Historical and Legal Examination of that Part of the Decision of the Supreme Court of the United States in the Dred Scott Case, Which Declares the Unconstitutionality of the Missouri Compromise Act, and the Self-Extension of the Constitution to Territories, Carrying Slavery Along with It. With An Appendix Containing: 

• The Debates in the Senate in March, 1849, Between Mr. Webster and Mr. Calhoun, on the Legislative Extension of the Constitution to Territories, As Contained in Vol. II Ch. CLXXXII of the “Thirty Years’ View.” 
• The Inside View of the Southern Sentiment, in Relation to the Wilmot Proviso, As Seen in Vol. II Ch. CLXVIII of the “Thirty Years’ View.” 
• Review of President Pierce’s Annual Message to Congress of December, 1856, So Far as it Relates to the Abrogation of the Missouri Compromise Act and the Classification of Parties. 

By the Author of the “Thirty Years’ View.” D. Appleton and Company, New York, 1857, 193 pp, original publisher’s cloth, 10 x 6”, 8vo. 

In good condition. Light wear to extremities with minor scuffing along edges and corners. Rippling to bottom edge of front board with fading from sun exposure on spine. Spine is nondescript and does not have gilt lettering. Modest soiling and fading along surface of cloth. Cornflower blue end papers clean with light yellow powdery marks. Internally good with light toning and minor scattered foxing throughout. Free of known markings. Binding tight and intact. A sound and clean copy. Please see photos. 

When the Wilmot Proviso against slavery in the territories acquired from Mexico produced angry debates, Benton denounced the proviso, but he also refused to support the southern demand for territorial expansion. He insisted that slavery where it existed was in no danger, while geography, climate, and the opposition of existing territorial populations would prevent its expansion. Though a slaveholder himself, Benton described the institution as an incurable evil, preserved only by racial fears and animosities. He hoped that it would ultimately disappear, but meanwhile he prayed that it would never be expanded . In 1857 the Supreme Court, in the Dred Scott decision, ruled that the federal government could not bar slavery from any federal territory. Benton answered this ruling with a 192-page Historical and Legal Examination of the Dred Scott Case (1857), which glorified the Union, appealed for sectional peace, and denounced the decision as bad constitutional law" (ANB). Howes B367; Sabin 4785 

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