AE Monthly

<b>Bonhams:</b> MANDELSHTAM, OSIP. 1891-1938. Autograph Manuscript, 2 pp, [Petersburg,] January 1913, entitled

Article Archives Search

AE Reviews


American Historical Documents from Joe Rubinfine That's Honest, Kind, Courageous, Great, Noble Abe on the cover of Joe Rubinfine's latest catalogue. By Michael Stillman Joe Rubinfine has issued his List 156 of American Historical Autographs, and there are some real gems in this one. There are some standard autographs of famous people, a few manuscripts from not as well-known people who took part in notable events, but then there are some documents from major personalities pertaining to important events. These, quite simply, are significant historical documents. We'll take a look at a few of these interesting documents within what is a most noteworthy collection of signed Americana. Item 13 pertains to President Andrew Jackson's momentous change of cabinet officers in 1831. At the time, it was subject to debate whether the President even had such authority, a question which would arise again during the Reconstruction presidency of Andrew Johnson. However, Jackson never had to forcibly remove anyone. Jackson's original cabinet consisted of both his supporters and some of Vice-President John Calhoun. However, a rivalry developed between the Vice-President and Secretary of State Martin Van Buren, and as Calhoun turned toward support of nullification (allowing individual states to ignore federal laws), Jackson's support turned more and more to Van Buren. When a social incident gave Jackson the opportunity to do away with Calhoun's supporters in his cabinet, he jumped at it. Most members of the Cabinet ostracized the apparently flirtatious wife of Secretary of War John Eaton. The result was Eaton and Van Buren, his only supporter in the Cabinet, resigned. This gave Jackson the opportunity to call on other cabinet members to resign as well. Item 13 is Jackson's resignation acceptance letter to Secretary of the Treasury Samuel Ingham, a Calhoun loyalist, dated April 20, 1831. In this very polite letter, Jackson alludes to the fact that his resignation was less than voluntary. Jackson explains that when Van Buren and Eaton resigned, he felt compelled to make a complete change in his cabinet. He states that "...to permit two, only, to retire would be to afford room for unjust misconceptions and malignant misrepresentations concerning the influence of their particular presence upon the conduct of public affairs -- justice to the individuals whose public spirit had impelled them to tender their resignations also required then, in my opinion, the decision which I have stated however painful to my own feelings, it became necessary that I should frankly make known to you my view of the whole subject." In other words, you have done nothing wrong, and it pains me grievously to get rid of you, but circumstances beyond my control require it. So goodbye. Jackson then concludes by telling Ingham what a wonderful job he had done, that he has "...my best wishes for your prosperity and happiness..." And with that, Jackson was rid of Calhoun's supporters from his cabinet. The following year, Calhoun was removed from the Democratic ticket and Van Buren was elected vice-president in his stead. $18,000.
American Historical Documents from Joe Rubinfine John F. Kennedy picked up on this one-letter mistake. Union General George Thomas is not that well remembered, though he certainly deserves to be. He was actually a quite remarkable man. Thomas was a Virginian, and among his superiors in the Union Army were people such as Robert E. Lee. However, when most southern officers defected, Thomas remained loyal, even though it apparently meant complete rejection by his own family. Through most of the war, Thomas led divisions but was under someone else's command. His record is one of triumphs, or holding onto ground while other Union troops were routed. However, he at least once declined an opportunity to replace his commander because of his great loyalty. In December of 1864, he did find himself in overall command, as he pulled together a force of his own troops and fresh recruits outside of Nashville. The Union wanted him to take on larger forces under Confederate General John Bell Hood, as it was feared that Hood might be able to disrupt Sherman's "March to the Sea." On December 6, General U.S. Grant sent Thomas orders to attack Hood, but Thomas stalled. On December 7, he told Grant that he thought he would be able to attack, but failed to do so. By December 9, an exasperated Grant ordered Thomas' removal. However, later that day, he had a change of heart. He prepared a telegram to Chief of Staff Henry Halleck, stating his frustration, but then rescinding his prior order. Says Grant, "I am very unwilling to do injustice to an officer who has done so much good service as Gen. Thomas has however and will therefore suspend the order relieving him until it is seen whether he will do anything." Item 11 is a signed draft of this message, which was sent to Halleck as a telegram. However, this was not the end of Grant's frustration. After Thomas waited to regroup his troops, bad weather set in and Thomas delayed further still. On December 13, Grant sent General John Logan to Nashville to replace Thomas if he had not acted by Logan's arrival. Meanwhile, Grant headed to Nashville himself. None of this proved necessary, as on December 15, Thomas decided the time was right, and began the Battle of Nashville in which his forces soundly defeated Hood's. He knew when the time was right. Thomas was promoted to Major General and received the deserved recognition of Congress for his performance. $25,000. William Herndon was Abraham Lincoln's last law partner, and knew him well. His experience evidently led him to hold his partner in the highest regard. In this 1886 letter to a Mrs. Blackman, Herndon states, "Mr. Lincoln is the living ideal man which the world will earnestly worship as long as goodness, kindness, honesty, integrity, courage, greatness & true nobility are admired by women and men." Herndon notes that he knew Lincoln for 35 years. "I ought to know something of the man..." Item 25. $2,000.
American Historical Documents from Joe Rubinfine Grant rescinds order to relieve General Thomas. President John F. Kennedy had a sharp mind and a sharp eye, and that saved him from this potential diplomatic blunder. On July 22, 1963, his secretary typed up a thank you note to Irish President Eamon de Valera, who had hosted Kennedy during a visit and given him a gift. However, the secretary had made one notable, if understandable, faux pas. Instead of typing in the first name "Eamon," the secretary must have assumed the Irish President had the more American first name "Damon." In the place for his signature, Kennedy wrote a large "Wrong!!" put an "X" by the name and wrote an "E" over the "D," and then signed it "JFK." In the letter, Kennedy also mentions his wife's disappointment that she was not able to visit. Jackie Kennedy was pregnant at the time, and gave premature birth a couple of weeks later to son Patrick, who died at just two days of age. Item 18. $10,000. Here is a most unusual Teddy Roosevelt letter. It was written on May 7, 1901, when Roosevelt was serving as vice-president. The recipient was Horace Deming, who served on a commission while Roosevelt was governor of New York. Roosevelt's successor, Benjamin O'Dell, refused to pay him. Roosevelt had been pushed into the vice-presidency by New York Republican leaders who wished to get the reformist governor out of their state. It was figured this would amount to kicking him upstairs, making him irrelevant. And obviously, for a while it did. Roosevelt had already written two letters to Governor O'Dell asking Deming be paid, which O'Dell ignored. Evidently, Deming requested that T.R. write a third, but this time Roosevelt, embarrassed by his lack of influence, declined. Roosevelt said that he was "...chagrined at the to me inexplicable refusal to give you anything..." However, he notes that "...it certainly ought not to be necessary for an ex-Governor to have to repeat and explain his position in a matter of this kind twice..." A third time would have been totally humiliating, so Roosevelt refused. This was an extremely difficult time for Roosevelt, an active man now placed in a role of irrelevancy, but all that would change drastically in four and one-half months when President McKinley was assassinated and he would succeed to the most powerful office in the land. Item 33. $7,500. Joe Rubinfine may be reached at 561-659-7077 or Joerubinfine@mindspring.com.

