Jefferson Davis to Martin Van Buren,* March 25, 1844

Warren County Mi.        

25th March 1844

M. Van Buren

        Ex President of the U. S.

Sir,

You will oblige me and many other democrats of this section of the country by giving your opinion on the following questions—

First, The annexation of "Texas" to the Territory of the United States

Second, The constitutional power of Congress over slavery in the District of Columbia

Third, The Tariff of 1828 and whether your vote on that bill was entirely the result of the instructions you received—

With great consideration

I am very truly yrs.

Jeffn. Davis

_______________

* Mr. Van Buren was a candidate for the presidential nomination at this time, and the Mississippi delegation to the Democratic Convention at Baltimore had been instructed for him.

SOURCE: Dunbar Rowland, Editor, Jefferson Davis, Constitutionalist: His Letters, Papers and Speeches, Volume 1, p. 12