dated September 30, 1852, a little over a month before the Presidential election, George Buchanan, "an Artist… & a Liberty man" requested Free Soil nominee John P. Hale's daguerreotype likeness.

Biographical / Historical:

John Parker Hale was born to John P. Hale and Lydia C. O'Brien, in Rochester, New Hampshire, on March 31, 1806. After attending the Phillips Exeter Academy, Hale graduated from Bowdoin College in 1827. He was admitted to the bar in 1830. He practiced law in Dover, New Hampshire, and served as a United States district attorney between 1834 and 1841. He became an outspoken opponent of slavery, and also held several political offices, first as a Democrat and later as a member of the Free Soil and Republican parties. He served in the New Hampshire House of Representatives (1832), the United States House of Representatives (1843-1844), and the United States Senate (1847-1852 and 1855-1864). He was the Free Soil Party's presidential nominee in 1852. After completing his final term in the United States Senate, he returned to Dover, where he died on November 19, 1873. He and his wife, Lucy Lambert, were married in 1834 and had two children.

Acquisition Information:
1995, 2002. M-3183, M-4187 .
Processing information:

Cataloging funded by the National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC). This collection has been processed according to minimal processing procedures and may be revised, expanded, or updated in the future.

Arrangement:

The collection is arranged chronologically.

Rules or Conventions:
Finding aid prepared using Describing Archives: A Content Standard (DACS)

Contents

Using These Materials

Info for Visitors

How to Request

Ordering Reproductions

Download PDF Finding Aid
RESTRICTIONS:

The collection is open for research.

USE & PERMISSIONS:

Copyright status is unknown

PREFERRED CITATION:

John Parker Hale Correspondence, William L. Clements Library, The University of Michigan

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Collection

John Parker Hale correspondence, 1833-1856
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Total components 2
Last indexed 2023-08-08