Whig Party
Boston, MA, January 19, 1840
Massachusetts Whigs Rally Support for 1840 Campaign
Partially printed DS

[WHIGS.] Elbridge G. Austin, Printed Circular Letter Signed, to Joseph S. Beals, January 19, 1840, Boston, Massachusetts. 3 pp., 8" x 9.75". Expected folds; some loss to third page, affecting five lines of text.

One of the three corresponding secretaries of the ?Whig Republican Association of Boston? sent this circular letter to Whigs throughout the state at the beginning of 1840 to organize the state of Massachusetts for Whig victory in the fall. The state had long been a stronghold of Federalist and then Whig political candidates.

Excerpts
?You have doubtless learned from the public prints, that a society has been formed in Boston, by the name of the Whig Republican Association of Boston, for the purpose of continuing the Whig ascendancy in this Commonwealth, and annexed you have a copy of the constitution and a list of the officers of the association.
?Having been appointed Corresponding Secretaries of this association, we are desirous of opening a communication with yourself or some other gentleman in your town, and we therefore request, should you feel inclined to participate in this business, that you would so inform us, and should your engagements prevent you from attending to it, that you would furnish us with the name of some individual known to you to be a true and firm friend to our cause....?

?We, the Whig Republicans of the City of Boston, ?in order to form a more perfect Union?to establish Justice?to ensure Domestic Tranquillity?promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of Liberty to ourselves and to posterity,??do hereby form ourselves into an Association, and pledge ourselves, individually and collectively, to a vigorous support of the great Principles of the Constitution of our Country, as expounded by the wisest Statesmen and purest Patriots, from the establishment of the Republic to the present day?to engage ourselves in disseminating political truth and exposing political errors?in stimulating our fellow citizens to a full knowledge of their rights, and urging them to energetic action in the maintenance of those rights?in feeding the pure flam of patriotism, which our pious forefathers kindled on the altar of liberty?in spreading far and wide a better knowledge of the true republican faith, and in counteracting and destroying the foul errors and delusions which false prophets and false teachers are laboring to diffuse among the people....?

Historical Background
The Whig Republican Association of Boston formed in December 1839 and elected Samuel A. Eliot (1798-1862) as president of their association. Eliot graduated from Harvard in 1817 and from the Divinity School in 1820. After studying languages and literature in Europe for three years, he devoted much of his time to public service and charitable work. He served as mayor of Boston from 1837 to 1839. The organization also elected six vice presidents, six directors at large, directors from each of the twelve wards of Boston, a recording secretary, three corresponding secretaries, and a treasurer.

Whigs in Congress called for a national presidential nominating convention, which met in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania from December 4-8, 1839. Although Henry Clay led on the first four ballots of the delegates, he could not succeed in attracting a majority. On the fifth ballot, Clay delegates from Illinois and delegates for Winfield Scott from several states switched to former Senator William Henry Harrison of Ohio, who became the nominee for president. The convention also nominated former Senator John Tyler of Virginia for vice president.

The Whig Republican Association of Boston strongly supported the Harrison-Tyler ticket, publishing a flattering speech by former U.S. Senator from Maine Peleg Sprague about the Whig candidate Harrison and other campaign materials. The association also commissioned artist Albert Gallatin Hoit to paint a portrait of Harrison in 1840, which is now owned by the National Portrait Gallery in Washington.

In the presidential election of 1840, William Henry Harrison won the electoral votes of Massachusetts with 57.4 percent of the popular vote to Van Buren?s 41.3 percent. Whig U.S. Senator and gubernatorial candidate John Davis also won over incumbent Democrat Marcus Morton.

Elbridge Gerry Austin (1810-1854) was born in Boston, a grandson of Elbridge Gerry (1744-1814), who served as Vice President of the United States from 1813 to 1814. Austin graduated from Harvard College in 1829 and became an attorney. He served as City Attorney of Boston from 1840 until the office was abolished in 1846. He also represented the city in the legislature and the Common Council. In 1850, he moved to California and opened a law office in San Francisco. On a return trip, he contracted a fever in Panama and died at Nahant, Massachusetts.

This item comes with a Certificate from John Reznikoff, a premier authenticator for both major 3rd party authentication services, PSA and JSA (James Spence Authentications), as well as numerous auction houses.

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8" x 9.75"