American Historical Documents from Joe Rubinfine

That's Honest, Kind, Courageous, Great, Noble Abe on the cover of Joe Rubinfine's latest catalogue.

By Michael Stillman

Joe Rubinfine has issued his List 156 of American Historical Autographs, and there are some real gems in this one. There are some standard autographs of famous people, a few manuscripts from not as well-known people who took part in notable events, but then there are some documents from major personalities pertaining to important events. These, quite simply, are significant historical documents. We'll take a look at a few of these interesting documents within what is a most noteworthy collection of signed Americana.

Item 13 pertains to President Andrew Jackson's momentous change of cabinet officers in 1831. At the time, it was subject to debate whether the President even had such authority, a question which would arise again during the Reconstruction presidency of Andrew Johnson. However, Jackson never had to forcibly remove anyone. Jackson's original cabinet consisted of both his supporters and some of Vice-President John Calhoun. However, a rivalry developed between the Vice-President and Secretary of State Martin Van Buren, and as Calhoun turned toward support of nullification (allowing individual states to ignore federal laws), Jackson's support turned more and more to Van Buren.

When a social incident gave Jackson the opportunity to do away with Calhoun's supporters in his cabinet, he jumped at it. Most members of the Cabinet ostracized the apparently flirtatious wife of Secretary of War John Eaton. The result was Eaton and Van Buren, his only supporter in the Cabinet, resigned. This gave Jackson the opportunity to call on other cabinet members to resign as well. Item 13 is Jackson's resignation acceptance letter to Secretary of the Treasury Samuel Ingham, a Calhoun loyalist, dated April 20, 1831. In this very polite letter, Jackson alludes to the fact that his resignation was less than voluntary. Jackson explains that when Van Buren and Eaton resigned, he felt compelled to make a complete change in his cabinet. He states that "...to permit two, only, to retire would be to afford room for unjust misconceptions and malignant misrepresentations concerning the influence of their particular presence upon the conduct of public affairs -- justice to the individuals whose public spirit had impelled them to tender their resignations also required then, in my opinion, the decision which I have stated however painful to my own feelings, it became necessary that I should frankly make known to you my view of the whole subject." In other words, you have done nothing wrong, and it pains me grievously to get rid of you, but circumstances beyond my control require it. So goodbye. Jackson then concludes by telling Ingham what a wonderful job he had done, that he has "...my best wishes for your prosperity and happiness..." And with that, Jackson was rid of Calhoun's supporters from his cabinet. The following year, Calhoun was removed from the Democratic ticket and Van Buren was elected vice-president in his stead. $18,000.

