Letter Describes 1844 Election

Manuscript of an 1844 Letter from John C. EastonA new addition to the Manuscripts collection of WKU’s Special Collections Library is an 1844 letter from John C. Easton, a Taylorsville, Spencer County, Kentucky lawyer, to his brother James. He discusses the forthcoming presidential election, including the possibility that the “Locos” (short for Locofocos, a radical wing of the Democratic Party) might nominate former vice president and Kentucky native Richard Mentor Johnson. Opponents had criticized Johnson for his relationship with a mulatto slave with whom he had two children, and Easton refers to Johnson’s “colored” wife in his letter. A finding aid and transcription of the letter can be accessed here.

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2 Responses to Letter Describes 1844 Election

  1. A new addition to the Manuscripts collection of the Kentucky Library & Museum is an 1844 letter from John C. Easton, a Taylorsville, Spencer County, Kentucky lawyer,

  2. Opponents had criticized Johnson for his relationship with a mulatto slave with whom he had two children,