Letters Home From Congress
Collection Overview
This collection features letters home from Warren R. Austin (Senator, 1931-1946), Jacob Collamer (Representative, 1843-1848; Senator, 1855-1865), and Samuel C. Crafts (Representative, 1817-1824; Senator, 1842-1843). The letters document travel to...
Show moreThis collection features letters home from Warren R. Austin (Senator, 1931-1946), Jacob Collamer (Representative, 1843-1848; Senator, 1855-1865), and Samuel C. Crafts (Representative, 1817-1824; Senator, 1842-1843). The letters document travel to and from Washington by horse, boat, train, and airplane; lodging in boarding houses, hotels, and homes; social life in Washington; significant local and national events; and legislative issues under consideration in Congress. Austin's letters are particularly strong in their coverage of his frustration at being a Senator in the minority party during the era of Roosevelt and the New Deal; his activities on the Judiciary Committee; and foreign affairs questions such as the Neutrality Act. The letters of Crafts and Collamer both extensively cover the question of slavery, discussing Missouri statehood, John Brown, the annexation of Texas, and the Civil War. All three Congressmen frequently discuss questions regarding appropriations and the Federal budget. Biographical information is available from the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress, at: http://bioguide.congress.gov/biosearch/biosearch.asp
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(21 - 40 of 436)
Pages
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- Letter to Eunice Todd Crafts, January 1, 1819
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Letter to wife. Topics include activities of a Congressman; constituent business; death of Representative George Mumford (NC); society events hosted by the President, and the British and French ministers.
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- Letter to Eunice Todd Crafts, January 22, 1821
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Letter to wife. Topics include health of son Samuel P. Crafts; health of residents of Crafts' boarding house in Washington, DC; health of members of Congress, with four dead.
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- Letter to Eunice Todd Crafts, March 26, 1820
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Letter to wife. Topics include mail robbery north of Baltimore; duel between Commodore Stephen Decatur and Commodore James Barron resulting in the death of Decatur; Decatur's funeral.
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- Letter to Eunice Todd Crafts, May 8, 1820
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Letter to wife. Topics include adjournment of Congress.
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- Letter to Eunice Todd Crafts, November 12, 1820
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Letter to wife. Topics include traveling to Washington; members of Congress arriving in Washington; boarding houses.
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- Letter to Eunice Todd Crafts, November 27, 1820
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Letter to wife. Topics include social life; parties hosted by Secretary of War John Calhoun and Secretary of State John Quincy Adams; President James Monroe.
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- Letter to Harriet Johnson, April 7, 1844
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Letter to daughter. Topics include social life of wives of congressmen; steam ship Princeton accident; Representative John Quincy Adams (MA); Representative Solomon Foot (VT); social life
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- Letter to Harriet Johnson, June 20, 1848
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Letter to daughter. Topics include Committee on Public Lands; visit of Frederick Billings.
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- Letter to James A. Paddock, April 7, 1822
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Topics include newspaper coverage of Congress; length and slowness of current session.
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- Letter to Mary Collamer, December 14, 1845
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Letter to daughter. Topics include visit to the White House with Representative Solomon Foot (VT); Sarah Polk, wife of the President; Congressional prayer meetings.
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- Letter to Mary Collamer, February 10, 1845
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Letter to daughter. Topics include Whig and Democrat members of Congress; President James Polk; annexation of Texas.
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- Letter to Mary Collamer, February 14, 1847
- Description
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Letter to daughter. Topics include city crowded with people seeking military appointments; Senator John Calhoun (SC) and the Calhoun branch of the Democratic party; President James Polk.
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- Letter to Mary Collamer, February 2, 1845
- Description
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Letter to daughter. Topics include speech by Collamer on Texas; case of Collamer's before the Supreme Court; health of Representative Willis Green (KY); annexation of Texas; tariff.
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- Letter to Mary Collamer, February 4, 1844
- Description
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Letter to daughter. Topics include abolitionism; Representative Joshua Giddings (OH); Representative John Quincy Adams (MA); Democrats and Whigs; speech making in Congress.
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- Letter to Mary Collamer, January 14 1844
- Description
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Letter to wife. Topics include activities of a Congressman; constituent business at the General Post Office, the Treasury, the War or Navy Department, and the Patent Office; Congressional prayer meeting; social life.
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- Letter to Mary Collamer, January 2, 1859
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Letter to daughter. Topics include mailing of government documents and speeches by Collamer; new Senate chambers; social calls.
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- Letter to Mary Collamer, January 24, 1847
- Description
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Letter to daughter. Topics include Mexican-American War; President James Polk; General Zachary Taylor; General Winfield Scott.
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- Letter to Mary Collamer, January 8, 1846
- Description
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Letter to daughter. Topics include speeches about Oregon; Representative Solomon Foot (VT); constituent business, particularly in regard to pensions.
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- Letter to Mary Hill, July 10, 1842
- Description
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Letter to daughter. Topics include attendance at Church meeting; heavy work load in the Senate, including committee work and constituent business.
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- Letter to Mary N. Collamer, April 13, 1856
- Description
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Letter to wife. Topics include speech by Collamer in the Senate on Kansas; practice of visiting home by members of Congress while in session.