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Giddings, Joshua Reed : Speech of Mr. Giddings, of Ohio, Upon the Bill to Supply the Deficiency of Appropriations for the Year Ending June 30, 1848. Delivered in the House of Representatives, February 28, 1848

Printed by J. & G. S. Gideon, Washington, D.C., 1848

Original publisher's beige paper wrappers. Text printed in black ink. 5 3/4" x 9." Fifteen pages, complete. Last leaf is completely loose but included. Pages are clean and intact except for the loose leaf, light age toning throughout, light to moderate offsetting, small occasional spots of foxing or discoloration, and slight chipping and splitting along spine. A Very Good copy. A speech that was originally delivered before the United States House of Representatives on February 28, 1848 by Joshua Redd Giddings (1795-1864), an American lawyer and politician. He served as a U.S. Representative from Ohio from 1838-1859. Over the course of his political career, he was a Democratic-Republican, Whig, Free Soiler, member of the Opposition Party, and Republican. Giddings was also a leading abolitionist of his time and a founding member of the Republican Party. He was adamantly opposed to any political movements or actions that contributed to slavery in the American West including the annexation of Texas, the Mexican-American War, the Compromise of 1850, and the Kansas-Nebraska Act. In this speech, Giddings addresses a proposed bill of about $12,000,000 that was requested by President James K. Polk to make up for a national deficit at the close of that fiscal year on June 30, 1848 and that would allow for the continued prosecution of the Mexican-American War. Most of Giddings speech does not directly address the bill, but he is clear in his opposition to it. As Giddings is opposed to the war, he is opposed to any bill supporting it. Throughout his speech, Giddings clearly states his political beliefs and expresses distaste toward both Whigs and Democrats alike for any support of slavery, the slave trade, or the Mexican-American War. Giddings believed the war to be criminal and barbarous and lambastes the hypocrisy of denouncing crimes committed by the U.S. Army during the war yet praising that very Army and its military officials. However, he clarifies that he is only opposed to wars of conquest, not wars of self-defense. Giddings occasionally references Henry Clay, whom he supported in the past. Giddings also criticizes Zachary Taylor, the Whig presidential nominee for the 1848 election, for not being clearly in his political platform. Giddings states his concerns that Taylor, in being a slaveholder and ambiguous about his political beliefs, will only benefit pro-slavery Democrats. Giddings finishes his address by referencing his beliefs and the beliefs of his constituents, "... I am convinced we shall not abandon the positions we maintained in 1844. Against the annexation of further territory; against the extension of slavery; against conquest, aggression, and foreign war--we shall continue to interpose our utmost influence.". Book. Book Condition: Very Good. Binding: Soft cover

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