Description: 1806 newspaper "extra" from SPRINGFIELD Massachusetts HAMPSHIRE COUNTY with a long Political essay in support of JAMES SULLIVAN for Massachusetts Governor - inv # 5E-319 Please visit our EBAY STORE for THOUSANDS of HISTORICAL NEWSPAPERS on sale or at auction. SEE PHOTO----- COMPLETE, ORIGINAL 4-page NEWSPAPER "EXTRA", the SUPPLEMENT to the HAMPSHIRE FREDERALIST (Springfield, MA) dated April 1, 1806. This newspaper "extra" contains a long detailed political treatise in support of JAMES SULLIVAN in the MASSACHUSETTS GOVERNOR'S RACE for 1807. James Sullivan (April 22, 1744 – December 10, 1808) was a lawyer and politician in Massachusetts. He was an early associate justice of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, served as the state's attorney general for many years, and as governor of the state from 1807 until his death. Sullivan was a political partisan, supporting the Democratic-Republican Party and subscribing to Jeffersonian republican ideals. He supported John Hancock and Samuel Adams in their political careers, and was a frequent contributor, often under one of many pseudonyms, to political dialogue in the state's newspapers. He ran unsuccessfully for governor several times before finally winning the office in 1807. He died in office during his second term. Sullivan received the Republican nomination for governor in 1797 and 1798, but lost to Federalist Increase Sumner (in 1798 by a landslide after the XYZ Affair lent strength to the Federalist cause). Republicanism eventually began gaining ground in Massachusetts, and Sullivan was again nominated in 1805 and 1806 for governor, losing both times to the popular incumbent Governor Caleb Strong. In 1806 the Republicans gained control of the Massachusetts legislature, which managed to very nearly deny Strong a narrow victory. With fewer than 200 votes in the balance, the Republican-controlled legislature scrutinized the returns in a partisan manner, discarding ballots that had misspelled Strong's name while retaining those that misspelled Sullivan's and performing tallies in ways that favored their candidate. This process concluded with a finding that Strong in fact lacked a majority of votes, which was what was then required to carry the election, as opposed to the modern plurality requirement. Strong's Federalist allies in the legislature were able to publicize the partisan nature of the analysis, resulting in a hostile public backlash. He was proclaimed the winner after further, less biased, analysis corrected the count in his favor. In 1807 Sullivan again faced Strong, but was this time decisively victorious, carrying the eastern counties (present-day Maine) by a wide margin amid a series of Republican victories throughout New England. Although Sullivan sought in some ways to be a moderate voice in the highly partisan disagreements between Federalists and Republicans, he supported the policy of President Thomas Jefferson in embargoing trade with Great Britain and France, who were then embroiled in the Napoleonic Wars. The Embargo Act of 1807 had a significant negative impact on shipping interests based in Massachusetts ports, and Federalists sought to use this, and the threats of war emanating from the Jefferson administration, to unseat Sullivan in 1808. Federalist Senator Timothy Pickering wrote an open letter raising the specter of war and charging Jefferson with failing to publish critical documents in ongoing negotiations. He then asked Sullivan to formally send it to the state legislature, with the view that this would imply Sullivan's agreement with its content. Sullivan refused, after which Federalists used that fact to charge that Republicans generally were withholding damaging information. Sullivan's defense included letters by Senator John Quincy Adams countering the Federalist charges. While this was sufficient to ensure Sullivan's reelection in 1808, control of the legislature was returned to the Federalists. Republicans were unhappy with Sullivan's handling of the political attacks, and for his refusal to remove Federalists from patronage positions in the government. The Federalist legislature immediately launched attacks on Sullivan and the Republicans, which Sullivan was not immediately able to respond to. In the spring of 1808, before the May opening of the legislature, Sullivan's health began to decline (epilepsy and an "organic disease of the heart"), so he was unable to seize the initiative. When he finally made his speech to the assembly, he failed to respond to the political aspects of the dispute, and called for national unity in dealing with outside interests. His warnings to Jefferson on the nature of the contentious disputes going on in the state were attributed by Jefferson to his declining mental state. Cognizant of Sullivan's precarious health, the Federalists sought a delay in electing a slate of electors for the Electoral College in the 1808 presidential election. Sullivan, who would have vetoed a slate of Federalist electors (as they were then chosen by the legislature and not by popular vote, the Federalist legislative majority would have assured this), he acquiesced in the hopes that elective actions in other states would moot the decision made in Massachusetts. Sullivan also came under criticism by political partisans on both sides for issuing large numbers of exemptions to the embargo, ostensibly to avoid civil strife in the event of a grain shortage. When the legislature met in November, it rejected a proposal by Sullivan that popular elections determine the state's electoral slate, and instead chose a Federalist slate supporting Charles Cotesworth Pinckney for president in a vote boycotted by many Republicans. Based on widespread opinion that the Federalists were likely to lose the presidential election, Sullivan, his health failing, forwarded the electoral votes on to Congress. He died in office on December 10, 1808, aged 64, and was interred in Boston's Granary Burying Ground in a tomb shared by colonial governor Richard Bellingham. Very good condition. This listing includes the complete entire original 4 page newspaper EXTRA SUPPLEMENT, NOT just a clipping or a page of it. STEPHEN A. GOLDMAN HISTORICAL NEWSPAPERS stands behind all of the items that we sell with a no questions asked, money back guarantee. Every item we sell is an original newspaper printed on the date indicated at the beginning of its description. U.S. buyers pay priority mail postage which includes waterproof plastic and a heavy cardboard flat to protect your purchase from damage in the mail. International postage is quoted when we are informed as to where the package is to be sent. We do combine postage (to reduce postage costs) for multiple purchases sent in the same package. We list thousands of rare newspapers with dates from 1570 through 2004 on Ebay each week and we ship packages twice a week. This is truly SIX CENTURIES OF HISTORY that YOU CAN OWN! Stephen A. Goldman Historical Newspapers has been in the business of buying and selling historical newspapers for over 45 years. Dr. Goldman is a consultant to the Freedom Forum Newseum and a member of the American Antiquarian Society. You can buy with confidence from us, knowing that we stand behind all of our historical items with a 100% money back guarantee. Let our 45+ years of experience work for YOU ! We have hundreds of thousands of historical newspapers (and their very early precursers) for sale.
Price: 25 USD
Location: Oxford, Maryland
End Time: 2024-10-21T19:21:35.000Z
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Return shipping will be paid by: Buyer
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Item must be returned within: 30 Days
Refund will be given as: Money Back