American Historical Documents from Joe Rubinfine

John F. Kennedy picked up on this one-letter mistake.

Union General George Thomas is not that well remembered, though he certainly deserves to be. He was actually a quite remarkable man. Thomas was a Virginian, and among his superiors in the Union Army were people such as Robert E. Lee. However, when most southern officers defected, Thomas remained loyal, even though it apparently meant complete rejection by his own family. Through most of the war, Thomas led divisions but was under someone else's command. His record is one of triumphs, or holding onto ground while other Union troops were routed. However, he at least once declined an opportunity to replace his commander because of his great loyalty. In December of 1864, he did find himself in overall command, as he pulled together a force of his own troops and fresh recruits outside of Nashville. The Union wanted him to take on larger forces under Confederate General John Bell Hood, as it was feared that Hood might be able to disrupt Sherman's "March to the Sea." On December 6, General U.S. Grant sent Thomas orders to attack Hood, but Thomas stalled. On December 7, he told Grant that he thought he would be able to attack, but failed to do so. By December 9, an exasperated Grant ordered Thomas' removal. However, later that day, he had a change of heart. He prepared a telegram to Chief of Staff Henry Halleck, stating his frustration, but then rescinding his prior order. Says Grant, "I am very unwilling to do injustice to an officer who has done so much good service as Gen. Thomas has however and will therefore suspend the order relieving him until it is seen whether he will do anything." Item 11 is a signed draft of this message, which was sent to Halleck as a telegram.

However, this was not the end of Grant's frustration. After Thomas waited to regroup his troops, bad weather set in and Thomas delayed further still. On December 13, Grant sent General John Logan to Nashville to replace Thomas if he had not acted by Logan's arrival. Meanwhile, Grant headed to Nashville himself. None of this proved necessary, as on December 15, Thomas decided the time was right, and began the Battle of Nashville in which his forces soundly defeated Hood's. He knew when the time was right. Thomas was promoted to Major General and received the deserved recognition of Congress for his performance. $25,000.

William Herndon was Abraham Lincoln's last law partner, and knew him well. His experience evidently led him to hold his partner in the highest regard. In this 1886 letter to a Mrs. Blackman, Herndon states, "Mr. Lincoln is the living ideal man which the world will earnestly worship as long as goodness, kindness, honesty, integrity, courage, greatness & true nobility are admired by women and men." Herndon notes that he knew Lincoln for 35 years. "I ought to know something of the man..." Item 25. $2,000.

American Historical Documents from Joe Rubinfine

Grant rescinds order to relieve General Thomas.

President John F. Kennedy had a sharp mind and a sharp eye, and that saved him from this potential diplomatic blunder. On July 22, 1963, his secretary typed up a thank you note to Irish President Eamon de Valera, who had hosted Kennedy during a visit and given him a gift. However, the secretary had made one notable, if understandable, faux pas. Instead of typing in the first name "Eamon," the secretary must have assumed the Irish President had the more American first name "Damon." In the place for his signature, Kennedy wrote a large "Wrong!!" put an "X" by the name and wrote an "E" over the "D," and then signed it "JFK." In the letter, Kennedy also mentions his wife's disappointment that she was not able to visit. Jackie Kennedy was pregnant at the time, and gave premature birth a couple of weeks later to son Patrick, who died at just two days of age. Item 18. $10,000.

Here is a most unusual Teddy Roosevelt letter. It was written on May 7, 1901, when Roosevelt was serving as vice-president. The recipient was Horace Deming, who served on a commission while Roosevelt was governor of New York. Roosevelt's successor, Benjamin O'Dell, refused to pay him. Roosevelt had been pushed into the vice-presidency by New York Republican leaders who wished to get the reformist governor out of their state. It was figured this would amount to kicking him upstairs, making him irrelevant. And obviously, for a while it did. Roosevelt had already written two letters to Governor O'Dell asking Deming be paid, which O'Dell ignored. Evidently, Deming requested that T.R. write a third, but this time Roosevelt, embarrassed by his lack of influence, declined. Roosevelt said that he was "...chagrined at the to me inexplicable refusal to give you anything..." However, he notes that "...it certainly ought not to be necessary for an ex-Governor to have to repeat and explain his position in a matter of this kind twice..." A third time would have been totally humiliating, so Roosevelt refused. This was an extremely difficult time for Roosevelt, an active man now placed in a role of irrelevancy, but all that would change drastically in four and one-half months when President McKinley was assassinated and he would succeed to the most powerful office in the land. Item 33. $7,500.

Joe Rubinfine may be reached at 561-659-7077 or Joerubinfine@mindspring.com.