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Lot 6
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1832 Bank of the U.S. important content ALS
1832 Bank of the U.S. important content ALS
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Description:

Bank of the United States

4pp bifold unmarked and unlined cream stationery inscribed overall and signed by Richmond merchant Charles Ellis as “Charles Ellis” in lower right corner of fourth page. In very good condition, with expected paper folds. Overall even and light toning. A 2” long tear affects the lower right corner of the third page. Each page measures 8” x 9.875”.

 

Charles Ellis (1772-1840) wrote this letter to younger brother Powhatan Ellis (1790-1863) on May 27, 1832 from Richmond. The elder Ellis was a well-established city merchant whose Scottish business partner John Allan (1779-1834) was the foster father of poet Edgar Allan Poe (1809-1849). Powhatan Ellis was serving the second of two terms as a Mississippi Senator in the spring of 1832. Two months later, Powhatan Ellis was appointed Judge of U.S. District Court for Mississippi. Later in his career, Powhatan Ellis served as a diplomat in Mexico during the Republic of Texas era.

 

Charles Ellis began his letter with a piece of political gossip, and ends with a referendum on current political affairs. Mississippi Senator George Poindexter (1779-1853) had leaked excerpts of Powhatan Ellis's private letter published in the newspaper. In doing so, Poindexter violated acceptable gentlemanly behavior. Yet as Charles Ellis reasoned, “when men are in public stations in these exciting Political times they may naturally be expected to be drawn into some of the disagreeable conflicting movements.”

 

The rest of Charles Ellis's letter discussed pressing political questions of the day, like the role of government, the power of the legislature, the legitimacy of a national bank, and maintaining foreign trade relations beneficial to American interests. In short, Charles Ellis endorsed Democratic-Republican beliefs espoused by recently reelected 7th U.S. President Andrew Jackson (1767-1845).

 

Please see below for a lengthy excerpt with unchanged spelling and grammatical errors:

 

"I shall greatly regret if the Bank will pass (?), in its present shape, in opinion I am clear that Congress have no constitution power to charter such a Bank, but one has been chartered + another likely to be, thus likely to be sadled with one. I feel anxious that it should be striped of its power to do the country commerce hurt, Politically, I have the greatest apprehensions on that score, and should we live to see the country again involved in War or any pecuniary difficulties. I predict most certainly the fatal consequences, already do we not witness as in this blamable Tariff principle, its pestilential influence, in the Legislation of every state, in the Legislation of Congress, in the Election of President + Vice President, in the Election of Members of Congress, in the movements of more coroperate bodies, in short, its influences is injuriously fits throughout all society and particularly in the Exchanges both at home + abroad. It was particularly unfortunate that it went into operation at the close of the War because its friends claim for it the restoration of specie payment and a wholesome circulation in the country at this time … Thus it is that this fine country is torn into discontents, confusion, and eminent danger of disunion by legislating upon subjects that do not belong to the General Government … God grant some radical change in these things … "

 

The "Bank" in question was the Bank of the United States. The First Bank, originally championed by Secretary of the Treasury Alexander Hamilton (1755-1804), was launched to stabilize the new nation’s economy, standardize its financial practices, establish a currency, and build its credit in the world. Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826) and other early Democratic partisans opposed the Bank as unconstitutional. Charles Ellis was taking up this mantle forty-one years later, when the Bank renewal issue was raised during the 1832 presidential election. The First Bank's successor, the Second Bank of the United States, operated between 1816 and 1836.

 

In this letter, Charles Ellis deprecatingly references the effects of the "War" of 1812, and "its friends [who] claim for it the restoration of specie payment and a wholesome circulation in the country at this time". These "friends" were the Federalists - the arch enemies of Democratic-Republicans - whose condemnation of British shipping and impressment practices led to the "Second Revolutionary War".

 

A scathing assessment of Jacksonian-era politics in a lovely 4pp ALS.

 

Ex-William Burger

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