Mar 31, 2016 - Sale 2408

Sale 2408 - Lot 442

Price Realized: $ 1,750
?Final Price Realized includes Buyer’s Premium added to Hammer Price
Estimate: $ 800 - $ 1,200
WITH EXCEPTIONAL CONTENT (POLITICS.) LYNCH, JOHN ROY. Political letter by an African American former U.S. Congressman. Autograph Letter Signed to Hon. Samuel Fessenden, acknowledging receipt of a draft for the campaign fund of James Blaine and the Republican Party and a plan for a speaking tour of Mississippi. Five pages, 4to. Magnolia, MS, 21 September 1884
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an excellent letter, rich in detail regarding the 1884 presidential campaign of James Blaine, the Republican candidate. John Roy Lynch (1847-1939), African American, politician, attorney, and author, was born into slavery. Freed in 1863, just ten years later he would be speaker of the Mississippi House. His entire life was devoted to the elevation of the colored race through active political service. Lynch lays out a detailed plan for speakers to address crowds at railway stations in Mississippi and adds a full page with suggested stops. He mentions speaking before large crowds of both whites and blacks, enthusiastic supporters of the Republican Party. As it turned out though, Grover Cleveland won the election, the first Democrat following an astonishing run of six presidential losses, the longest of any party.