James Buchanan, fifteenth President

1 page on a light blue bifolium (9 7/8 x 7 7/8 in; 250 x 200 mm), "Wheatland, near Lancaster," 28 January, 1852", to Pennsylvania Democrat Andrew H. Reeder; slightly faded at folds,docketed on verso.

Part of a collection assembled for Augustin Daly, ca. 1889-1893 (American Art Association 19 March 1900, lot 3122), sold to — to the celebrated New York dealer George D. Smith — resold by Smith in or before May 1900

The future president writes to fellow Pennsylvania Democrat Andrew H. Reeder, about the possibility of repealing their party’s rule for nominating presidential candidates: “By adopting the rule, it was believed that a majority of the Delegates representing Democratic States could be secured in favor of the nominee. Besides, the Southern States will doubtless adhere to it [the two-thirds rule] with her tenacity, as it gives them the power of preventing the nomination of any individual obnoxious to themselves. …”

The rule, adapted in 1832 at the first Democratic Party convention, required a two-thirds supermajority to nominate a presidential and vice-presidential candidate. Buchanan correctly predicts the rule will stay in force to maintain heavy Southern influence over the nominating process. This, like the three-fifths rule of the U.S. Constitution, was a crucial factor allowing the South to protect slavery.