Description:

Former Grant cabinet member (& wife) accept President and Mrs. Grant's invitation to dine with them on the Grants' last evening in the White House and, unbeknownst at the time, to witness a Presidential inauguration!

(UlYSSES S. GRANT) Third Person Autograph letter signed, one page, 5" x 5.75", [Washington, D.C.], February 27, 1877. In full: "Mr. and Mrs. Boutwell have the honor to accept the invitation of The President and Mrs. Grant to dinner Saturday evening next at seven o'clock." Soiling and partial separation at mid-horizontal fold, else fine.

February 27, 1877, was a Tuesday; the next Saturday was March 3rd. George S. Boutwell served as President Ulysses S. Grant's Secretary of the Treasury from 1869 until 1873 when he resigned, having been elected U.S. Senator from Massachusetts to succeed Henry Wilson who had been elected Grant's Vice President.

Boutwell's Senate term ended on March 3, 1877, as did Grant's eight years as President. The election of 1876 was decided by an Electoral Commission on February 27, 1877, the day Boutwell wrote this letter. After the November 7, 1876, election results were tabulated, twenty electoral votes from Florida, Louisiana, South Carolina, and Oregon were disputed. After a month of hearings, the Commission, comprising eight Republicans and seven Democrats, voted along party lines and gave all 20 disputed votes to the Republican Governor of Ohio, Rutherford B. Hayes, giving him 185 electoral votes to 184 for Democrat Samuel J. Tilden, Governor of New York. The U.S. Senate, after days of debate, confirmed the electoral vote count at 4:10 A.M. on Friday, March 2, 1877. Since Inauguration Day, March 4, 1877, fell on a Sunday, the public swearing-in of Grant's successor would take place on Monday, March 5th. Fearing that during the one-day gap between the end of Grant's term and the inauguration, dissidents might try to install Tilden as President, President Grant suggested that Hayes be sworn in as President in a private ceremony at a White House dinner on Saturday, March 3, 1877 - a dinner he had scheduled days earlier as evidenced by this letter!

Accepted Forms of Payment:

American Express, MasterCard, Money Order / Cashiers Check, Paypal, Personal Check, Visa, Wire Transfer

Shipping

Applicable shipping and handling charges will be added to the invoice. Shipping and handling costs are competitive as we maintain discounted contracts with FedEx. If you have any questions, contact University Archives prior to bidding. After payment has been made in full, University Archives will ship your purchase within 5 business days following receipt of full payment for item. We currently ship via FedEx but if your purchase is shipping to a P.O. Box, we ship via USPS. All items are insured. We ship from our offices in Westport, CT. We may opt to use a third party shipper for very fragile, bulky or oversized items. Items requiring third party shipping will be denoted in the item description. Packages shipped internationally will have full value declared on shipping form. International buyers will be responsible for any customs fees incurred.

Please remember that the buyer is responsible for all shipping costs from University Archives' offices in Westport, CT to the buyer's door. Please see full Terms and Conditions of Sale.

June 21, 2016 10:30 AM EDT
Wilton, CT, US

University Archives

You agree to pay a buyer's premium of 20% and any applicable taxes and shipping.

View full terms and conditions

Bid Increments
From: To: Increments:
$0 $99 $10
$100 $299 $20
$300 $499 $25
$500 $999 $50
$1,000 $1,999 $100
$2,000 $2,999 $200
$3,000 $4,999 $250
$5,000 $9,999 $500
$10,000 $19,999 $1,000
$20,000 $49,999 $2,500
$50,000 + $5,000